Bumping into Burch & Purchase, Chapel St Melbourne

After we were fueled with a morning stop at Lb Cafe we continued our walk up and down Chapel St. Something catches my eye - it wasn't a display window with the latest season skirt on display, it wasn't even a belt or new season accessory ... a window full of delicious looking sweet creations, that's what I'm talking about! We wander on in ...



The shelves are lined with all sorts of little packets, and jars, with the pretty pink labels. You can then walk out the back to the epic wall of spice.



... and even get a glimpse into the kitchen where all the magic happens.



Now, you will be forgiven if you haven't heard of this dynamic team before (as honestly, this was our first encounter with the brand) but since our chance bumping into them we have seen them appear on Masterchef and just generally heard fantastic things about their boundary-pushing sweet style. On any given day you will see the showcase full of delights like lego blocks, clouds & chocolate bars as well as little jars of jams, curds and caramel and of course their celebration cakes and my favorite, their sprinkles. We took a bag of the puffed quinoa and malted orange crumble for our flight later in the week to Royal Mail Hotel and it was divine!



Burch & Purchase Sweet Studio
647 Chapel Street, South Yarra
Melbourne, Australia
Open: 10am~6:30pm Tuesday through Sunday
Closed Monday

T: +61 (0)3 9827 7060


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Yatala Pies, on the Highway, Brisbane, Australia

Best Pie in Australia ... now that is a huge claim! Growing up in NSW, Robertson Pie Shop was my go-to pie fix growing up. In the last couple of years, on the visits home to family, I have learned of Yatala pies. Yatala pies seems to be known QLD wide, and beyond, as producing some of the best pies in Australia. Yatala pies is over 130 years old, and has grown from a humble little roadside pie shop to a store just off the Gold Coast highway in beautiful landscaped surronds with inside & outside seating areas and a drive through! selling over 3,500 pies a-day. We certainly help boost that number whenever we are home!

It is conveniently located between where Dad's place, and where the rest of the relatives live on the Gold Coast. Pie, chips, gravy & a Bundaberg ginger beer and I am all set.



The pastry at Yatala is hands down some of the best pie pastry in the galaxy. Crumbly, short crust base and a super flaky puff top. The fillings can be a bit hit-and-miss, but on this occasion I try the lamb, mint & peas. Definitely my favorite pie from Yatala to date! It's like a roast dinner, in a pie. There are decent chunks of the roast lamb and plump peas sitting in a minted gravy.



It's also impossible to leave Yatala Pies without some sort of sweet treat for later. When the sister is present, that is guaranteed to be a caramel tart! Today, apricot pie with cream, glistening under a layer of sugar crystals.



Yatala Pies
Exit 38, Yatala North
48 Old Pacific Hwy, Yatala QLD 4207, Australia‎
T: +61 (0) 7 3287 2468‎
Open 7 Days a week, 7.30am~8.30pm


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Espai Sucre Dessert Restaurant, Barcelona Spain

Espai Sucre is the work of partners Jordi Butrón and Xano Saguer. They opened in 2000 with the proclaim of being the "only Dessert restaurant in the World". 11 years on, I am still not aware of any other sole dessert restaurants of this caliber. They also provide a consulting service, as well as a range of pastry school classes. We didn't make a booking, but arrive around 9pm. They are very happy to accommodate us, and lead us through the small dining room in the front, past the kitchen, to a small area at the back seating only 6-10 people.



We get a nice little seat with a view of the kitchen. Giant mirrors line the ceiling, so you can see the whole process of each little intricate sweet bite being made. There is a range of menus to choose from, and we go with one of the Chocolate Menu's and one of the Little Dessert Menu's.

The Chocolate menu included 3 desserts & petit fors for 37.5€. There's the option to take matching sweet wines with each course, 4€ for 1 pairing, and 10€ for 3 pairings. Of course we take 3... The first chocolate course is Chocolate with vinegar, strawberries, mint and pepper. There was a mint foam, and hints of pepper in the chocolate wafer, and the strawberry ice was amazing.



The next on the Chocolate menu was truffle mushroom, butter, hazelnut and cocoa. This swayed on both sides of savory and sweet, with a rich earthiness from the combination of butter, hazelnuts and truffle. I could eat this for breakfast ....



The last of the chocolate courses, before petit fors of course, was the Chocolate energy bar, pumpernickel ice-cream, Tanzanie 75% and basil. The bar is made with the Tanzanie 75% covuture chocolate harvested exclusively in Tanzania. It is a blend of Criollo and Forastero beans, which produces a chocolate with spicy & fruit characteristics that is both intense and subtle at the same time. The pumpernickel ice-cream mellows the whole dish, and there is no doubt that we got a boost of energy from this one (although that may just be all of the sugar!).



The second menu we have chosen is the Littler Dessert Menu. This also has 3 courses, with petit fors, and is just 30€. We take another 3 wine pairings with this menu for the additional 10€ as well. The little menu starts off with "Ginger Ale", cucumber, pineapple and tarragon sherbet. The ginger ale is an intense foam sitting in the base of the bowl, there are cucumber and mint rolls and then the sherbet which is elevated with the addition of tarragon.



"Idiazábal" cake with cherry, beet and black beer. Idiazábal is a Basque cheese from the mountains in Spain, made from ewe's milk. The cheese was earthy, and the texture soft like pillows. The cherry and beet in the form of an ice, was sweet and tart and the black beer gave a pleasant, almost dark chocolate like bitterness to the dish.



Hm, I wonder who was doing bacon ice-cream first? We try a bread pudding, bacon ice-cream and pineapple. It's a wonderful finish to a well rounded sweet sensation. The crisp piece of bread really adding to the whole experience of the pudding. The bacon ice-cream was awesome! I could eat that stuff on toast. This dish though, really favored eating each component as a whole, with each part enhancing the other.



The little petit fors selection is delivered to the table on a very cool welded metal stand (Dad, take note;) we may want some of these made some day!) with a couple of little frozen shots. There were cake pops, chocolate florentine, chocolate truffles, short bread, fruit jubes and some cinnamon and almond cookies.



An espresso is the perfect end to our dessert feast. (Dad, also take note of the little welded sugar-compartment box in the background, this too is awesome).



Now, how many occasions after a wonderful meal have you just been dying to go somewhere with an impressive dessert menu and some nice digestifs and coffee? It happens to us a lot ... I think more people around the world should embrace the whole Dessert Restaurant thing. We for one would support that movement!



Espai Sucre
C/ PRINCESA, 53
08003 Barcelona, Spain
T: 932 681 630


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Tapaç24, Barcelona

On our first visit to Tapaç24 (yes, there will be more posts to come) it was our first realization that Easter weekend in Barcelona means not to many places will be open ... We headed over the the L'Example district with our maps marked of coffee shops, providores and lunch spots. It was early, but upon wandering around it looked as though the whole town had closed up shop for the entire weekend ... After about half a dozen failed attempts at finding anything, we decide to try our luck over by Paseo de Gracia. As we turned the corner, the big glass doors plastered in the words "TAPAS 24" were open, and lights were beaming through onto the street.



It's here my walk turned more into a skip, the excitement to much for me to handle ... I know we were probably only wandering around for an hour and a half, but the prospect of not finding somewhere to eat, let alone have a coffee was frightening. We run in and perch at the counter and order 2 cafe solo before you can even say Beunas.



It's not even lunch time yet, so this is just a mere mid-morning snack. I pick a flauta with chorizo from the counter.



and we also order the Bikini24. This is perhaps one of the finest examples of a toasted ham & cheese sandwich. Spanish jamon, cheese & a hint of truffle sandwiched in slices of crustless white bread that has been lathered with butter - cut in little bikini triangles. Yum!



We're still going on our cafe solo's, which have to be a whopping 60-70ml, so choose a pastry from the counter as well. Not to sure what it was, but am certain it was delicious. Crispy sweet pastry with a custard cream in the centre doused in icing sugar.



At least if nothing else opens over the Easter Weekend we know we can come back here ...

TapaÇ24
Open 8am-Midnight
Diputacio 269, Barcelona 08007
(near Paseo de Gracia)
Tel: +34 934 880 977

Nuts about Nutella

Ahhh, Italians do love their Nutella. Like the amazing idea of putting Nutella, sticks and a tea drink all in one convinient package - genius!

While in Tuscany we also spotted the first-of-many a jar of Nutella that was as big as Kim's head ... mmmmmmm, so much Nutella.



And after a night of eating over in Travestere district, we walk past a little crepe vendor. But what really grabbed my attention was all those Nutella jars ....



Having a crepe to smear it onto was just mere convenience, as walking around the streets of Rome with a jar of Nutella and a spoon might not be acceptable. Or maybe it would be?! There are plenty of options as far as additional toppings go, including nuts, coconut, banana & more, but I'm keeping it pure today ...



Ahh, Nutella love !!

Where we always end up on a visit to Chatuchak Markets ...

A trip out to Chatuchak markets is a great way to spend the weekend. The BTS sky train takes you all the way to Queen Sirikit park. On this particular stroll through the park we are greeted by a rather peculiar ring of mushrooms ....



Anyway, I digress. We're quickly stopped by some piping hot Khanom Krok. Sweet little pancake like things filled with coconut cream and specked with bits of taro and sweet corn.



Next we spot a row of woks, all parts of chickens and pork being fried away.



The bits are glistening away under some oh-so-bright lights, but we're both immediately drawn to the little wingettes that have been fried along with a stack of pandan leaf.



We wander some more through the markets, picking up some goodies and munching away on our little chicken wings.



Before we end up where we always do, Green Chili.



Green Chili is run by Chef Ann (Dararat Wisaijorn) who opens at Chatuchak Markets on Saturdays and Sundays. Monday is the only day off Chef Ann and her team have, they then go back to work first thing Tuesday morning trawling markets and starting preparation for the impressive 27 varieties of curry prepared each weekend. Tuesday after hunting down mountains of garlic and shallots, her team sets to then peeling them all. These are used in the various curry pastes. Tuesday they are also grilling sun-dried salid fish and shredding it for salads.



Wednesday see some of the garlic and shallots meticulously sliced and deep-fried as well as the massive amounts of nahm prik (Thai fish sauce and chilli condiment which accompanies the kanom jeen) prepared.

On Thursdays they make the various chili relishes and peel eggs ready for the kai palo. The simmering of the pork broth takes place on the Friday. Some people say Chef Ann may be going over the top, especially with all the conveniences to make life easier (peeled garlic / shallots / ready made curry paste etc.) yet Chef Ann says "Well I think I am more meticulous about what I eat than many other things in life. Preparing real and traditional Thai dishes requires lots of artistry and knowledge".



Even the fluffy white rice is organically grown in Ubon Ratchathani. Pretty impressive!



Today we start with a chat to the ever friendly Chef Ann, and within moments, 2 coconut bowls holding bael fruit tea placed in front of us.



Then the smorgasbord of food commences. There's a salad of dok khae, an edible Thai flower, that's packed with pork floss, shallots and chili.



A little pot of simmered pork with boiled egg and tofu is next to arrive.



Khun-Amanda, who first referred us to the delightful Chef Ann, all time favorite is the gaeng som. A sour orange curry packed with mackerel and green papaya is of course on the list ...



One of the mild selections for the day, sweet crab meat mixed with egg and spring onion. The chunks of crab delectable and sweet with the ribbons of egg and spring onions adding another dimension ...



Chef Ann's pad prik king is unlike any other we have tried ... shreds of chicken are smothered in a rich red curry paste and cooked until almost candy-like with little shreds of kaffir lime appearing throughout.



Last to arrive, panang curry. Tender chunks of pork simmered in a mild coconut curry until they're falling apart.



And then the feasting begins!



You really can see how 4 days goes into the preparation for all these dishes. And you can taste the passion and love in which they've been made with!



We bid farewell to Chef Ann, and all the other girls at Green Chili.



..... Until next time !!

Bloody good pavlova

Here's a pretty mean looking pavlova Kim whipped up one night for staff meal.  A pretty fine job done with a complete lack of fresh fruit.  There was whipped cream, Organic Niki cherries, some tinned peaches we found lying around and some frozen mango puree.

Bloody good!  But took us about 3 days to eat as it was bloody huge!

Staff Meal Pavlova

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

few drops of vanilla extract

1 tsp white vinegar

2 tsp cornstach

1 cup, + 2Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

Cream

Tin of peaches found lying around

Frozen organic Niki cherries, thawed and pitted

Frozen mango puree, thawed

or any other fruits you have lying around

1. Pre-heat oven to 175C.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

2. Put egg whites and salt into kitchen aid mixer on medium and beat for a few minutes, or until light and foamy.  Increase speed and beat for a few more minutes until you have firm peaks.

3. Gradually add the sugar while still beating.  Continue mixing for another 5 minutes or so until it's nice and shiny.

4. Sprinkle the vinegar, cornstach and vanilla over the whites and gently fold in.

5.  Place the mixture onto the parchment lined tray and smooth over with some sort of flat implement.  

6. Place in oven on middle rack and then close the door.  Immediately turn down to 150C and bake for 1 hour.  Then turn off the oven, resisting the temptation to open the door.

7. Ideally, you would then like to leave the pav. in the oven for 4 hours to dry out.  We didn't quite have that luxury of time, so our pav had about 10 minutes.

8.  In the meantime, beat some cream.  Sweeten a little with sugar and vanilla.

9. Slap on the cream, then artistically decorate with your chosen fruit.

Possibilities are endless ...

We’re back at Graubunden. But their sandwiches are that good! And with so many filling combinations and 4 types of bread’s to choose from the possibilities are endless…

Today Kim has a mushroom omlette on soft baguette. It’s a thick omlette filled with a range of delicious Japanese mushrooms, nicely seasoned and still a little soft in the centre. There’s a thin smear of tomato ketchup and melted cheese all incased in a gorgeous soft baguette.



I have a toasted bagel with bacon, tomato and cream cheese. The bagel is lightly toasted and slathered with butter. Then there’s the generous slices of grilled bacon, a big dollop of cream cheese and a few slices of tomato. It’s seasoned nicely with cracked pepper and the crisp fresh vegetables, kewpie mayonnaise and potato salad to the side are spot on.



To accompany our sandwiches we both can’t resist a maple au lait. A cold shaken milk sweetened just so with Canadian maple. Mmmm.



It’s always daunting … with each visit we take turns in tackling the enormous task of choosing just one sweet to share from the display cabinet. This time I choose a chocolate, cream & banana dome. The triumphant slice arrives, there are layers of soft sponge, chocolate, fresh cream and banana. It’s delicious!



Of course we both have a delicious hot cocoa. It’s Van Houten cocoa with hot milk. Then there’s a big spoon of fresh whipped cream and freshly grated cinnamon to top it off. I even pose for a very-Japanese photo moment, with my hot chocolate.