Chelsea Tea House- Avalon

So everytime I say to my other half I'm hungry! I can feel him getting nervous. I see him slowly reaching for his wallet looking into it and saying a farewell to his hard earned cash... Why? Because when I go out for food I get so over whelmed by the menu that I usually end up ordering more than I should. Anyone else have that problem?? So on this particular day I had a huge craving for sweets. I wanted giant slices of cake, sticky caramel and lemony tarts. I had walked past Chelsea Tea House many times before and I had always said to myself I have to give it a go. I envisioned high tea style food and dainty tea cups. No dainty tea cups here!I was slightly disappointed that my dream of sticky caramel slowly melted away. Sulking slightly something on the Menu caught my eye and instantly my taste buds perked up and I was happy again... 

Yakiniku Restaurant- Wakana

Vegetarians and Vegans out there beware, This is not the post for you. Meat lovers... Enjoy and try not to eat the screen. So I have a question for everyone. Do you ever find yourself saying "I'll have my steak medium please" and your steak arrives at your table looking juicy and tender, you turn to the person next to you and you do that weird smile nod thing. You cut into the steak and it basically MOO's at you ? Now you look closely and you realize it looks juicy because it is still bleeding.

Well luckily for everyone I have found a place that solves the problem of under cooked meat and the awkwardness of sending something back only to spend the rest of the meal wondering if someone has tampered with it as revenge... (Don't deny it, I know you all think it).

Balkan Bake - The Bakery Cafe

Breakfast is a meal that whether you admit it or not we tend to neglect. I know I commit this heinous crime from time to time and spend the rest of the morning imagining doughnuts, bagels and bacon strips talking to me.... Until of course the bacon strip punches me on the arm because I'm not listening to them. My big sis and I decided to search for breakfast after I spend about 30 mins groaning about how I am on the brink of starvation while she slowly gets ready ( A little over dramatic I know).

Where does one head to when they are starving and don't know what they want? Balmain of course. A place where the streets are lined with cafes and antiques. Your idea of heaven may not be blowing dust off a $5 antique jar while simultaneously inhaling the scent of fresh bread and bacon.... But mine is.

My Food Fix at Element 6

 

"There it is" My big sis points at the Element 6 sign, "Oh, I thought you said it was quirky"... she gives me a smile "Wait till you get inside". So I thought this was one of those situations, where someone casually throws around the word quirky. Don't get me wrong I've been caught doing it. Picking up a polka dotted skirt and calling it quirky, looking at a twirly straw and calling it quirky and of course the times when your friends fashion choices are so wrong you either have to tell them they look cute or quirky just to convince yourself you aren't telling them a lie (after all what does cute or quirky even mean?). Luckily today was not one of those situations. Let me show you why....

Hollandaise Heaven at The Chalkboard Cafe

 

"What should we eat today??" That is the question that my big sis and I ask each other whenever we meet up. No "hello, how are you?", "what should we do?" or " whats new?". Just straight to the most important question. Well this particular day we decided that we wanted to go to Patisse a french dessert place that we had previously been to in Alexandria.... So you can imagine our surprise when we arrived in Alexandria and where Patisse had been was this New Cafe called The Chalkboard cafe. Big sis and I peeked and squinted through the window of this new cafe almost expecting Patisse and desserts to magically appear before our eyes. With our tummies rumbling we decided to give this cafe a go and find ourselves dessert at another location after.

 

The place where Patisse was, and now where The Chalkboard Cafe resides. 

Recreation- Salted Caramel and Peanut Tart

Recreation post time :D
Hello amazing readers, as I have mentioned before I like to try and recreate some foods that I enjoy.
For this post I am recreating the Salted Caramel and Peanut Tart that I had at Pattison's Patisserie. 
Grab your aprons and follow me on my journey in creating this delicious tart.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of salted peanuts (skin on or off, doesn't matter)
• 1 3/4 cups of plain flour
• 225 grams of unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 egg (large size) - and free range please :D
• 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tablespoons of golden syrup
• 150 grams of dark chocolate (40% or higher)
• 100 ml of thickened cream
• One pinch of flaked salt (I used an amazing black salt from Cyprus that I bought at the markets)  

The Very Pretty Pattison's Patisserie

Pattison's is a bakery franchise that I have seen slowly popping up all around Sydney. This particular Pattison's fortunately or unfortunately for me (depending on how you look at it) is located at my local shopping center. So as I drag my super heavy grocery bags across the shopping center, this is the beautiful oasis that greets my eyes every time (strategically located outside Woolworths) .
The allure of the perfectly shinny windows, the colourful desserts and seductive lighting is just too much! Of course I have to go in and satisfy my cravings.

So.... of course by now I have been there multiple times... and I have decided to document one of my trips to Pattison's for everyone.

The Beginning

As a teenager a question that always came to mind was, how do you know when you're in love? Well as time went by (not too much time mind you) I found the answer… Love is unconditional; it is something you cannot get out of your head or heart. You almost live and breathe it, planning your day or life around it. Not because you have to but because you want to. With this answer, I knew at once my love was... food (Oh and of course my other half (bf) - he kindly reminded me of himself when he read my draft haha). Back to my story - Armed with this igniting passion, I decided that sitting in a lecture room, with words of psychology echoing off the walls was not for me. With only half of a psychology degree under my belt, I decided to finish early to pursue my love for food. As cliche as this may sound; You have one life , one chance to do it all, so why not do something you love. Break away from what your supposed to and enter into what you want to.

My goal with this blog is not for publicity or fame, it is simply to share with everyone why food is so important to me.
Over the course of my journey I will try and post something every week, sharing my culinary experiences.On a small side note: I am obsessed with all things sweet and sticky, so if you often find that I have skipped straight to dessert that is why.
I also love trying to recreate dishes that I like in restaurants, so keep an eye out for my recreation posts :)

Everyone grab your taste buds and join me on this journey with my love and I.

Love always Mel x