My love for pasteís de nata (more commonly known in Sydney as Portuguese custard tarts) knows no bounds. I had indulged in these delights just a few weeks ago, but they were so good that I had no problems coming back at Sweet Belem last weekend. This time, we had the tarts in the café, along with a bica (otherwise known as a short black).
I was raring to use the apples that I picked on my visit to the apple orchard, and the first recipe I tried was this apple cake. It turned out very, very well, since it’s a crumble/pie/cake all-in-one. It was also enormous, and freezes well, meaning that I still have a couple of portions left for dessert.
A couple of days later I made some madeleines for the international lunch that my department was having. It’s a little vanilla/lemon cakelette from France. Now, I know that I’m not French, but in my defence I was delegated sweets to bring and I had no way of buying anything remotely South-East Asian sweets mid-week. Besides, I don’t mind being an honorary Frenchie for the afternoon if I get to spread a bit of baking joy.
Aside from a stroll by the harbour, the second reason I was in Balmain was to try out Kazbah, a Moroccan restaurant on Darling Street. Lunch time was ludicrously busy, but we were already fascinated by the distinctly Moroccan table-setting.
Then came the colourful drinking vessels. The mint tea was gorgeous, with not only dried mint, but warm cinnamon.
Finally, the food came, and it was worth the wait. The chicken shish kebabs were so good that they disappeared in a flash. The octopus in the salad was nicely cooked but I wished we had ordered some rich lamb to balance the acidity of the lemon and feta. But the star for me was the vegetarian breakfast tagine, a wonderful concoction of pumpkin, feta, spinach and egg (among other things). The subtle spicing was wonderful, and so different from the in-your-face spicing I’m used to in Indian and South-East Asian cuisines.
As if dumplings weren’t enough, it was followed by a slight detour to Petersham for sweets – of the Portuguese kind, of course. My visit to Portugal is now light years in the past, but it hasn’t stopped my occasional craving for some great Portuguese custard tarts from Sweet Belem. Just a geeky aside, the authentic way of pronouncing ‘Belem’ is ‘Bleing’ due to the Portuguese aversion to pronouncing any vowels!
These custard tarts are undoubtedly the best in Sydney. They are rich, spicy warm with cinnamon, and its puff pastry crispy and flaky. One bite and you will never buy one from anyone else.
Apart from the obligatory custard tart, I also indulged in a ‘madelena’, the big sister of the ‘madelene’ that the French make so very well. I must say that this incredibly outdone the custard tart on this visit. It was buttery and lemony and yet light as a feather. I regret not buying more than one.
Looks like autumn is really with us, and a fine time to be searching for dumplings Shanghai-style in Ashfield. I vaguely remember going to Shanghai Night years back when I lived in the area, so it was high time that I made a return visit.
The pork and chive dumplings were standard in my opinion. I actually liked the fish dumplings better. The crab and pork buns were so substantial that I had to doggie bag a few. But my favourite was the new year rice noodles, gorgeous with seafood and XO sauce.
It’s raining cats and dogs in Sydney today. I know that people from northern Europe (or anywhere else with a high percentage of rainy days) would laugh but it is possibly the first time this year that I’ve had to carry my large umbrella. Such a miserable day gives me a craving for the coffee I had on Sunday – of the Turkish kind – rich, flavoursome, dark, sweet.
The Lolly Swagman in Berrima certainly brings out the child in people.
How cute is this?
And for adults…
That looks like a steak house! Well, we were in the country, near the Southern Highlands village of Berrima to be exact, so Zen Oasis, despite the name, blended well with its surroundings.
The food wasn’t bad either. A lot of it was standard yum cha fare, but equal favourites for me were the lemon ‘chicken’ and the fake fish.
By the time I tried all of the savoury dishes I hadn’t much room for dessert, however it was enough to fit in the pandan agar jelly.
Another visit to Bungalow8. This time I had the fish pie, whose presentation seemed to have improved since last time.
My friends meanwhile had the lamb rump, which looked quite scrumptuous indeed.
The only constant is change, so the saying goes. It’s definitely the case where Austinmer’s concerned. The beachfront has had its share of gentrification since I started visiting in the mid 90’s. The row of traditional take-aways have been replaced by a swish condo/cafe complex. Gone are the days when lunch consisted of a good old-fashioned burger (Aussie-style, with beetroot) and a bucket-load of hot chips wrapped in newspaper eaten on the beach. Well, I’m sure the modern cafe has burger and chips on its menu, but sometimes nothing beats an old-fashioned take-away burger and chips after a refreshing dip in the ocean.
Static and Silence 