Excelsior Jones, Ashfield

The innner-west suburb of Ashfield has never been known for its cafe scene. it has always been branded as the go to place for your dumplings and other shanghainese delicacies, until recently when Excelsior Jones appeared. No not Indiana Jones (thats what i first read when i saw it on another blog) but excelsior jones. Who is Excelsior Jones you may ask? well Excelsior Jones is the latest venture by Co-owners Anthony Svilicich and James Naylor, both hailing from Le Monde.

I was here with a friend on a sunday morning and the wait wasn't too long, around 15 minutes or so according to my friend, i was running late, oop! the cafe was in full swing already and  as soon as you walk in you are greeted by their open kitchen, a row of seatings and a lovely sun bathed dining room. i felt right at home. furnishing is sparse but thats hwat i like. simple and understated.

 

the sun bathed dining area.  get your vit D without the melanoma!

 

The sweets corner. its right next to the register, was so tempted to take something home!

 

The menu was short and sweet, which is good for someone like me, because my decisionphobia can come out any moment and annoy the most paitent waitstaff!

 

 

i opted for the House- cured salmon hash with pearl shallots, fried buckwheat, poached egg and fresh herbs. how was it you may ask?  it was egg-cellent! the poato hash was perfectly cooked and flavoured, the house cured salmon was to die for and need i say more about a perfectly poached egg?

 

 

check out the egg porn!  

 

 

My fellow diner opted for the eggs benedict.  it came out as two crispy toasted muffin halves with a decent amount of Black Forest gypsy ham, poached eggs and a generous dollop of Hollandaise sauce. again it was simple yet delicious, i think i could eat something like that everyday! ( my breakfasts are pretty boring, generally liquid breakfasts thats why i could eat cafe food every breakfast!)

wew also ordered some drinks but we didn't get them until 20 or so minutes after they cleared our plates and were offered the bill twice. I know they were really busy but maybe more co-ordination with the kitchen would be good. that was probably the only downfall tho!

 

 

 i opted for the iced-coffee. and as soon as it arrived, i was disappointed because i could tell it was too milky already. and the coffee taste was a tad too weak.

 

 

the friend opted for a latte, and she said it was good but would of been heaps better if it came before the food.  

 

As this visit was a while ago, i trust they have improved their service and the menu has changed quite a bit, i do home to pop in there before work one morning and try it out!

jonga jip Eastwood- banchan heaven!

Can you believe it is winter already?  seriously, where has the year gone? Maybe its my first year i'm out in the corporate world and i have adjusted to the fact that leisure time doesn't seem to exist anymore. In fact, my mum said "hello,stranger" a few nights ago because i was home before she disappeared off to watch her dramas after dinner.

Despite not having much leisure time, i have to admit that this year has been an amazing yet hectic year so far. i have met so many amazing people, learnt so much both in my current role and about food and blogging. i hope to meet more of you guys soon, because it guarentees that there is something yummy going on!

So, back to the food! in Sydney, there are 2 areas that have an abundance of korean food, Strathfield (or stra) and Eastwood. i rarely venture out to Eastwood because it is a bit out of the way for me so my fellow eating buddies generally get our korean feeds in the city or Strathfield. The turnover of these places are quite rapid and sometimes it is so quick, the place you ate at last week is now under new management or have turned into a completely different eatery.

So, today i bring you an awesome korean restaurant in Eastwood. thats right, Jonga jip. This place is so popular they have opened a 2nd shop around the corner and if they opened a third shop, i am sure it would be equally packed! Thank god we got here just before the groups streamed in and scored the last empty table!

so... how awesome you may ask?  by awesome, i mean its a feast before your eyes even before the food has arrived!

Look at all that banchan! 10 plates to be exact! most places only give 4 dishes nowadays and some of them arent particularly appetising. This is the most amazing spread of banchan ive ever had! i normally dont like kimichi on its own but damn this was delicious! it was hard to pick a favourite tho, but i really liked their lettuces with sesame sauce (recipes or where can i buy this stuff? anyone?) and their spicy braised potatoes (far right in the middle) yum!

 

So on to the food we actually ordered! ha! first up was the bossam. i normally wouldn't order bossam as it is too meaty but Danica said it was beuaitful here. i have only had its 3 times so i cant really judge but the bossam here was delicious! perfect balance of meat to fat ratio and super flavoursome too! beware of the condiments they bring you tho, the pickled veges was super spicy!

 

 

Next up was the soondubu. i order it wherever i go because its such a simple and heart warming dish. whilst i've had better elsewhere, this one was packed full of seafood bits and super yummy tofu!

 

 

Yes, we ordered more. your'e probably thinking, how can 3 girls eat that much? well we couldn't haha, i ended up taking quite a bit home for lunch the next day!

The one above is the seafood pancake, when i first saw it on the menu, i was a bit skeptical about ordering it as it didn't look that nice and was almost double the price of the ones at other places, but i am so glad we ended up going for it because this was HUGE. see the banchan plates for reference! i have a very big head and this plate could hide my head! the pancake does look different to what it looks like on the menu and has wayyyy more seafood, best of all? it was crispy! a must in seafood and kimchi pancakes!

 

 

Look at our table full of food! we add problems fitting everything!

 

Ihave been raving about this place isnce my visit and although it is a bit out of the way to get here, i am more than happy to trek over here just for the awesome spread of banchan and the pancake. can't wait to try more of the menu on my next visit!

 

 

till next time,

Milkteaxx!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary's Newtown.

 So word has it that a mysterious bar has opened up just of King st in Newtown and despite its menu is just burgers and fried chicken, it has the best burgers in Sydney.

So what better way to verify it than to pay a visit personally?
I often wander up to King st on my afternoon walks but have never noticed the quiet side street Mary st, so on a rainy friday evening, i gathered the MPH crew for our long awaited catch up and off to Mary's we go!

So how do you find Mary's? well its on a quaint side street called Mary St ( hence the name) and look for church like building with a security guard out the front. i was a bit skeptical about going in as it was a tad creepy looking until the security guard approached me and said "Mary's?" 

I got there around 6:30 and was surprised there were no queues out the door but boy was i wrong, go past the 2nd door and the whole place is in full swing already! Loud ( abeit a bit too loud for conversation) music, flexible waiters carrying drinks on trays matrix style and aroma wafting from their kitchen! excitement!

I couldn't get a pic of the place because it was dark and i only had my phone camera with me. >.<
so fast forward to the food! i was literally bouncing in my chair because i heard there were some pretty big names running this place! The Mary's team here is here headed up by Jake Smyth (ex-Bodega) and Kenny Graham (ex-Gardel's Bar at Porteno). whilst Luke Powell, the ex-head chef at Tetsuya's  is in charge of the kitchen. (credits to grabyourfork)

 

so, First up was the burgers! i went for the mary's burger, well simply because we were at mary's and also i heard the patty was awesome because it was made with a scientific ratio of  two parts chuck to one part each of brisket and rump and damn it was deliciously soft and flavoursome! seriously. THE BEST BURGERS EVER.  Sadly my burger disappeared too quickly and i wanted much much more than that 1 burger!

 

My fellow foodies ordered the cheeseburger and the shroom burger with trashcan bacon ( haha, she had to clarify she wasn't vegetarian) which i sadly didn't get a picture of, but same words came out of their mouth. DELICIOUS!

 

and aall the burgers here come with fries, i don't know what they put it in, but even the fries here are amazing.

 

oh and make sure you order some mash and gracy to dip the chips in!
this is the first time i've had mash and gravy in greaseproof paper, so check for novelty!
When i was a kid, mum never made mash at home, so i only had the yucky ones at KFC. The mash at Mary's is definitely 1000X times better! i think i went to heaven  and back!

And how can we not have fried chicken? we  originally wanted to get whole chook but the waitress was like, go with half chook first. so we did, despite it being super dleicious and deliciously crispy and not greasy, half bird was more than enough for us because the burgers and mash filled us up quite a bit!

I want to know whats in thier batter, it was so deliciously herby, the flesh was piping hot, juicy and succulent! i want more of it as i type this but alas it is not opened at lunch!

So if you haven't been to this awesome place yet, get yourself there. NOW! its worth going to the gym for 5 days in a row after!

stay warm and till next time,

Milkteaxx

the DessertedDinner by Angie lives to eat (and cook too!)

First of all, i would like to apologise to Angie of angie loves to eat (and cook!) for blogging about this sugar-tastic event so late, i never got around to fixing and uploading the pics! This was a really last minute thing, i saw this event on instagram 2 nights before the event and someone had pulled out last minute or i would of missed out!

This event was held at her other half's place in strathfield, and i love area, it full of pretty and spacious houses, each with their own individual charm. i would love to live there but alas, one look at my savings and i know im a long way way ahaha!

anyways, this was a really successful event! it was so well organised and planned and people were heaps friendly ( it was too last minute, i couldn't find anyone else to go with me and angie's event sold out!) Angie even went all out with decorating the backyard and seating area! And for $25 for five courses was such a bargain!

not a very good pic of it, but wow!

 

and the tables with place settings!

loving the placecard and the teacup, its so pretty!

 

 

the theme was an autumy apples and caramel, how delicious sounding?

 

 

And Angie gets straight to business, amuse bouche of cinnamon and gren apple macaron to start!

 

We were also served Darjeeling tea, which Angie made the effort to go taste test and decide it went best with the food she was going to prep!

First course: earl grey chiffon with caramel sauce and green apple jelly. I love chiffon cakes  because they are so fluffy and light, and it feels like i havent eaten any cake so i don't feel so guilty! and i love anything green apple so the green apple jelly was amazing, providing a nice contrasting texture!

i first spotted these really cute milk bottles at the grounds of alexandria but i didn't know where i could find them! i need to admit they are pretty useless to me, but i hoard everything lol.

To cut through the sweetness of the first course, we were presented with the most moreish cheese and chive gougeres! they were simply amazing. and yes i managed to steal a second one!

The third course was simply brilliant, i would gladly eat this every day! This was sort of like a deconstructed apple crumble, it consisted of a lovely buttery base of homemade  brioche, sauteed apples with cider caramel, macadamia crumble and cinnamon cream. my gosh the cream was amazing! by far my favourite course, with flavours and textures well balanced!

The fourth course was also pretty amazing! these mini spicy beef empanadas left me wanting more! Angie is really talanted, she can cook sweets and savouries both so well! *jealous!*

The fith and final course was a very beuaitfully presented salted caramel pannacotta with moscato poached apples and cinnamon apple crisps. tbh, i love anything presented in a jar, just love that novelty concept!

 

This was quite delicious but the pannacotta was a bit too firm for my liking, i like mine all wobbly. hehe. I think i have never eaten so much apple in 1 go, but i would gladly eat apples daily if it was presented to me like that!

 

 

And of course some beautiful singing to finish the sugar coma-ed night off!

 

Thanks Angie (and Ryan) for preparing such a lovely sweet dinner for us, i had a great time and was on a sugar high for the rest of the evening! i am looking forward  to the next event!

 

Till next time,

 

Milkteaxx

peanut butter choc chip cookies!

Ah...choo! i may have caught the peanut butter bug! you better run! ( if youre allergic to peanuts or dislike peanut butter) because its contagious! For those who know me, i love my peanut butter, be it on toast, in desserts ( Mr hive's peanut butter ice cream!), by the spoonful (oops!). i've even had it on dry weetbix ( as reccomended by a collegue when i was starving and she offered me this combo)

 

This post is a backpost actually. i first made these cookies late last year but have been making them quite ( or too) frequently since i discovered how delicious these were. Thank gosh i had some self restraint and gave them away so i didn't devour the whole batch!

Because peanut butter and chocolate are good friends, it is worth getting good quality peanut butter and chocolate for this recipe. but sometimes cravings call and i settle for whatever is in the pantry.

Ingredients

 

125g softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup (150g) dark brown sugar

1/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence ( i used my homemade vanilla extract, it really makes a difference)
½ cup (150g) peanut butter ( i like crunchy peanut butter but smooth is fine)
1 ½ cups (225g) plain flour, sifted

1 tablespoon milk (i used devondale skim)
1 teaspoon baking soda
200g chocolate, chopped ( i used cadbury choc chips cos i was lazy, but feel free to chop your own choc)

Methods:

 

 1. cream peanut butter and butter together until smooth and add in the sugars.

 

 

2. add in the egg, vanilla essence and milk

 

 

3. sift the flour and baking soda together and mix well

 

 

4. add flour to peanut butter mix and mix into dough, whilst gradually adding in the chocolate.

 

 

5. roll into balls and place on pre-lined trays, bake at 180 degrees for 15-8 minutes (depends on your oven) do leave more space than i did between cookies as they spread out quite a bit.

  

 

or you will end up with square cookies like the ones below ( not that i am complaining cos they were delicious)

 

They will keep for up to 10 days ( it shouldn't be around that long anyways!) in an airtight container. i mailed some overseas via express mail heavily bubble wrapped and they were still delicious apparently.

The weather has taken quite a dramatic change and it is wet and cold, i think i should be in bed with a cuppa and few of these cookies. but alas i am at work, staring at spreadsheets. so stay warm sydney-siders! KEEP CALM AND EAT COOKIES!

till next time,

Milkteaxx

Strawberry Fields Patisserie, Dulwich Hills

So a little birdy on Instagram told me a new pastisserie had opened in my area ( well sorta :P) and they were raking in awards and getting praises like no tomorrow! So what better way to find out than to personally pay them a visit? right? ( yes i am right because food is involved!)  So on a sunny weekend i gathered a minion and off we ventured to Strawberry Fields in Dulwich Hill.

The area is rapidly changing with many quirky and hipster-y cafes and shops opening up, it is no longer your local corner shop, delis and frabic stores, it is now home to many cool food places, i guess that means i need to make a few more trips there, not that im complaining!

This lovely place is just off the busy new canterbury road and parking is pretty easy ( we parked just outside, convenient for rolling back to the car after a good feed if you ask me~)

As soon as i stepped in, i knew this would be my kinda place. why?  look at below pic!
my type of humour! thats the way a roll too!

Normal people generally head for the savouries first, but being me, i had my eyes on the sweets before anything else! 

 

 

 look at all that choice!

Decisions decisions, i wanted to save up stomach space and calroeis for more desserts o i didn't get a drink but fellow minion ordered a hot choc. how pretty is it? who needs coffee art when u've got lovely gradients ( oh and a marshmellow too!)

Fellow minion ordered the tiramisu, i had a spoonful for blog purposes ( yes you do that too! :P) and it was rich and delicious and very importantly, boozy! thank gosh i didn't drive!

I was being good and went for a savoury option first as i hadn't had anything to eat that morning.
i went for the very handsome looking sausage roll, and it didn't disappoint! golden shards of pastry flew everywhere as soon as you bite into it, the filling was also delicious but BSB will forever have my heart when it comes to sausage rolls (SORRY!)

 

My take home box of goodies!

 

 

i took home a strawberry tart! a simple but amazing dessert. pastry was buttery and crumbly!

 

also took home a mixed summer berries cake after much decision-phobia. this was pretty nice, the sweetness of the strawberry went really well with the tartness and sourness from the raspberries!


So what you waiting for? go check it out!

Till next time,

Milkteaxx!

 

Ippudo (and a quick detour to Laduree!)

This is a super delayed post, i actually tried Ipuddo back in January when it first opened but i completely forgot to blog about it! silly me! anyways,  I am sure every sydney-sider has heard of or has realised by now that the famed Ippudo has arrived in Sydney. (if you haven't you MUST be living under a rock). I've heard wax lyrical praises about this place, both for their ramen and pork bun (PORK BUN!) and comparisions between their stores located all around the world. i don't really know much about ramen, i just eat it because its delicious. haha. But i do know there are different types of ramen and the type served accross the Ipuddo stores are the Hakata style ramen, which is a thinner and less yellow like the egg noodle type ramen we see more commonly.

Many have said that the broth is the soul of the ramen, here at Ipuddo, the ramen is served in a thick tonkotsu broth made by boiling pork bones for twelve hours, (yes! 12 hrs!) so all the porky goodness is extracted from the bones. Despite it being pretty new when i visited, there were no queues as i visited in the late afternoon, just before the dinner peeps, so that was good as i was starving by then ( post gym session and i go eat a pork bun. yep, that's me)

 

As soon as i sat down, a big tray of pork buns whizzed past me, i didn't think i could hold my excitement anymore but my fellow diners weren't ready to order yet ( i only had my eyes on the pork bun!) so i had to PATIENTLY wait. So, verdict of the pork bun? one word. AMAZING. pillowy soft mantou bun with a decent slab of heavenly pork belly, i swear i went to heaven and back in a matter of 3 seconds. But alas, the pork bun was gone in a flash... i wanted more... 10 more....

we also ordered a serve of gyoza as peeps on instagram said they were delicious abeit a bit pricy at $6 for 5.

 

i really love their dim lighting and their wall decor. so pretty!

 

fellow diner J opted for shiromaru chashu, which is its amazing tonkatsu broth with simply pork belly, dried black fungus strips and shallots.

 

I opted for the akamaru shinaji, which is Ippudo's signiture ramen. it was an amazing mix of its famed tonkotsu broth and its special blended miso paste and garlic oil. super fragant and went really well with the thin noodles. It also had some amazing pork belly, black mushrooms and shallots, simple and delicious!

 

 

The ramens were pretty big so we were all pretty full by then but everyone has a 2nd stomach for dessert right? (say yes!) so we made a quick detour to Laduree and picked up some macarons.

 

i split a pack of 8 with my friend ( why you ask?) so i got to sample salted caramel, violet marshmellow, lemon lime marshmellow and pistachio. to be honest, these weren't the nicest macarons i've tasted ( i love cafe cre asion's) and they were more expensive than your usuals at $3.2 a pop take away or $4 eat in.

Overall, i quite liked Ipuddo but i would probably not say the same about Laduree. As i am typing up this, all i can think of is the pork bun but i am actually heading off to a kickboxing class after this. so no pork bun for me tonight! boo hoo!

The weather is getting cold, so keep warm and eat a few more pork buns or ramens!

Till next time!

Milkteaxx