Ibyang
Ibyang

Cheesecake on a Chocolate Brownie Base

2 September 2009 2 Comments Category: Food

If you’re wanting to satisfy your craving for cheesecake and chocolate, I recommend you try Grandma Max’s Cheesecake at Max Brenner. This is not your usual creamy and rich cheesecake. It is baked cheesecake slice on a chocolate brownie base.

An order of a slice comes with a siding of fresh strawberries and melted Max Brenner chocolate so you can dip your cheesecake in. Even if this not your usual cheesecake, it is still oozing with richness and comes with a punch of chocolate heaven in your mouth.

This is also a great companion to Max Brenner’s Hot White Chocolate.

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Restaurant: Takeru Japanese Cuisine (Sydney, Australia)

Had dinner at Takeru Japanese Cuisine three weeks ago on a Thursday night. After work, I decided to hung out at Chinatown but couldn’t find any resto that I like. So the Husband suggested that we eat at Takeru, a Japanese Restaurant near Darling Harbour, which was recommended by his workmate. I wasn’t surprised when he mentioned the name. I simply told him, “I’ve eaten there before with friends while you were still in Dubai.” I planned on taking him there when he arrived here in Sydney but I guess I forgot.

Takeru Japanese Cuisine Restaurant is a small, homey and casual Japanese resto in the City. Lots of people go here after work or school. From 6:00pm onwards, the place is bustling with people, by 7:00pm you can expect to see a line that extends outside the resto. Which shows that the place is somehow popular so best to be early to avoid waiting up in queue.

On the night we had dinner, the Husband and I decided to order something different from the usual Japanese food we’ve eaten before.

We shared a plate of Kaisen Shio Yakisoba and Chicken Karaage. The Kaisen Shio Yakisoba is simply noodles with lots of seafood. The Husband devoured this and said it was good enough. It was alright for me but it tasted a bit bland.

Our second dish was the Chicken Karaage. This is deep fried chicken with a siding of rice, soup and salad. First time to try this and I’m quite satisfied. The chicken was crunchy outside but juicy and tender inside.

The best part is the generous serving of salad which i really really like.

Still in the spirit of trying something new, we ordered a scoop of Green Tea and Black Sesame Ice Cream for dessert. When it comes to taste, the ice cream really did taste like Green Tea and Black Sesame. As for liking it, it wasn’t a hit to me. Eating green tea ice cream tasted like I was eating green tea leaves and I didn’t like it. I guess for me, green tea is only meant to be drank as a hot beverage. The black sesame ice cream was more tolerable. As for the husband, he said the two ice cream were tolerable for him.

The best part of all was that UCC Coffee is available in this resto. I never noticed that they serve this coffee when I first ate here and I’m glad I did the second time around.

UCC or Ueshima Coffee Company Ltd, is a manufacturer of coffee and tea products in Japan. From manufacturing coffee, they have expanded to opening cafes in Asia and America. In the Philippines, we have several UCC Cafes already. When Chris and I worked in Makati, we used to have lunch or coffee dates in UCC Cafe Terrace in Paseo Center (Paseo de Roxas, Makati). It’s one of the cafes and coffees we miss in Manila.

Finding a restaurant that serves UCC Coffee made us very happy. Finally, nakainom na rin kami uli ng kapeng ito! 🙂 We both had iced UCC Coffee topped with Vanilla Ice Cream (I know, ice cream overload).

Takeru is the kind of restaurant that you won’t mind coming back to. Delicious food, good service, convenient location, good ambiance and reasonable prices (main dishes costs from $9.00-$16.00). As for me and the Husband, not only will we come back for the food, will also come back to have UCC Coffee.

Visited Takeru Japanese Cuisine Restaurant on 6 August 2009. Located at Shop 10, 339 Sussex Street, Sydney.

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31st Monthsary Breakfast at Cascade Cafe

Since the Husband started work last year, it was very seldom that we have breakfast dates as we both like arriving to work early so we can also go home early.

Last week, I attended training for two days in the City which fortunately coincided with our 31st monthsary on Thursday (20 August). So we grabbed the chance to have a breakfast date as a way of celebrating our special day of the month.

I initially thought we would just have coffee at Starbucks but the Husband took me to Cascade Cafe which is just located in the train station where he gets on and off. Nothing really spectacular about the Cafe, the only special thing about it is that it has this faux waterfalls.

I find it relaxing just hearing the sound of free-flowing water even if I know I’m in the CBD. I think I found another place where I can have my “Me” time.

Now, for the food….the Husband had a latte.

While I had a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice. I love it!!! The price of the OJ, on the other, made me cringe–it was AUD$5.80. Really expensive but worth it. If ever you visit Sydney, you should never leave without having a taste of our freshly-squeezed OJ.

Main event. We shared a plate of their Big Breakfast. It had 1 big sausage (sliced in half), mushrooms, bacon, 2 eggs, big tomatoes, 2 toasts and chips.

With that serving, even if we already shared, it was difficult to finish it all off and we were both so full afterwards.

Cascade Cafe is located at 15-16 Town Hall Square, Sydney.

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Filipino Overseas Voters Deadline on 31 August 2009

25 August 2009 0 Comments Category: Tips

To my fellow kababayans in Sydney who are still qualified to vote, you still have a few days left before 31 August. Visit and register at the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney (Level 1, Philippine Center, 27-33 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000, see map here), weekdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Don’t forget to bring your passport and a photocopy of your passport which will be attached to your registration. According to my Husband, the registration process only takes a few minutes.

To know more about it, please read below…

OVERSEAS VOTER REGISTRATION FOR 2010 PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS

06 January 2009 – The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney will conduct the registration of Filipino Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) for the 2010 Philippine national elections for president, vice president, and senators. The OAV registration period is from 1 February 2009 to 31 August 2009. The registration schedule at the Philippine Consulate General will be from Mondays to Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except declared public holidays.

The OAV registration is necessary for overseas Filipinos who are first-time overseas voters, have changed country or state of residence since the last Philippine elections, or did not vote in the last two national elections.

Filipino citizens and dual citizen Filipino-Australians domiciled in New South Wales will register at the Philippine Consulate in Sydney and those in the other states and territories of Australia at the Philippine Embassy in Canberra.

To qualify as an overseas voter, the Philippine citizen must be at least age 18 years old on 10 May 2010, and reside or work outside of the Philippines. Parties who are not eligible are those who lost or renounced their Filipino citizenship or declared excluded by Philippine courts for rebellion, insurrection, or violation of the Philippine firearms law, among other offenses.

The overseas voter must register at the Philippine foreign mission where he will vote in May 2010. Registration must be done in person, because the voter’s biometric data (facial features, fingerprints, and signature) must be digitally recorded. OAV registrants must present their Philippine passport or seaman’s book (in the case of seafarers) at the Consulate.

Filipino overseas voters in Australia will cast their votes during a one-month period from 10 April 2010 until 3:00 p.m. Philippine time of 10 May 2010. They may cast their ballot either personally at the Consulate or by mail.

An earlier statement of the Consulate announced that OAV registration would start on 1 December 2008, but the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) set the start to the new date. [source]

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My Photo Featured in Erick Guerrero’s Site

Check out Erick Guerrero’s new website.

http://www.erickguerrero.com

Erick, a Filipino Photographer based in Sydney, does Portrait, Weddings, Prenups, Still Life, Food and Events Photography. He’s a professional and a joy to work with. Check out his site to find more about him and his work.

The best surprise of the day was seeing my photograph featured in his site (salamat Erick!).

Grabbed the real photo from his site…

Aliw!

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