Ibyang Sanchez, Author at Ibyang

Aussie Life Series: Darling Harbour on a Friday Afternoon

25 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Deep Thoughts, Photography

I’ve been tagging some of my photos #AussieLife in instagram which simply shows life in Australia. I’m celebrating my 7th year of living here next month and it still gives me goosebumps at the realization that I live in Sydney. I love this beautiful city. I love how laidback this country is. Life here is not without heartaches and struggles but I’m always be grateful for the blessing of being here.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a quiet afternoon at Darling Harbour. It is one of my favourite places in the city. It has immensely changed with the development of the Tumbalong Park and the new dining district Darling Quarter that boosts of several restaurants.

Here are few photos of that lovely afternoon. While things may have progressed in Darling Harbour, the laidback lifestyle still remains.

At Darling Quarter. This place is a mixture of business and leisure establishments. They made this park for kids and kids-at-heart. They have two tables for those who would like to play table tennis which proves to be a good diversion for professionals during break from work.

At another park of the park in Darling Quarter. People sitting on chairs, relaxing. Some are with friends chatting, some are listening to music or reading quietly.

The Beer O’Clock Crowd. Being a Friday, some people get off work as early as 3:30pm and have a drink with friends.

Relaxing by the Harbour. This is one of my favourite spots in Sydney. It’s just beautiful to sit here and enjoy the lovely little harbour and blue skies.

Blue Harbour. Australia’s got the bluest skies you’ll ever see. I never get tired of saying that as much as I never get tired of looking at the blue skies here.

The Seagull. He willingly paused so I can take a photo of him. You know the movie “Finding Nemo”? Those birds that kept saying “Mine, mine, mine!” were inspired by the seagulls in Australia. There are tons of them in Sydney and they like eating chips. And sometimes I do imagine them saying “Mine, mine, mine!” when we throw out food to them.

It is normal to see a stroller parked in front of a restaurant. Parents sometimes leave baby strollers in front of restaurants due to space concerns and that’s okay.

The Happy Hour Crowd. Happy clicking of beer bottles, wine and cocktail glasses are in full swing as soon the sun sets.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Sydney in my photographs. Till next time!

Ladurée Macarons & Chocolate Bars

24 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Food

It usually takes me thirty minutes to finish two pieces of macarons. Contrary to notions due to being a foodie, I only have a small love for sweets. I’m more into salty and savoury food. It was only when my ex-boyfriend (now Husband) and I got together that I was able to appreciate eating desserts. It is him that has an endless craving for sweets. Although I love eating cakes and ice cream, I can last awhile not eating sweets. And If I do eat sweets, a few bites can easily fill me.

It was very striking that I when I ate Ladurée macarons, I was able to finish 3 1/2 pices in just a few minutes. It was just so easy to eat because it’s not as sweet as other macarons I’ve tried.

While some macarons just seem to taste like it’s all sugar in it, Ladurée macarons have the right amount of sweetness in order to enjoy the real flavour of each macaron. Even if the macarons weren’t freshly baked, the shells were amazingly crisp and the chewy insides just melts in your mouth. My favourite flavours are currently Strawberry Marshmallow, Orange Blossom and Vanilla. I’m waiting for the hype to subside down a bit because one of these days, I hope to have tea and macarons at their café.

Last night we found the time to try the Ladurée bars I bought. The Dark Chocolate has 80% cocoa which was bitter and strong. The Milk Chocolate with Almonds bar was perfect for someone like me who likes chocolate with nuts. Both bars had the richness and smoothness that slides and melts inside the mouth. Each bar priced at AUD$11.00.

Ladurée Cafe and Store Now Open in Sydney

An Illustrated Guide: Macaron vs Macaroon

Ladurée Cafe & Store Now Open in Sydney

23 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food

The most talked about macarons from a French-based brand, Ladurée, has reached Sydney shores and opened on 12 September at Westfield Sydney.

Ladurée is a well-known luxury cakes and pastries brand based in Paris established in 1862. They are regarded as the inventor of macarons, a meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, granulated sugar and almond meal filled with ganache, jam or buttercream. Their other products include cakes, chocolates, tea, books, bags, scented candles, perfume and shower products.

In the Sydney branch, only the macarons, chocolates and tea are available. The macarons are frozen and shipped from Switzerland in order to arrive in Sydney in good condition. A piece of macaron is priced at $3.20 and they come in different flavours such as Chocolate, Vanilla, Cherry Blossom, Pistachio, Strawberry Marshmallow, etc.

With time on my hands, I dropped by Ladurée on Thursday afternoon and waited on queue for 1 hour and 22 minutes (I started at 5:02pm and ended at 6:24pm). Seemed like a long wait but I didn’t mind. At the back of my though, I hoped that the cost of these small macarons were worth it. I waited alone but twitter kept me company and passers-by and patrons who opted to get a table in their small cafe were a fun to watch. Thursday is late night shopping in Sydney so I wasn’t surprised with the crowd.

There were four staff at the take-away counter who cheerfully accommodated every question of customers. They move efficiently quick but since people aren’t familiar with some of the flavours, it took awhile to decide. It would have been better if they had a take-away system during peak hours. Maybe hand out a brochure containing Ladurée products so people can think about what to get while on queue?

P1200Ladurée Cafe & Store Now Open in Sydney817

Once at the counter, I ordered 12 pieces of macarons, a bar of dark chocolate and a bar of milk chocolate with almonds. Took about a minute to check-out.

The weekend that came, the Husband and I devoured the macarons and they were simply exquisite. The waiting on queue and price to pay for the macarons were all worth it. I’m a fan of Aussie-made macarons and I have to admit that Ladurée macarons are now a favourite too.

Up next, more Ladurée macaron photos and more gushing about this new macaron favourite of ours.

Ladurée

Level 3, Westfield Sydney

Corner Pitt Street and Market Street, Sydney

Beauty Stash: Organix Cherry Blossom Ginseng

21 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Beauty Stash, Health and Well-being

The Husband considers me a Shampoo-and-Conditioner Collector because whenever I find shampoos on sale, especially ones I have not tried before, I buy them. The Husband calls our bathroom, much to my embarrassment, a museum for shampoos and conditioners.

My love for shampoo and conditioner (S&C) stems from the fact that I love my hair. I can’t afford to go to salons and have treatments (it’s just so bloody expensive here!) but I have it regularly trimmed and styled by my trusted Korean hairstylist every two months. At home, I’ve somehow collected different brands of (S&C) because I use about 3 kinds of S&C in a week–my hair is healthy that way.

The things I do to have healthy hair:

(1) I do deep conditioning treatments at home.

(2) During winter, I only wash my hair with water on days when I don’t go out.*

(3) During summer, I wash my hair with baby shampoo on days when I don’t go out.*

(4) I sometimes apply Argan Oil to give additional hair moisture.

(5) I almost never use styling products.

(6) I avoid colouring my hair since I turned 25 years old.

*I use baby shampoo or wash my hair with just water as a way to rest my hair and scalp from harsh chemicals.

I’ve always wondered when I’d be able to try Organix. I’ve seen it in supermarkets and read good reviews about the brand but I find it a bit costly. When I dropped by the chemist a few weeks ago, I saw big bottles of Organix on sale AND it has a Cherry Blossom Ginseng variant. I couldn’t resist so I bought it.

What I love about the Organix Cherry Blossom Ginseng S&C:

It has all the ingredients I’m fond of: cherry blossom, ginseng and rice milk
It smells wonderful
It leaves my hair soft and hydrated ALL DAY!
It doesn’t contain lauryl/laureth sulfates and parabens.

I hope that by the time I finish these bottles, they’d go on sale again. I’ve come to love Organix and would love to try their other variants.

Madang Korean Cuisine & Charcoal BBQ (Sydney, Australia)

21 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

Considered as one of the best Korean BBQ places in Sydney CBD, it took us the perfect time in order to eat at Madang. As soon as evening strikes, people troop down to this restaurant for some Korean BBQ. So we came up with a plan to have dinner before 6pm. The plan was successful as we were the third customer that arrived a little after 5pm.

Madang Korean Cuisine & Charcoal BBQ (Sydney, Australia)

Unfortunately we weren’t in the mood for BBQ (even if their meats were highly recommended) so we decided to order a few dishes to share between the two of us.

The Kimchi Pancake seemed dry and a bit burnt in some parts. The only saving grace was it wasn’t oily and it was on the thin side so it was at least easy to eat.

The Beef Bibimbap doesn’t look as attractive as I want it to be but it was fresh and filling. The vegetables were abundant and the rice just enough for a person to finish in one seating (other Bibimbaps I’ve had overflows with rice).

The dish that brought the house down that night was the Tofu in Soybean Stew. The soup had a tinge of sweet and nutty taste due to richness of the soybean paste. It was the perfect comfort food on warm night especially when partnered with steamed rice.