Food Archives | Page 26 of 68

Chocolateria San Churro (Harbourside Mall, Darling Harbour)

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

I used to wish that they’d be more Chocolateria San Churro branches in Sydney Metro and what do you know? After my Friday afternoon walk at Darling Harbour, I found myself inside Harbourside mall and voila! a new Chocolateria San Churro branch has opened.

I’ve dinner with friends on Friday night but as you know, my ritual is to have coffee and bit of dessert before I plunge myself into dinner. I was supposed to have coffee at another cafe but when I saw Chocolateria San Churro, all roads led to him! Haha.

I got myself a cup of long black and two macarons: cookies ‘n cream and peanut butter chocolate. Both macarons were crisp and chewy. If you are not eating Churros, their macarons are a good alternative for a light snack.

Although the star of their menu is chocolate, their coffee drinks are good too as they use the highest-grade of Fairtrade Certified and organic Arabica beans. And to always have that San Churro love, they place a small piece of chocolate on my teaspoon to add sweetness to my strong and rich Long Black.

Chocolateria San Churro

Shop 107/109 Harbourside Shopping Centre

2-10 Darling Drive

Darling Harbour, New South Wales

Australia 2000

Phone: 02 9280 0668

email: harbourside@sanchurro.com.au

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

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.

The next time we come back to Madang, we’ll definitely have a BBQ so we can try their meats.

Sydney Madang Restaurant

371A Pitt St, Sydney

(entrance located down a small alleyway just north of Liverpool Street)

Phone : (02) 9264 7010

Jonga Jip Korean BBQ Restaurant (Eastwood, NSW, Australia)

20 September 2012 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

We discovered Jonga Jip Korean BBQ Restaurant during our Summer Fri-date in February. The restaurant is located at Eastwood, a suburb that has a Little Korean Town.

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Jonga Jip Korean BBQ Restaurant (Eastwood, NSW, Australia)

We had early dinner to avoid the crowd. This was where we experienced the most number of Banchan Dishes, it filled up the whole table. We had two plates of meat (pork belly and beef) for BBQ and a small pot of Kimchi Stew.

Their meats are delicious and juicy even if what we ordered were the “un-marinated” ones. The beef and pork were thinly sliced and cooked in just a few minutes.

The Kimchi Stew was tasty and had the kind of heat to warm up the tongue. It surprisingly had the balanced ratio of pork and vegetables.

This restaurant may be a bit far from where we live but eating at Jonga Jip made it worth it. I consider Jonga Jip one of the best Korean restaurants in Sydney Metro.

Jonga Jip
87 Rowe Street
Eastwood 2122
Ph: +61 2 9858 5160