Ibyang
Ibyang

Food

Bon Bon Fine Chocolates

14 May 2014 5 Comments Category: Food

There’s so many things we have yet to explore and eat in Sydney and the whole of Australia. I’ve lived here for years but like any normal migrant, there are several things I take for granted simply because I live here. 

That includes chocolates. Australia is chocolate country. We have great chocolates made here but seldom do we buy from specialty chocolate stores. So during the previous Easter celebration, the Husband and I decided to finally try Bon Bon Fine Chocolates. 
Bon Bon Fine Chocolate
Bon Bon has a lot of chocolates in their QVB store and we were a bit overwhelmed with the many choices at hand. For a start, we decided to get an 8-piece box set. We asked what was in the box set and we were assured that it’s all their best sellers. They looked pretty! I believe this was a special box made for Easter as half of the chocolates where egg-shaped.
Bon Bon Fine Chocolate
Each piece was a luxurious experience. Each piece was made from Belgian chocolate, in dark, milk and white. A bite into each one turned out as a surprise too as we don’t know the flavours of the chocolates. One had hazelnut, another had orange filling. Whatever flavour or filling though, their chocolates were decadent and satiates the call for great tasting chocolate.
Bon Bon Fine Chocolate
Bon Bon Fine Chocolate

We enjoyed these chocolates on Easter Monday and it went so well with tea. 

I checked Bon Bon’s website and I saw that they have a cafe in Strand Arcade and they also sell stuff like spreads, nougat, chocolate bars and bags of nuts in chocolate coating. I hope the Husband and I can visit the cafe soon. 


Store & Cafe: 
412-414 George St.
Shop 33 The Strand Arcade
Phone: 02 9232 2992

Store in QVB:
455 George St.
Queen Victoria Building
Phone: 02 9268 0675

READ MORE

Coffee Date at Coco Cubano

It’s been a long time since I’ve caught up with one of my dear friends and thankfully Meds and I found time to sit down and have a meal a few weeks after I came back from Japan. 

We both love drinking coffee and so I invited her to visit my area so we can have good coffee at Coco Cubano.
We met up in the middle of the afternoon and I haven’t had my lunch so we ordered food as well. I got the Classic Burger made up of Wagyu Beef sandwiched in between cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. It’s huge and very filling. I enjoyed eating this juicy burger with Coco Cubano’s chunky chips. 

Meds, on the other hand, got Garlic Pizza. We both love this simple pizza. Very cheesy just the way we like it.

After our coffee date, Meds shared a photo of her artwork on IG. I love it! She made an art diary of our coffee date. She’s amazing! She’s captured our meal, coffee and even our Japan photobooks which I shared with her, all thru an artwork.

It was a great catch-up that lasted til dinner time. Meds and I are the kind of friends where we could talk for hours and still have something to talk about. It’s the kind of friendship I’m grateful for.

Coco Cubano
Level 4, Westpoint Blacktown
Phone: 02 9676 4444

READ MORE

Breakfast At Baroque Bistro (The Rocks, Sydney)

23 April 2014 0 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

A french restaurant that serves delicious breakfast was a great choice during my morning walk with Mom at The Rocks last year. I’m glad that I got to try dining in this restaurant with her.

“Bienvenue!” means “welcome”, the sign on a bike at the entrance of Baroque Bistro. 

The rustic interiors of Baroque Bistro were dark and sexy, in hues of black and red. The huge windows gave great light to anyone taking a photograph.

My Mom had hot chocolate which she enjoyed and I had a cup of long black coffee which was comfortingly strong on a Friday morning. Just what I needed!

Raw sugar in cube form = love.

Eggs and Bacon Cocotte. Smoked speck, mushroom, tomato, garlic, hollandaise, served with grilled Sonoma sourdough. It smelled wonderful and tasted more beautiful than this photograph. 

Eggs Benedict in Baroque Style. Serrano ham, tomato, basil, hollandaise, toasted brioche bun. Eggs were perfectly poached, Serrano ham was divine and the hollandaise sauce was light and tasty. 


Baroque Bistro is also known for their pastries, bread and macarons. Our breakfast was very filling, hence, we had no room for dessert. Maybe next time, I’ll come back for afternoon tea or dessert.


88 George Street (corner Hickson Road)
The Rocks, Sydney
Phone: 02 9241 4811
READ MORE

Food Find: Haagen-Dazs’ Sakura Ice Cream

8 April 2014 2 Comments Category: Food, Japan, Travel

I’m seeing a couple of photos of friends having a great time in Japan under lovely Cherry Blossom Trees. And because of that, I just want to give friends a heads up about Haagen-Daz’s Sakura Ice Cream.

Based on an article from Japan Daily Press, Haagen-Daz Japan has gone pink this year and in celebration of their 30th anniversary in Japan, they came out with two floral ice creams: Sakura (Cherry Blossom) and Rose.

We were fortunate that we visited Japan towards the end of Winter, hence, we encountered a couple of food and drinks in relation to Spring. In one of the many nights we passed by a convenient store on the way back home, I found the Sakura Ice Cream. 

The ice cream consisted of a jelly-like layer on top which tasted like cherry. The base ice cream was vanilla and it had swirls of raspberry and Sakura powder. It tasted more fruity than floral to me. The Sakura flavour was subtle. 

Over-all, it was a good tasting ice cream. I’m quite fond of cherry and vanilla so this was something that was worth a try for me.

If you’re in Japan and love Haagen-Daz ice cream, have a try of their Sakura flavour.
READ MORE

February on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I’ll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.


February was amazing! It was a month of getting things done and preparing for the best travel of our lives. The first half of the month was spent getting advanced work done at the office, seeing loved ones and preparing for travel.  The second half was spent in Japan! The Husband’s childhood dream came true in just a plane ride that brought him to see the things he’s loved in Japan from afar. This travel took years to happen and we’ re very happy that it finally came true.

Here are a few highlights of our happiest February:

The best coconut drink I’ve tried so far. I love that it’s made of 100% water from green coconuts and that it has no sugar. 


Sweet Surprise! While studying maps and bus routes, the Husband gave me a surprise: the new Kit Kat Cookies & Cream.


Pink Roses towering above our book shelf. It brings a lot of life and cheer in this space of our home.


The festival program for Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival. I love this artwork created by Hu Ming. The program holds a lot of information regarding CNY celebrations in the metro, new year markets, boat races, lunar feasts and more.


It’s raining flowers on my desk! A workmate gave me yellow flowers yesterday. The boss gave me pink roses today. They’re lovely! Cheered me up amidst these busy times at work. 


Meat galore at our lunch party with Sydney Tweehearts! Crispy Pata, Roast Pork, Buffalo Wings and Kare-Kare.

Lay-over in Incheon International Airport because we flew Korean Air. The Sunset in South Korea welcomed us. It was a beautiful sight. We had coffee at Caffe Bene where we ate the MakMak macarons we bought in Sydney Airport. Had fun taking photos with Hello Kitty, Charlie Brown and Snoopy to pass the time.

Magical time in Kyoto. Our first adventure in Japan started in Kyoto where we got charmed by our traditional home, a  ryokan. Saw thousands of torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, an amazing bamboo forest in Arashiyama and the stunning Kinkakuji Temple. 

Morning walk at Nara Park and exploration of the Todai-ji Temple. To wall alongside deers was a fun experience. They’re quite aggressive if they see you with anything brown, they always think that you’re holding deer biscuit. We saw a huge Buddha inside Todai-ji Temple, such an astounding structure to behold.

Food tripping and a little shopping in Osaka. A day in Osaka where we filled our tummies with delicious Japanese street food. From Takoyakis, Gyozas and Okonomiyakis. We also tried Starbucks’ Sakura Frappuccino and Sakura Chiffon Cake for afternoon tea.  

Ten glorious days in Tokyo! Such an amazing city. We went to see Gundam and Sanrio characters. We saw Andy Warhol‘s exhibition and chased sunsets in the afternoon. One evening, we watched the Tokyo Tower lit up and just spent a long time looking down at Tokyo’s night view.

All around Tokyo. Felt like kids inside a store filled with more than 500 gachapons (toy vending machines) in Akihabara, had the best tempura dinner in Shinjuku, witnessed a Japanese wedding ceremony in Senso-ji Temple and got mesmerized by the thousands of people crossing Shibuya’s famous intersection.

Fun times at Tokyo Disneyland and J-World.  Photographing Tokyo Dome.

Snow Day in Gala Yuzawa. Lovely winter scenery, creating a small snowman and having ramen with a view of snow-filled mountains. Ramen and snow? I think this can only happen in Japan. 🙂

Japan has the tastiest food on earth. Sushi breakfast in Tsukiji Market. Strong coffee in Almond Cafe. The best Strawberry Chiffon Cake at Henri Charpentier’s Cafe. Tender and juicy Kuroge Wagyu Beef grilled on the teppan.

Last days of Winter in Tokyo. Freshly-baked Melonpan bread in Asakusa. Coffee klatch with IGmate and now friend, Agatha (with her cute baby Keito). Finding white, pink and fuchsia Plum Blossoms in the nearby park. Crossing Shibuya‘s famous intersection for the last time. 
And now we’re back home. It’s always bittersweet when an almost perfect travel ends. However, the keepsakes and our experiences will keep all our memories of Japan alive in our hearts. Most of all, we just feel very blessed and grateful that it has been a safe and wonderful journey.

If you want more photos of our Japan adventure, check out my instagram (@ibyang) and my Husband’s (@keemps17). 

I will be writing about our Japan travel in the coming weeks. I hope you tune in to this blog. If you have any questions about travelling to Japan, please leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer them thru my blog posts as best as I could.
Hope you’re having a great day!
READ MORE