Food Archives | Page 58 of 68

Cheesecake on a Chocolate Brownie Base

2 September 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 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.

Restaurant: Takeru Japanese Cuisine (Sydney, Australia)

28 August 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 5 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food, Photography

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.

31st Monthsary Breakfast at Cascade Cafe

26 August 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 6 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Food, Milestones, Photography, The Married Life

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.

Litratong Pinoy: Mirienda

20 August 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 6 Comments Category: Food, Litratong Pinoy

Ito ang aking lahok para sa Litratong Pinoy ngayong Huwebes na may temang MIRIENDA.

Ang Vanilla Cupcake at Green Tea ay isa sa mga pagkain at inumin na minsan kong kinakain tuwing mirienda. Gusto ko ang kombinasyon nitong dalawang ito dahil sweet na sweet ang dating ng Vanilla Cupcake habang ang Green Tea naman ay refreshing kahit ito’y mainit.

Maligayang Huwebes!

Aroma Festival 2009

21 July 2009 Ibyang Sanchez 5 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food, Photography, Tips

The Aroma Festival 2009 on 19 July 2009 is one my favorite festivals in Sydney solely because it is for coffee, tea and spice lovers.

I’ve missed this event for the past two years and this year, I just had to witness the unfolding of this festival even for only just a quick visit.

The festival was held at the Rocks in Circular Quay where you can also conveniently find two of Australia’s famous landmarks: The Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. On a winter’s day, we were lucky to have a glorious sunny weather on Sunday, made hanging out in the city a more hassle-free experience.

As soon as we arrived at The Rocks at 9:30am, we were greeted with numerous stalls that opened early. According to the website, the festival is only from 10am-5pm. But since the Husband and I had another engagement to attend to by lunchtime, we decided to leave home early and just have breakfast at The Rocks.

All the stalls were classified in four regions: The Continent, The Latin Quarter, The Oasis and The Orient.

The Rocks prepaped a map (see my photo on the upper left, that’s me holding a map on my left hand) so one can easily find their favorite stall/s.

The place was abuzzed with lots of people already by 10am. Each stall had several onlookers and people are lining up a queue to order what-have-yous from their stall of preference.

As for me, my first stop was at a stall that offers Barista Classes. Some of you may not know it, but one of my dreams is to learn more about coffee. Since last year, I’ve been wanting to enrol in a Coffee School and learn how to make coffee the “Barista way”. Like any other dreams, I’m still waiting for the right moment to pursue this and of course, buy my dream coffee machine. For now, I’m happy learning thru websites and making inquiries with a couple of coffee schools.

Most of the coffee schools at the festival offered good discounts on their classes, books and DVDs. So if you’re interested to enrol in one of their classes and buy their books/DVD, be ready to pay right there and then in order to avail of the discounts.

Before we left the festival, I decided to buy CoffeeSchool‘s Coffee Art Book and DVD for only AUD$20.00. I’ve already read thru the book and it’s user-friendly and the instructions are easy to follow. I’ve yet to watch the DVD. I plan to see it this coming weekend.

After a few minutes of wandering around, following our senses–smelling aromas here and there, we finally decided that we should have breakfast.

And this was breakfast!

Yummy little pancakes with chocolate syrup and strawberries and cream we bought from the Dutch Poffertjes stall.

All the yummy little pancakes were fresh from the pan. Nothing spectacular with the chocolate syrup (just the normal ones we can get from the supermarket) but the fresh strawberries and cream on top made a big difference to the whole ensemble. Since the little pancakes were bite-sized, it was easy to eat them while we wandered around.

Now that we’ve got breakfast on our hands (literally!), the quest for coffee began. We found ourselves at the Grinders Coffee Square and availed of Grinders Coffee’s AUD$2.00 coffee.

I ordered my favorite Long Black coffee (a.k.a. as Cafe Americano) while the Husband indulged himself with a Latte. Loved the smell and taste of their coffee. I learned that Grinders Coffee started being popular in Melbourne (the coffee capital of Australia) and is now gaining the thumbs up all over Australia.

With every coffee purchase, you get to try their bite-sized biscuits. The Husband and I came back twice for their biscuits. Went deliciously well with their coffee.

With breakfast done and coffee in our hand, we decided to walk back to the train station as we needed to be on our way to our next agenda. However, another coffee stall caught my eye.

I made a quick dash to Mokador‘s stall and ordered a cup of Capuccino. It was one of the richest coffee I’ve tasted. I love it.

And yes, that’s how I ended our short but sweet rendezvous at The Aroma Festival 2009: with a cup of coffee in each hand! 🙂 I’m such a coffee fiend, I know…and I love it. I’m passionate about my coffee and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hot tips:

1. Be early. The Aroma Festival in Sydney only happens once a year from 10am-5pm. We were there at 9:30am and there were lots of people already. When we left at around 11am, it was hard to explore the place, less room for walking…and the queue in every stall is doubling up by the minute.

2. Check The Rocks website to know what’s instore for you when you get there. The website also had a list of participating stalls and their respective promos/discounts for the day.

3. Take public transport if it will seem more convenient for you. There are road closures during festivals in the city and parking may be a problem as well.

4. Be ready for the possible big crowd–and all other concerns related to it. My only wish last Sunday was that hopefully next time, they’d make this a 3-day event, or even a 2-day event. Since it was only a 1-day festival, of course, everyone will come flocking in just to witness the event. It was hard to appreciate every stall and its products when all you can see are people swarming around it.

5. Enjoy the great discounts. Coffee is only AUD$2.00/cup. Lots of discounts from every stall for their products like coffee, coffee machines, tea, etc.

All photos (except for the 11th and 12th photo) in this article are taken by Chris Sanchez.