Cupcakes by Corrie: ice cream macarons

Cupcakes by Corrie,

Her macarons filled with glory,

There’s nothing to worry,

Though your waist may be sorry!

What’s sitting in this humble little paper bag, you ask? 

A couple of weeks ago, Miss CC and I picked up these little goodies (Cupcakes from Corrie) that we had already nicknamed “Big Macs” because they are bigger than your average delicate macarons. However, what makes these any different apart from size? The filling is … ice cream.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Cliché, I know.

$6 each

“What flavours do you want?”

“Oh what a hard choice … I want all!”

“How about we just get all four and share it between us.”

Well, if you insist Miss CC – I guess I can accommodate.  But yes, I was elated with joy!

Apple Crumble

We couldn’t wait when we got back home, despite being told to put them straight into the freezer ... we had to eat some! So, we start with the apple crumble and banoffee pie.  The apple crumble has hints of cinnamon and lovely bites of raisins. Giving you that familiar apple crumble kick.

Banoffee Pie

The banoffee pie would probably be considered our favourite having the most amount of flavour. The distinctive banana hit is hard to go amiss.

Yes, let’s get cranking on some study … concentrate. My mind constantly flowed back to the two lonely and bright macarons sitting in my freezer waiting to be demolished into my belly!

Blueberry cheesecake

But yes, we totally should have been patient girls and placed the other two in the freezer for at least half an hour to enjoy. But #noregrets. The blueberry cheesecake macaron is more subtle with their flavours, little bits of blueberry excites the tastebuds.

Red velvet

The red velvet as expected gives you the cream cheese hit, though don’t worry, it’s great that it’s subtle again. But honestly, I know I said “subtle” for basically all flavours…but you really don’t want them to have too much as it would defeat the whole macaron experience.

AND BOY, those shells!! I was expecting them to have lost some texture from being placed in the freezer with ice cream squeezed between.  But the chewy yet fresh crunch exterior made me squirm in all ways!

We were content. Well, until we realised we ate 2 “big macs” each in total…

So Miss Corrie makes these macarons as a batch and posts on her facebook page that you can put orders through for collection. So if you’re interested, like the page and watch the space for when her next batch is in the making!! And as the name suggests, she obviously makes more than ice cream filled macarons! Just check her page out and see what awesome goodies her talent-ness creates!

How I wish I had a touch of creativeness and kitchen-friendly soul like her… #envy

Coco Cubano: Kensington

What’s good at Coco Cubano,

How about them bad boys,

You may want ‘em pronto,

For your belly to enjoy!

The semester is back, Miss CC and I dedicated our Saturday arvo of week two to sitting in the law library of UNSW, and we gave ourselves an hour break for lunch at Coco Cubano. You order and pay at the counter then get given a number for your food to be served to you.

Left - Right: Coconut shake, Mint Shake (R) $6.40

Shakes!! Once we saw it on the menu, there was just no going back! I chose the mint shake, because I simply love mint! I found that it wasn’t very minty at first sip, but as you keep drinking you do get that hit of freshness. Miss CC got the coconut shake, and it was almost like a chocolate bounty! Yum!

Beef nachos $15.90

We start with the beef nachos, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole makes Cassie one happy girl. Although it was tasty, I did find that it lacked salsa throughout, as it was in a small heap in the middle.

Chicken wings with chilli aioli $12.90

Chicken wings! They were most recommended by everyone; online and also by the wait staff. However, we both found it rather salty. There was not much else we could taste, though you do get a slight kick in the spices when you cover it with the chilli aioli but the salt really overpowered everything.

Left - Right: Pork Slider,  Beef Slider $10.90 for 2

Miss CC also chose the sliders; you get to choose two options of the three available. Today, Miss CC chose the beef slider, which was like a mini cheeseburger, and the pork, which was much too spicy for her.

Spicy bad boy potato wedges $9.90

So, we had ordered the corncobs and was later told they had run out of the corn and we could choose something else. We saw the wedges that were served with the burgers earlier and we had felt a slight pang of food envy, so this was our chance! And boy, we were so glad there were no more corn! Because these bad boys have not been named incorrectly! Super crunchy on the outside and massively mushy and soft on the insides, the aioli and chilli powder were just a bonus! We could have swept this bowl clean had we not already demolished so much food.

Everyone gets food envy every so often, so have you ever been lucky to alter your order to get your envied dish?

Hit: Bad boys

Miss: Chicken wings, nachos

Dined with entertainment voucher, however prices noted are full price

Random note: Due to uni being back into full force and like all things, assignments like to be bunched together, so for the next month I'll be back to posting once a week.

Brighton the Corner, Petersham

Brighton on the corner,

Do expect a wait.

Plus an incorrect order,

Would it seal their fate?

Youngest aunt, Aunty JS was celebrating her birthday, and I decided to take her out with my mother, and stinky (cousin) out for a Sunday breakfast. Also seeking the chance of slipping in a café that I have anticipated to try! Brighton the Corner it was!

“They have homemade crumpets!”

“What’s that?”

Goes into explaining mode…

“I heard TRUMPETS!”

Little stinky never fails to amuse me in any way.

Latte and hot chocolate $3.50

We start with drinks; mother likes her hot chocolate extra hot and had asked for this. But upon arrival, she did find it warm and had to finish it instantly before it got cold.

Chai tea with soy milk $3.50

I poured my chai tea and wondered why it was so white, a little confused I took a sip. No chai spices were evident, with a peek in the pot – there were no leaves, opps? I waved the wait staff, he saw my white glass, he voiced my concern before I did and had it changed.

Braised brisket $17

I knew what I wanted before I was in the café, and what was that? The braised brisket had been calling for me ever since I saw images and blogs about it surface. The brisket is soft, the mojo verde gives the dish a kick with flavour. The potato hash, comes more like a cut up bake potato. I don't know why, but I would have loved to have a piece of sourdough to give you that toast like crunch.

But look at that egg porn!

Homemade crumpets $14

The crumpets! Homemade crumpets, I found was like a crossover between an English muffin outside with fluffy crumpet innards. We would have enjoyed it if it was just a tad sweeter, or that could be because we have such a sweet tooth? But remember to let your clump of butter to really melt into your crumpets for more of the buttery goodness.

So … yes, I had read previously there is a wait. Yes, they were busy. But I may have forgotten to mention the first fact to my eating companions …  so, unfortunately they weren’t too impressed by the wait.

Note for readers: do expect a 30-45 minute wait on your food and more importantly, do stress this to your fellow companions too! Nothing worse than awkwardly sitting there knowing there is a wait, yet … they didn’t….

Have you ever waited for your food for a ridiculous amount of time, and was your wait worth it?

Chinese Herbalist

“Are you on steroids?”

“Yes…”

“I can tell, cause you’re fat.”

Old Chinese doctors don’t beat around the bush. No offence was taken, because he is not the first Chinese specialist that has matter-of-factly pointed the obvious out. Then he adds, "I will put something in your medication to help you lose the weight. Steroids only make you filled with water, and puffy. All you need to do it pee it all out." 

How much peeing will one need to do?

So, the past month or so my skin has been an emotional and physical roller coaster, more down hills than up. I was feeling like I was falling back into what I had gone through about 10 years ago. Broken skin, sleepless nights, itch where it doesn’t stop and not to mention having the white, sticky blood leaking from my face and around my ears. And nothing could be done to stop it.

It’s almost like a landmine, you touch one area and you’re done for. The itch is just never ending.

Even though Chinese doctors are not instant with results and can take a long process for any signs of effect – I decided I wanted to give this another shot. I want to work off those steroids.

What I learnt from the doctor, my body is in the hot blood category meaning that I need to eat cooler foods. My immune system is completely out of whack and we need to bring that back into normality.

And something I always knew, eczema is not curable. However, we can use these medications to help maintain it and keep it at bay.

But the following week, I remembered I had not told the doctor something. My skin may feel hot when you touch it but I feel cold inside. I can shiver like crazy, and when in the sun I will get shocks of shiver running down my spine to the point that it hurts. This is when I learn that, my body is both hot and cold. This is when the doctor shakes his head and tells me that my blood circulation is simply put bad.

I see the doctor once a week, and I am oh-so-lucky to drink herbs (it is leaves, bark, and dried up insects). This changes weekly, according to see what works and what doesn’t. As my body will change throughout this course, I am told that sometimes my stomach may not be able to take the medications and can be sore to the point of getting the runs. And if this happens, stop taking the medication. I have been told this many times, and never experienced it. Until this week.

The bitter taste is nothing you would imagine or can be compared to anything. I mean, it really is just a bowl of water brewed with barks and what not, it's not something you usually eat... However, perhaps with age it isn’t as bad as I remember when drinking as a child. You do get used to the weird, bitter and unbearable taste. It lingers, water does not wash the taste away.

That is why you get these little hawk flakes with your medication. These remind me of childhood because these used to be treats we got as children. The taste is strong enough to help subside that bitter foul medicine.

Even though I have been drinking these medications for about a month now, I do still get my ups and downs. It does not guarantee you to instantly be healed but I am willing to use the time to see how it will go in the long run.

Whatever you do, you need a positive attitude and to believe in it.

Pho Phd, Marrickville

Every time I go to Marrickville, I have wanted to try Pho Phd – as my brother swears by it. Saying that it is the place to be. But every time I’m there, it’s closed. So, on a Tuesday night the brother and I meet our uncle there for dinner with his family.

We see the queue as we walk over and it’s only a Tuesday night. Thankfully, with a party of seven, we are lucky enough that they have one big table left.

Thai styled fish cakes $10

We start with the fish cakes, chewy outsides with mushy innards. The spice is enough to give you a kick in the tastebuds.

Boneless stuffed chicken wings $12

Boneless chicken wings? Um … yes please! Stuffed with mince as well. Like can this get any better? It is a bite-full, and has a lot of different things going on at the same time, especially when you dip it into the fish sauce. But the slight crisp on the chicken makes me one happy girl.

Vietnamese crepe-styled pancake (prawn & pork) $12.50 

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same to the Vietnamese crepe. I was actually looking forward to this, since the first time I had it was at Red Lantern. I thought perhaps being in a little local restaurant, I could try a more “traditional” take. This however, was full of oil and that was all I could taste.

Combination Pho Regular $12; Large $15; Extra large $19

BRING. ON. THE. PHO! So, there’s a regular, large and extra large to choose from. On this fair winter’s night, I proudly admit to you all, I went with the large. My brother on the other hand went with the EXTRA large. Now, I tried to capture it for you all to see his basin pho, but it didn’t turn out too well with no comparison to see how MASSIVE it was.

The broth was delicious, packed with flavour. There was a generous amount of noodles to meat ratio, or is it because I ordered the large that I think that? However, one downfall is that it was not hot. It was luke warm, I’m not sure about you but when I order a bowl of pho (or any noodle soup) I expect myself to be blowing endlessly before I can eat it. And nothing worse than a luke warm bowl of soup on a winter’s day.

Vietnamese jelly drink

Please enlighten me, do you prefer a bowl of steaming hot noodles blowing endlessly yet still burn your mouth or a bowl of luke warm noodles where you can simply indulge instantly?