ichiban boshi, sydney.

I love Japanese food. My friends all know this so my good friend took me to her favourite ramen place, Ichiban Boshi, conveniently located right next to Kinokuniya in Sydney's Galleries of Victoria. Now, I'm quite a small person so I usually don't eat all that much food but despite the massive serving sizes at Ichiban, I managed to polish off all of my ramen with ease.

Their Tantan-men is the most popular choice, which is what myself and two other of my friends ordered. My other friend had ramen earlier that day so decided to opt for the Katsu-ju Chicken which is served with rice.

Find them:
I went to the Ichiban next to Kinokuniya in Sydney CBD however they have several other stores that you can check out!
Bondi Junction: Shop 1, 171-173 Oxford St

They also have one up in Queensland -
Southport: Shop 1, Cecil Hotel Complex, Scarborough St

Edamame, $4.80

 Katsu-ju Chicken, $11

Tantan-men, $13

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frangelico spiced highball.

This was my favourite cocktail when I attended the Frangelico Master Class. Much like the first cocktail, the Frangelico Lime & Soda, this one is a very refreshing cocktail! When I first read the ingredient list I was rather put off by the ginger beer, it's not something I enjoy drinking, but after having this my feelings towards ginger beer has changed! Thanks Frangelico ;) Mmm now I'm craving one...

This recipe makes one serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Frangelico
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 30ml cloudy apple juice
• 30ml ginger beer

METHOD:

1. Pour Frangelico, lemon juice and apple juice into glass shaker filled to top with ice (it's very important to fill the ice to the very top!)
2. Put metal bottom to glass shaker - hit the bottom of the metal shaker to tighten to glass
3. Carefully turn shaker over, holding both top and bottom and shake!
4. Strain into tall glass filled with ice - leaving a little space at the top
5. Top with ginger beer
6. Garnish with lemon wedge and grated nutmeg
7. VOILA! Pop in a straw and enjoy!

 Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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tiramisu.

I fell in love with tiramisu at the same time I fell in love with coffee, and when I was old enough the "adult" version with a shot of Frangelico made it that much better.

So, I decided, seeing as yesterday was so hot, that a cold dessert was required and settled on a tiramisu.

This recipes makes 6-8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 cups (500g) mascarpone 
• Pinch of salt
• 20 sponge finger biscuits
• 2 cups strong black (espresso) coffee
• 150g dark chocolated, grated

METHOD:

1. Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and creamy
2. Carefully fold in mascarpone
3. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and fold into mixture
4. Spread a thin layer of this cream at the bottom of your dish
5. Soak sponge finger biscuits in the coffee before layering on top of the cream in the dish
6. Cover with a layer of cream and top with some grated chocolate
7. Repeat this until all the ingredients are used up - I made two layers with this recipe
8. Put into fridge for 3 hours to chill and VOILA! You've got yourself some tasty tiramisu!

Note: This recipe contains raw eggs - so use organic or free-range eggs to avoid any risk of salmonella.

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pablo & rusty's, epping.

I love meeting up with friends in their "hometown" (read: their suburb) because I get to be taken to new places I would never have been to on my own, it's local knowledge that you need a guide for!

So when I first met up with my friend in her hometown of Epping (the Ping!) she took me to Pablo & Rusty's right next to the train station. I absolutely loved it the first time so decided that we'd meet there again!

It's a cute little cafe that serves amazing coffee and even better food! The ingredients are all organic, natural and healthy which just makes it that much better! Another plus is that the food and coffee isn't overly expensive! My meal (toastie and coffee) only cost me $10!

Find them:
I went to the one in Epping: 42 Langston Place, but they have several locations!
Lane Cove: The Plaza, 13 Burns Bay Rd
Gordon: 1 St Johns Ave
Sydney Olympic Park: Jacaranda Square, Cnr Dawn Fraser Ave & Park St

They also have a HQ which JUST serves coffee and can be found at: 19 Porter St, Ryde.

 Bacon & Free Range Egg Roll with Tomato Relish, $7.50

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

 Mango Nectar Chia Pudding, $6.50

Kurobuta Ham & Madden Cheese Toastie, $6.50

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spinach & feta pastizzis.

I first made this recipe for a picnic I had with my friends three years ago and ever since this has been my renown dish that I whip out whenever I need to bring food - well before I started baking dessers... Many of my friends are vegetarian so this recipe was perfect for picnic days so everyone could have some.

This recipe makes 40 small, 20 big pastizzis.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 brown onions, diced
• [amount] g chopped spinach - I use frozen, so make sure you defrost and strain it before use
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• [amount] g feta cheese
• [amount] g cottage cheese
• 10 sheets of puff pastry
• 50g of unsalted butter, melted

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Dice brown onions, and defrost and chop spinach
3. Brown onions in a pan, then add chopped spinach
4. Once spinach is lightly cooked, add eggs, feta and cottage cheese
5. Once cheese has melted, set mixture aside to cool
6. Cut pastry into in or into 4 strips, spoon a bit of cooled mixture onto one end and fold into triangle down the strip
7. Place pastizzis onto oven tray lined with baking paper, lightly brush melted butter over pastizzi
8. Pop into oven until golden
9. VOILA! Take them to a picnic, or just kick back with a pastizzi...or five.
10. Note: You don't have to bake them all at once as it does make a fair bit. You can have them set on the oven tray without butter and pop into the fridge for a day or two before baking. Just brush the butter on before baking :)

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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oliver brown, rhodes.

Confession: I love chocolate. So when I spotted Oliver Brown at my local shopping centre I knew it would be a crime not to try it, and boy am I glad I did!

Oliver Brown have the most spectacular selection of gelato and use lovely, creamy Belgium chocolate as their core ingredient. Me being me (read: a dessert whore - when I go out with my family, or even just my boyfriend, I co-ordinate everyone to get a different dessert that I want to try so I can steal some...) I got the OB Ice-Cream Treat which gives you 3 scoops of gelato, bread sticks, Oreos and a HUGE "shot" aka pot of Belgium chocolate. All of this was only $12.50!

When they brought out the dessert I most definitely wasn't expecting what is pictured below! First of all, the fruit loops put me off a little. I've never liked Fruit Loops growing up as a kid, and to be honest, it was a bit of a shock seeing them put so generously on a dessert that sounded so elegant. The bread sticks also put me off a little but realised very quickly how perfect they were for dipping (read: spooning) the chocolate into my greedy mouth.

Find them:
They have a few locations around Sydney, but the one I went to was in Rhodes shopping center near Target.
Top Ryde - Ground Floor Shop C3000, Top Ryde Shopping Centre
Chatswood Westfield - Shop 212, Westfield Shopping Centre
Rhodes - Shop 51, Rhodes Shopping Centre

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frangelico lime & soda.

This recipe is easy and extremely refreshing! Perfect for a relaxing day and forgetting about reality, even if just temporarily.

This recipe makes one serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Frangelico
• Soda water
• Two lime wedges
• Ice

METHOD:

1. Pour Frangelico into tall glass filled with ice
2. Top with soda water
3. Squeeze in two lime wedges and stir
4. VOILA! Your perfect summer drink!

Brand Ambassador Oliver Stuart making the Frangelico Lime & Soda at the Master Class

Image courtesy of Trish Nicol PR

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apple pie.

My favourite winter dessert would have to be the apple pie. Luckily, Sydney's weather is a bit bipolar so I can still get away with making/eating apple pie in spring ;) My love for apple pies first started in Year 11 when I fell in love with the pie maker, Lee Pace, from my favourite TV show Pushing Daisies. I would frequently buy whole (full-sized) apple pies from my local Woolies and plonk down in front of the TV and polish it off while watching Pushing Daisies. However, Woolies frozen food being Woolies frozen food, it never tasted or looked as good as what the lanky pie maker was making on the show. I didn't even consider making apple pies until second year university when my baking was reignited!

So, here's my very simple apple pie recipe. Best serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream ;)

This recipe makes approx. 8-10 slices.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 Granny Smith apples
• Two squares of short crust pastry - I promise to start making this one day, I just have some left over in the freezer
• Ground cinnamon
• ½ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup water

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Lay over one sheet of short crust pastry on tart tin, trimming the excess
3. Poke holes on the base and place baking paper over base and pour out baking beans, or rice and place in oven until lightly golden
4. While base is cooking, skin and core apples, and cut into wedges (or dice them, depends on what you like)
5. Put apples, sugar, cinnamon and water into large saucepan over medium heat, stir regularly and don't let the sugar burn! Burnt sugar is very bitter.
6. Once all the apples have soften, pour apple mixture into tart tin
7. Place second sheet of short crust over the top of the apple pie, fork down the edges
8. Put three slits on the top of the pie
   Optional: decorate with three leaves made out of the excess pastry
9. Put pie in oven until golden brown
10. VOILA! Your apple pie is ready to be devoured! Scoop a bit of vanilla ice-cream and enjoy the warm treat!

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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night noodle markets, sydney.

Every year when spring hits Sydney, Hyde Park gets transformed into the perfect location to get your noodle hit. With various Asian restaurants taking part you get a variety of cuisines to choose from, some might say too many. Let's just say my boyfriend wasn't too thrilled that we did 4-5 laps of the markets before I settled on a place to eat from - albeit a slightly biased choice.

So what did we have?
The choice I made was a little biased, I chose to dine on something from my friend's mum's malaysian restaurant Jackie M. It's a renown restaurant hailing from Concord's food strip Majors Bay Rd. I use to get my friend to bring in food from the restaurant for my lunch. Eating the Char Kway Teow with chicken and chili, at only $15 for a giant portion, reminded me of my highschool years.

If you missed out on the markets, don't fret it'll be back next year. But in the meantime why not visit Jackie M? I know where I'm going the next time I'm in Concord!

Find them:
85 Majors Bay Rd, Concord

Wild berry Rekorderlig to go with our dinner

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lemon tart.

I love lemon, or just anything citrus-y. The first time I tried this recipe I fell in love with it immediately. The recipe is actually for a slice, but because I didn't have a nice brownie/slice pan I used a tart tin instead - as you do. If you have any spare lemons, this is definitely the recipe to use it up on :)

This recipe makes about 10 slices.

INGREDIENTS:

• 150g plain flour
• 4 tablespoon icing sugar
• Finely grated zest of ½ a lemon
• 115g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 175g icing sugar, sifted
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons - be sure it's finely grated, I lost my grated and tried to finely chop and slice, that was a BAD idea...
• Freshly squeezed juice of 4 lemons
• 125ml double cream

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Make base by putting flour, icing sugar and lemon zest of ½ a lemon into a food processor and process for a few seconds until combined
3. Add butter to processor and process until fine crumbs
4. Pour base into greased tart tin and press with fingers to make even layer, and side - note that because it's not an actual tart base, the sides will melt down, so make it a little higher on the tin
5. Bake in oven for about 25mins, or until pale golden - once done, remove from over and leave to cool
6. To make the topping, crack the three eggs into a jug and beat until broken up
7. Add sifted icing sugar and whisk until thoroughly combined
8. Add lemon zest and juice, mix thoroughly
9. Gently work in cream
10. Once base is completely cooled, pour lemon mixture onto base
11. Bake for about 25mins, or until firm
12. Let tart rest and cool before dusting some sifted icing sugar on top
13. VOILA! Tasty citrus dessert! Now, note, four lemons might be too much depending on how big they are. I had giant lemons and put them all in and it was VERY lemony (that and the non-finely grated zest didn't help). So grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy :)

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blackbird cafe, cockle bay wharf.

Recently I went to the Blackbird Cafe in Cockle Bay with my cousin and co-worker to grab a bite of lunch to chat over my cousin's impending wedding. It was a hot Saturday afternoon so we knocked back a few soft drinks and had a light nibble. We ordered a Mediterranean salad with chicken and a supreme pizza to share - mightn't sound like a lot for three people, but we were left very satisfied.

The salad was absolutely amazing. The chicken cost a little extra, but was absolutely worth it! It was refreshing on a hot day and just the thought of it now is making me salivate! The pizza was just as amazing as the salad, and lucky for me their supreme don't include cooked pineapples - I just don't like them cooked on in warm food, yeah, I'm a little weird like that...

Find them:
Balcony level, Cockle Bay Wharf - conveniently above Lindt Cafe (read my review on Lindt Cafe here)

Mediterranean Salad with Chicken, $21.90

Supreme Pizza, $24.90

 
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