Zumbo Mania

Mr FBC and I had every intention to go to the now infamous 'Adriano Zumbo' Patisserie in Balmain before he appeared on Masterchef with his Croquembouche, Tonka Bean Pannacotta with Passionfruit slick & Chocolate Mousse Cake Creations. But... alas... we didn't :(

So, by the time I got there on an recent Saturday morning there was a very,very long line of eager people keen to partake in 'Zumbo Mania'.

However, all our worries were gone when we got to the front of the line. We bought a couple of croissants, a few macaroons and a bright red little cake creatively entitled 'Escape from a Columbian Rainforest'.

Note to self re: macaroons. I highly recommend the salt and vinegar flavoured macaroons. Sounds odd... but tastes great!

Now for some photos of 'Escape from a Columbian Rainforest' - truly a work of (cake) art. I've taken to calling it 'Coke Can Cake with Gooey Bright Red Syrup'. I've noticed Mr Zumbo now has a new and improved version of the cake with a very life-like softdrink can lid (which is made of chocolate but painted silver). A Table for Two (an awesome foodblog with fantastic food photography) has photos of the earlier version of the cake.

Here are my photos

Ta Dah... I present the Coke Can Cake.

Aint it pretty! It's simply too good to eat.

But we must try a little. It's made of a chocolate sponge, chocolate mousse and inside there is also bright red gooey fiz wiz like syrup...yummo!

Oh no... it's all gone :( How did that happen?

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
296 Darling St
Balmain NSW 2041
(02) 9810 7318
www.adrianozumbo.com‎

Ceeeeelebrate good times.. C'mon (to Tetsuyas)

Mr FBC and I have been wanting to go to Tetsuyas for aaaaaages.

You need a good occasion to go to Tetsuyas (primarily because for the price for a dinner for two you could buy a pretty nice handbag and matching shoes!). And, what better occasion than the 10 year anniversary of Mr and Mrs FBC.

Btw..was I the only one wondering why Tetsuya Wakada did not feature on the Masterchef series? Maybe cos he's in a class of his own.

Having booked over 7 months ago for this anniversary dinner we were sooooooo excited at the opportunity to dine here. As soon as you step into this restaurant... you know you're somewhere special.

Being new to foodblogging we weren't sure of the 'food photographing' protocols. So, we asked one of the waiters if we could take photos of the food and he said 'Yes - of course you can!' with a big smile.

So.. of we went... snapping away at each course (except for course no.1) before devouring every bit. Hope you enjoy the photos. Although, not sure if our photos do the food justice?!

For your info, course no.1 was a 'Cepe & Chesnut Mushroom Soup with Shaved Mushroom'... but we forgot to take a photo - doH!. We did manage to take photos of all the other courses.

So..here goes...

Course No. 2 - Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar & Ginger
Mr FBC doesn't like oysters... but he liked these ones.

Course No. 3 - Smoked Ocean Trout & Avruga Caviar. There was also an egg yolk on top of the trout. The waitress suggested that the dish is best eaten all mixed up. And indeed it was..

Course No. 4 - Leek and Crab Custard - delicate soup. I thought the lone little green dot on the edge of the soup was cute.

Course No. 5 - Sashimi of Blue Fin Tuna with Wasabi & Ginger

Course No. 6 - Tetsuya's Signature Dish - Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple, Daikon & Wasabi Seasonal Green Salad

The trout was delicious with a very flavoursome salty crust.

Course 7 Terrine of Queensland Spanner Crab with Avocado. Cute as a button.

Course 8 - Grilled Fillet of Barramundi with Braised Baby Fennel

Course 9 - Wagyu Beef with Lime & Wasabi

Course 10 - Twice Cooked deboned spatchcock with spelt risotto & Manjimup Truffles

This was the first time that I've had truffles!?

Course 12 - Cannelli Beans and Mascarpone - this was very unsual... salty and sweet. The dish was meant to be a palate cleanser to help with the transition between the mains to desserts.

And onto the 3 courses of desserts..

Course 13 - Pear Sorbet with Orange Jelly & Custard Apple Mont Blanch

Lemon Scented Floating Island with Vanilla Bean Anglaise

Course 14 -Chocolate Ganach with Green Tea & Red Beans. This was the dessert that made me go from satisfied to 'really full'. The dessert is definitely sexy... with it's shiny little chocolate hat tipped to the side. There was one layer in the dish which I wasn't too sure about. I think it may have been the red beans... but it sort of had a salty seaweed taste?!

Course 15 - Chocolate Fondant with Hazelnut & Praline.

And last but not least....Petit Fours to accompany our coffees. There was a green tea cake, chocolate macaroon and I can't remember the third item as I was really, really full so couldn't think straight.

So full.... so satisfied. To top it off... the restaurant had fabulous waitstaff who were professional, informative and extremely attentive. We'll see you again 'Testuyas'!

Testsuya's Restaurant

529 Kent Street

Sydney

Tel: 92672900

Wagaya - Haymarket (Chinatown)

Having been inspired by a few foodblogs (Not Quite Nigella & Grab Your Fork ) and a curiousity for 'touchscreen' ordering, Mr FBC and I plus a few of our friends decided to try Wayaga in Haymarket, Chinatown.

Warning - it's very easy to get carried away with the touch screen ordering system.

Sorry - forgot to take photos of the touchscreen... but you can see piccies on other foodblogs (Not Quite Nigella ). Basically you order your dishes from the touch screen menu and then 'voila'.. the dishes appear in no time.

Here are some photos.

A platter of yummy sushi and sashimi.

Oxtongue Skewers.... taste like beef?

And one of the most exciting dishes of the evening.... Sushi Roulette! One of the little suckers is filled with hot wasabi. Fortunately, neither I or Mr FBC were the victims of the Wasabi bomb.


Here are the details for the place...

Wagaya

Level 1, 78-86 Harbour Street,

Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9212 6068