Deus Cafe, Camperdown, Sydney

Latte ($3)

When Deus Ex Machina first opened up I loved the place. What wasn’t there to love with the custom motorbikes, cool clothes and cappuccinos. Mrs FBC and I were regular customers in the early days before Deus became mainstream and decided to turn the small café next to the bike shop into a café with a small bike shop. It was during this transition that we had a very bad dining experience at Deus one morning that put us off this place for a long time ( let’s just say there was very bad burnt coffee involved and no one likes a dodgy coffee - ever!).

main entrance to the cafe and the stylish interior

However, for some time now I’ve had a hankering to go back and give Deus another try. If not for the coffee, then at least for the super cool motorbikes. And I’m happy to say the Deus café is now better than ever.

Mrs FBC and I went there for a quick lunch and as the photos show this place has lost none of its cool. But, more importantly, the food and the coffee (!) were great.

baristas hard at work (l); smoked trout salad with poached egg, kipfler potatoes & hollandaise ($16) (r)

Sharing a communal table, Mrs FBC happily dined on the smoked trout salad with kipfler potatoes, hollandaise sauce and a poached egg ($16), while I had the roast pork roll with tomato relish and pumpkin ($14). The pork was a beautifully tender and thick with just the right amount of fat on it and was well matched with the sweetness of the chutney. To top it off, it came with a side of home made potato crisps which were crunchy and lightly seasoned.

Roast pork roll ($14), there's more to Deus than food!

What’s the verdict? Well I’m happy to say that Deus will now be returning to our regular list, which will give me a lot more opportunity to eye off those bikes and pretend that I may one day buy one of them. Oh, and there’s also a lot more of the menu for us to try our way through. We hear that the Deus Cafe is also now open for dinner Wed - Sat so will definitely be back to give the dinner menu a try too.

Deus Cafe

98-104 Parramatta Road

Camperdown, Sydney

ph: 85942800

SIFF Outing No. 2 - Sugar Hit at the Swissotel, Sydney

Sugar Hit Dessert at Swissotel with Sparkling Wine or Cocktail ($20 - bargain!)

I've never been to a 'Sugar Hit' event before. I just don't have a sweet tooth so I'm never too fussed. I know - what is wrong with me? However, to celebrate finishing another uni assignment (1 more to go!), Mr FBC and I decided to hit the streets for a 'Sugar Hit' one balmy Friday night in October.

I originally wanted to go to the Sugar Hit at Azuma Kushiyaki @ Regent Street after reading and drooling about the amazing 'East Meets West Dessert Tasting Plate' described by Helen @ Grab Your Fork . However, I was too late and it was already booked out :(
Fortunately, Azuma has extended their Sugar Hits through the month of November. It's the same dessert.... 9-11pm ....Monday to Thursday. Book in soon if you missed out in October!


On the dessert place was a white chocolate and raspberry layered mousse cake. The cake was light and fluffly... but sort of reminded me of the cakes you might get in a Chinese Bakery (of which I'm not a fan). Also on the plate was a small pyramid of dark chocolate ganache, plus and a white chocolate and cherry mousse (this was my favourite). The mousse was rich and creamy. And, for a bit of a suprise after devouring the delectable mousse, little sweet, juicy cherries were found at the bottom of the cup.

Hennessy Mule Cocktail

To accompany the dessert we were offered a choice of either a glass of Brown Brothers Sparkling Wine or a Hennessy Cognac Cocktail (I think it was called the 'Hennessy Mule' and contained cognac muddled with fresh lime, a dash of bitters and topped with ginger beer served over ice). Not being a fan of 'old man' liquor, I opted for the sparkling wine... but Mr FBC had a mule and loved it.
The SIFF Sugar Hits are over for another year but will be back again in October 2010. Next time, I'm going to remember to book in EARLY!

Swissôtel Sydney

68 Market Street Sydney NSW

ph: 02 9238 7082

SIFF Outing No.1 - Let's Do Lunch @ Becasse

Complimentary appetizers (olive crostini with cream cheese)

It's been awhile between posts. I blame two things. WORK and UNI ASSIGNMENTS :(

Despite being swamped for past few months, Mr FBC and I managed to do a few 'Sydney International Food Festival' (SIFF) things (formerly 'Good Food Month').

The SIFF's 'Let's Do Lunch' events are a great way of tasting food at fantastic restuarants in Sydney without having to pay a fortune. My technique is the pick the restuarants with one or two 'chefs hat's' - it just feels like it's more value for money :P

One Friday in October, Mr FBC and I had a lazy 'Let's do Lunch' lunch at Becasse. For $35, you get a main course and a glass of Browns Brothers Wine.

Lunch at Becasse was great as you got a few little extras!

A little canape to start comprising olive crostini with a dollop of cheesy cream. Sorry - I'm trying to remember to bring a notebook with me to write down the descriptions :(

We also got a complimentary 'Amuse Bouche' in a cute little cup comprising a creamy flavoursome mushroom soup.

Amuse Bouche - mini mushroom soup

We also ordered some yummy breads (this costs a bit extra). I hear they bake the breads on the premises. The nicest one was the pumpkin bread.... which actually had pieces of pumpkin inside.

Fresh bread

Mr FBC order an extra Entree. I think it was 'Cured Wagu beef' accompanied with what Mr FBC described as little morsels of brains!?

Cured Wagu Beef

And finally, the 'main course' - the linguine of Kinkawooka mussels provencale. The pasta is lovely and light with smatterings of fresh mussels, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and breadcrumbs. A beautiful combination.

Linguine of Kinkawooka mussels provencale

I love the 'Let's to Lunch' events. It's a great excuse for long laaaazy lunches. I say bring back the long decadent lunches from the 80's :)

Becasse
204 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW
(02) 9283 3440

Dragon Beard Candy and Cream Puffs, Chinatown (Haymarket)

One Friday evening, Mr FBC and I find ourselves looking for dessert in Chinatown after finishing dinner. Luckily we managed to stumble across the regular and bustling Friday Chinatown Night Market (located on Dixon Street). It's a great market with lots of food stalls (satay sticks, Japanese Takoyaki - Octopus Balls etc etc). However, our mission was to find dessert!

We got to halfway along market street when I spied a sign which read 'Dragon Beard Candy'.... I made a 'b-line' for pure curiosity.

Luckily there was a sign which explained it all. Dragon Beard Candy is a traditional chinese sweet. It's made of corn syrup. The sugar is pulled by hand and made into fine white threads. The threads are used to wrap the fillng made of shredded coconut, peanuts and sesame. It's a unique sweet.

Dragon Beard Candy making action....The sugar threads are soft and melt in your mouth. It becomes a bit of a sticky toffee mess once mixed in with the nutty filling. But I like it... a lot. Can't remember how much it costs... I think about $1 each?
The Dragon Beard Candy was nice and different... but are we satisifed? Nah...

So, we got our dessert course no.2. For this, we went to our regular joint at the end of Dixon Street, Emperors Garden Bakery for the 'Emperors Cream Puff'. You buy the cream puffs from a small discrete window next door to the main bakery. The Cream Puffs are yummy fluffy little morsels filled with hot custard (as the puffs are usually made fresh on site - check out the special custard injecting puff making machine!).

At 30c each or $1 for 4.... who could refuse ?(at least 4... or 8 or 12!).

The custard is creamy and usually piping hot...yummo!

You'll find the Emperor's Cream Puff (located next to Emperors Garden Cakes and Bakery) at:
75 Dixon Street, Haymarket
9281 5989.

Baklawa and Burek, Rockdale

Baklawa and Burek... who would thought that they would go together? But they do.

Mr FBC and I were heading to a birthday party in Newcastle and offered to bring some desserts. What could we bring??? Ahhh... baklawa of course. So, off we went one early Saturday morning at 8.30am looking to get some baklawa from Ibrahims at Rockdale.

Unfortunately, we got there too early and Ibrahims was still closed. Doh! Having half an hour to kill, we went walking down the Princes Highway to find out what was happening in the downtown Rockdale on a Saturday morning. Answer: Not much actually... but we did find out that there were a number of macedonian bakeries specialising in burek. Yay!

A spinach and feta burek - from different angles.

Burek is a baked or fried filled pastry and filled with feta, minced meat, potatoes or vegetatables. The Burek bakeries were open so we sampled a spinach and feta 'burek' from Alexanders. The pastry reminds me of turkish bread.

I will be back for more. This little burek was only a snack while waiting for our baklawa.

Alexander's Bakery Cafe - 494 Princes Hwy. Ph:9567 6796

After our burek snack, we headed back down the Princes Highway to Ibrahims.

Don't you just love a pastry shop that sell things by the kilo and doesn't break the bank? I'll have a kilo of baklawa, please!

The displays are mezmerising as you stare at the towers of sickly sweet and sticky baklawa in all their delicious syrupy glory.

Here's a photo of our platter of baklawa and pistachio barma. A mixture of about 40 pieces costs around $30. Good value if you ask me.

You'll find 'Ibrahim Pastry' at:
412 Princes Hwy, Rockdale, NSW, 2216
ph (02) 95972071

Empanadas from La Paula

I loooooove pastry and I looooove savoury food. So, naturally I loooooooove Empanadas.

One Saturday afternoon, Mr FBC and I find ourselves in Randwick/Kingsford looking for a place to eat when I recall reading about a little empanada place in Kingsford on Not Quite Nigella's foodblog.

Low and behold, after a bit of a trek from Anzac Parade and down Gardners Road, we get sign that we are near - the big "EMPANANDAS" sign that is.

Yay.. we've found La Paulas - bakers of Chilean Empanadas and Sweets

You know you've stepped into somewhere out of the ordinary and different when you a greeted with a big "Hola" :). La Paulas is filled with locals and decked out with lots of Chilean posters and trinkets.

We tried a few things from the menu...

First there was the Empanada de espinaca $3.70

The emapanda is baked (not fried) and the pastry is tasty and not too flaky - hate those crumbs. The filling is nice and oozy with the spinach/cheese mixture.

Next we tried Humitas ($4.90). This typical Chilean dish is made of fresh shredded sweetcorn with spices and is wrappred in corn leaves. There is a slight resemblence to scrambled eggs... but it tastes more like creamed corn. Again... I loooove corn so I loooove humitas.

And, finally, a meal is not complete without a little dessert. So Mr FBC and I have a little chilean shortbread (about $1.50) from the many sweets on display.

You can find La Paula at:
118 Gardeners Road Kingsford

Ph: 9663 1041

Baa Baa Sheep Cake from 85 C Cake Shop, Sydney

Isn't this the cutiest looking sheep ever!!!

Saw this cute sheep cake in the window of 85 C Cake shop on George Street while I was walking home one day. I went back a week later to buy the cake and used the excuse of partaking in a 'Masterchef' finale night as a reason for buying the cake.


I'm calling it the 'Baa Baa Sheep Cake'. The body of the sheep is made of sponge cake and the 'wool' is made with dollops of chantilly cream. The face was made of pink strawberry icing.


Will be back soon to taste all the other delectable desserts on display.

Btw... they don't stock many Sheep Cakes so I recommend calling ahead and asking to put one aside for you.

Details:
Shop 9 , 545-551 George Street
Meriton Tower, Sydney 2000
TEL:(02) 9264-8585