Because PJ liked this one too..

Me? Bake?! *scoffs*

I love eating cake though I very rarely bake. Times are tough though.. no mums, sisters, aunties or lovely friends (like Kim, Rosie or Hannah) to fulfill my home-baked needs. That, coupled with Adam's sudden desire and consequently requests for Cinnamon Teacake prompted a trip to John Lewis for bakeware (they seriously need a Peter's of Kensington here).

After said goods were acquired, I baked this Apple Cinnamon Teacake:

The tin I used was smaller than the one the recipe recommended (it's the only size I have!) so I was a teensy bit worried when it started rising over the edge.. but luckily not too far in the end.

It needed more cinnamon and more apple in my opinion and probably 10mins less in the oven. Must remember to tweak accordingly next time.

Tet aka Vietnamese New Year

Tet (Lunar New Year) is the biggest event of the Vietnamese calendar full of well wishing, symbolic gestures and traditional foods. The date changes every year according to the lunar calendar and this year it happened on 14th Feb. Preparations start at least a week before with much cooking and cleaning.

And thus was my prep for Tet (though on a much smaller scale). We tried to include as many traditions as we could.

Food wise we had candied lotus seeds, coconut & soursop, watermelon seeds, peanut, cashew & sesame brittle, nam chua (kinda like a vietnamese salami) and cha chien (kinda like fried pork loaf). I also cooked thit kho (caramelised pork), cha gio (viet spring rolls) and canh mang (bamboo shoot soup).

Adam and I set out in the morning to aquire flowers and a "pot of gold" which you can see in the photo above in the form of a vase filled with water. Dylan came around for lunch and brought some Saigon beer : )

Our Tet 2010 photo.

We're not meant to wear black on this day, only spring colours. Not surprisingly all my "spring coloured clothes" are warm weather clothes!! So I did my best with my springy-est dress but had to rug up with some thick stockings and cardigan to prevent hypothermia. Surely my efforts in keeping other traditions will make up for it.

All in all, I think we managed to celebrate in the spirit of Tet. Massive shout out to Ads, without whom, Tet would not have been possible this year.

Chuc mung nam moi.

A Happy Valentines Indeed

This is what I got..

My first box of Pierre Herme macarons..

I'm going to describe these macarons left to right now so if food antics aren't your thing, then I suggest you keep scrolling and just look at the pictures :)

PISTACHE - pistachio macaron & cream

I usually find that pistachio macarons taste more almond-y than pistachio-y because of the shell and this one was no different. Still good though.

MEDELICE - macaron biscuit, lemon cream, crispy hazelnut praline

Lemon macarons are my benchmark macaron, kind of like a caesar salad or bruschetta. The hazelnut component confused everything and I cannot use it as a comparison. Again, still yum.

COING & ROSE - macaron biscuit, quince & rose cream

Sweet but not overwhelming rose with a tang of what I assume was the quince. A very quaint macaron in a beautiful autumn hue. Loved it and looking forward to having it again next time.

ROSE - rose macaron & cream

Rose without being too rose-y and sweet. Elegantly done.

MOGADOR - macaron biscuit, milk chocolate & passionfruit ganache

Passionfruit ganache was full of bite which I love. Must try this again as I remembered dark chocolate, not milk? Mustn't have been concentrating!

MAGNIFIQUE - macaron biscuit, wasabi cream, strawberry compote

Wasabi?! I've been excited about exotic savoury flavours in macarons before. The kind of flavours where you silently exclaim "how on earth is that going to work?!" - and then bitter disappointment.. no, shame sets in. Shame for not liking it. Zumbo's blue cheese macaron comes to mind at this point. Adriano, I mean you no disrespect as I deeply heart your lemon and passionfruit macarons and you are the most generous person in the world when it comes to filling. But, I have a confession to make.. I didn't finish your blue cheese creation.

So it was with much trepidation that I bit into Magnifique.. fear melted into soft wasabi kisses. Magic. It was a playful fusion with the strawberry and as a wasabi lover I could have done with a bit more than just a caress. PH knows what he's doing though, the subtleness of flavour leaves you with a feeling akin to waking from a dream and struggling to remember it. It's what keeps you coming back for another bite.. until it's all gone.. and you wake up.

FRAGOLA - macaron biscuit, balsamic vinegar cream, strawberry compote

When it comes to avant guarde macaron flavours, Fragola has thus far topped my list. This little baby was an explosive surprise - the sourness of the balsamic was in perfect balance with the sweetness of the shell with the strawberry compote rounding off the flavour of the vinegar in such a union that brings a tear to my taste buds. (Or is that just me still drooling?)

Here they are again because I just can't get enough of them.

Adam actually handpicked each flavour himself. After looking at the menu selection, I was throughly impressed to find that he picked the exact 7 out of 12 that I would have done myself had I been there. He just earned himself some major brownies.

If perfect macarons weren't enough, I got cupcakes from Lola too! They were so sparkly and pretty that I almost felt bad eating them.. almost. Yet another heroic display of wisdom from Adam choosing pink champagne, lemon, red velvet and peanut butter flavours.

*sigh* my champion..

Snow for me mate Dean

I filmed this outside our bedroom window on the 7th of Jan. While it has been snowing this week, there hasn't been enough (or it hasn't been cold enough) to carpet the streets again.

The first time I experienced snow falling here was whilst xmas shopping on Regent Street - I was somewhere between Hamleys and Anthropologie. You may think that means I was xmas shopping for myself BUT I promise you I walked out of those places with presents for OTHER KIDS/PEOPLE! That's not to say I didn't have a play in either store..

Back to the snow - I just wanted to say that 1st snow moment was magical. There was much xmas cheer (as well as retail therapy) going on around me and I saw loads of people stopping to take photos of the snow with their phone cameras.

White Christmas - CHECK!

Hello Sunshine

I think I'm overwhelmed by all travel blogging there is to catch up on from last year. As such, I'm going to ignore it for now..

It's been cold here and both Ad and I were horribly sick in January - diagnosis for me: Bad flu (possibly of the swine variety) followed by a chest infection (possibly pneumonia). I say "possibly" as doctors in London don't like you visiting when you're sick! They'd rather you just call for an over the phone consultation which of course leads to nothing conclusive.. As for Adam, his fever made him sweat so much that I almost drowned sleeping next to him!

Anywho.. a few weeks later we were finally back on our feet and craving some vitamin D so seized the opportunity to catch some elusive winter rays.

From a park bench in Hoxton, watching the kids play soccer, err I mean football.

Anthropologie, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways..

The first Anthro store to arrive in Europe and I was there on opening day, naturally.

I love your "living wall"..

that's right, a whole wall made up of plants..

I love your deco glasses and how you display them in refurbished cupboards..

I love how you dress your store with vintage clocks..

I love how you've shown the versatility of the grey singlet top with different accessories..

I loved this skirt so much I had to buy it..

I do hope we have an Anthropologie in Sydney by the time I get back.

Anthropologie

158 Regent Street

London

W1B 5SW

www.anthropologie.com

Visiting Oxford

Just as my mum commented upon seeing these photos taken at Oxford, it's like walking around a movie set. The truth is better though, Oxford is where movies film on location! pfft, move over movie set, we've got the real deal here..

We didn't go inside on this occasion, but I will next time.

Christ Church Cathedral

Explorers..

Peeking into Oriel College

House in Oxford.

Oxford Uni is the oldest surviving uni in the english speaking world (according to wikipedia) made up of over 40 colleges and halls that are all responsible for their own admission policies. As such, the grounds are enormous yet well maintained and full of english style.

"Your island? You mean Ireland"

Hello again blog, how I've missed you! September saw the arrival of Mum and Dad O'B and much travelling but no posts. Consequently I've much to catch up on - starting with Ireland!

First trip in September started in Dublin, where we hired a car and drove to Cork with stops on the way.

The whole vibe of Ireland caught me by surprise. People were just friendly - it was so refreshing coming from London. Service people made jokes and strangers stopped to help you if you looked like you needed helping. That said though, there were lots of groups of teenage kids loitering on the streets and loitering kids always seem to make me a little nervous..

Now I thought London was full of pubs, one on every block, but Dublin seems to have around 5 on every block. There's an area called Temple Bar that is just buzzing with food and drink that you must check out if visiting Dublin.

We had lunch at the Temple Bar Food Market, which served up delicious variations of roasted meats on rustic breads ie really yum gourmet sandwiches. It was also here that I tasted Tiffin cake for the first time. Best €2 I've spent so far..

This slice type cake I would say may even rival Rose Smith's chocolate hazelnut slice in taste (and that is saying something huge) but definitely in calories. I think it may be half butter? Since then I've tried numerous other Tiffins (Costa sells its own variety made with Belgian chocolate) but none so far compare to that first one.

After lunch, some sight seeing.

Trinity collage. Mum watching Adam taking a photo of Dad.

Irish Men.

Obviously we visited the Guinness brewery. They have a museum there that covers the making and history of Guinness that's quite interesting if you're into that kind of thing. At the very top there is an amazing view of Dublin and free Guinness to boot!

After Dublin, we hopped into our rented lime green Feista and headed to Wicklow, the ancestral home of the O'Byrnes.

Not an awful lot to do in Wicklow, one local suggested visiting the jail.. I'm serious! They do have some beautiful homes there though and the streets are just charming. So we stopped for lunch at Halpin's Bridge Cafe where the friendly owner was kind enough to share some local history with us. For example Robert Halpin, born in Wicklow, was one of the most important mariners in the 1800s. He captained a ship that laid transoceanic telegraph cables. Howzat?!

We left Wicklow and headed to Kilkenny next.

Oh yes, often on along the way we would get stuck behind tractors. The biggest ones I've ever seen in fact.

There's something about driving down narrow, windy, bumpy country roads that puts Adam in rally car mode. I'll admit I am prone to motion sickness but it was surely exacerbated by "someone's" driving. Quick on the accelerator and hard on the break. I felt like scrambled eggs in the back seat.

Fortunately there were many pretty spots to stop and recover.

See?

Back in the car and passing another tractor.

At the airport we saw a little boy playing a toy tractor. He and his father(?) were discussing whether they preferred round hay bales or square ones. They decided upon round, I quite agree.

Passing through Kilkenny (as in where the beer is from). Stopped for a drink at The Hibernian Hotel. Food looked amazing and would have loved to have tried it, but alas it was a wee bit early for dinner at that time.

After Kilkenny we made our way to Waterford (as in the crystal) where we stayed at a B&B for the night, but not before having generous servings of dinner at the Days Hotel restaurant - just about the only place we could find that was open and serving dinner on a Sunday night.

Next morning we drove to Cork which strangely I have no photos of. It was somewhat cleaner and quieter than Dublin I think and didn't have loitering teens. After a spot of window shopping we were off to the airport and on our way back to London.

Canal Lock in Action

There is a canal that runs quite close to our place and we love taking walks there. On this particular trip we caught one of the locks in action.

Boats sitting in the lock while the water is still raised

What I missed recording were the long boats entering the lock and the top gate being closed at the start. Then in the video clip you can see the lower gate being slightly opened > the boats sinking in the lock as the water drains > the water level in the lock reaching the same level as the water in the lower part of the canal > lower gates being fully opened > boats sailing off into the sunset.. well, not quite..

Kudos to the genius who invented the first lock over 2000 years ago!

Postscript on the Salmon

I don't want to harp on about Wing of St Mawes again, but the smoked salmon was fantastic! Lovely lingering smokey taste. Will definitely be getting some more of this stuff next time I order. And that's all I have to say about that..

Look at my Mussels! *flex*

Had given up on finding fresh seafood to cook at home. All the places that sell fish and other sea faring critters that I have come across have sold either frozen (and sometimes thawed) seafood or smelt really fishy (in a bad fish kinda way) and looked unhygienic.

So what do you do when you really want something but can't seem to source it locally? You buy it online! I am a big fan of buying things online. I don't do it often, but when I do, I am most usually very happy with the result. After perusing a few online fish shops I decided to go with Wing of St Mawes. Why? (I hear you ask..) Because:

1. They had the best selection of seafood. Though they don't stock the elusive razor clams which I have been wanting to have again ever since my first time here.

2. They had the best looking website. This is really an Adam criteria, but in this instance I think a clean, fresh and professional looking website instills more confidence as would a physical fish shop of the same description.

3. They claim to sell fish LANDED DAILY. That's already fresher than fish you could hope to buy in a shop.

4. They sell FRESH, not freshly frozen, fish and other seafood (unlike several other websites). They even sell live crab and lobster, that's how fresh it is!

Being my first purchase and all, I decide to test the waters with some mussels, it seem like middle ground between fish and crab/lobster. They were a great price too and by that I mean they were around Sydney prices - only £4.50/kg, that's about $9AUD. Having put in my order before 10am, I anxiously awaited their arrival the next morning..

They arrive mid morning in this relatively clean and non-smelly styrofoam box..

4kg of mussels and 250g of super awesome looking smoked salmon which they threw in for free as it was my first purchase. You can also see some ice packs in there to keep everything johnny coool..

And they were live! They always say you should cook with live mussels and these babies certainly were.

'Nother freebie - a teatowel

So far so good! Was very happy with the packaging and the product. I'm sure the mussels could have lasted a fair while in that box. They charge £7 delivery for orders under £100 which I find preferable to the alternatives - spending a few £ on public transport getting to and from the fish shop for "not as fresh" fish. Or there's Billings Gate, which I hear is the big fish market that's only open from 4am - 8am or something ludicrously early like that. Considering cost, time and effort, £7 for delivery is worth it don't you think?

I'm happy to report that the mussels were very tasty. Half were done in kind of Provencale style and half in a kind of Thai Green Curry. I say "kind of" as I "kind of" made up the recipe as I went along. Anyway, it doesn't matter as I didn't make them tasty, these guys would've been just as good steamed by themselves and eaten with lemon, salt and pepper.

Now I'm looking forward to trying that smoked salmon!

Wing of St Mawes

http://thecornishfishmonger.co.uk/

Moving House = Ikea

Have been on the lookout for a flat with a bit more space for a while now and am happy to tell you that the look is now over! While it came furnished with the essentials, there were a few bits and pieces we still needed to pick up which meant IKEA TIME! For the real Ikea experience you must:

1) buy some furniture

2) buy kitchen utensils / folding laundry baskets / and similar things that you didn't know you needed until you saw it at Ikea (and it was so cheap anyway so what's the big deal)

3) eat Ikea food! Yes, I'm talking about you Swedish meatballs, Hotdogs, Swedish cake-biscuit things and all of your friends.

After accomplishing 1, 2 & 3 we came home with..

The sheets, pillows, quilt and covers on the bed and the desk & chair 

and the white drawers.

Here's our open plan kitchen

and roast garlic chicken w/ stir-fried asian greens & mashed potato that I made in said kitchen and just wanted to show off.

Living area with small balcony..

firemen doing some training next door.

We'll Always Have Soseki..

Wow, it's kinda hard to start the blogging again after a break. As such I had to dig into the events archive to find something inspiring and what I found was photos of Soseki.. 

About a month ago we had dinner with Michelle and Dylan at a Japanese restaurant called Soseki, situated right next to the Gherkin. I'm talking you look out the window and it is right in your face. You know I think every single pane of glass is curved on that building? Yet there are still windows that open. That's pretty cool right? Anyhow Michelle headed off for some more traveling on the weekend and we didn't get a chance to say goodbye, so I'll just say "Soseki" instead..

"The scallop is really sweet" - Michelle

Sashimi, Tofu Soup, Egg Custard

Sushi, Radish Salad

Caramelised Pork

I'm struggling to remember what flavour sorbet this was, I think it was blood peach. I do remember that it was very good though. Truffles were also very good also, except the green tea one.. but I don't like green tea so it was probably good for green tea lovers.

All these pics were taken with the iPhone 3G which struggles in low light. Hopefully you can still make out the raised hutches in this photo which Michelle tells are are little private dining rooms! You climb a ladder to get into them and then sit on bamboo mats apparently. Cool eh?

Needless to say the food was very artistically presented. Colour and composition was amazing. Food was light and delicate (though possibly a little too light??). We all agreed that £30pp for this 10 or 12 (I can't remember) plate meal was well priced but wouldn't pay £60pp for it which is what it usually costs.

Soseki

20 Bury Street

London

EC3A 5AX

020 7821 9211