Delicious [Pavlova]!

For weather this hot lately, I reckoned a light, airy pavlova would be a good choice for dessert! 
I have made this dessert with a friend before and I LOVE the recipe. Crispy on the outside and soft like marshmallow in the inside. It uses yogurt for the filling instead of cream which even lights up the pavlova more. The yogurt is a prefect match with sweet strawberries. :) ok, lets start!

For the meringue:

Egg Whites x [ 4 ]
Granulated sugar x [ 1 cup ]
Cornstarch x [ 1tp ]
Vanilla extract x [ 1 & 1/2 tp ]
White vinegar x [ a little ]

For the filling:

Mascarpone Cheese x [ 1&1/4 cup (250g) ]
Plain Tangy Yogurt/Greek yogurt x [ 1/2 cup (120g) ]
Vanilla extract x [ a little ]

Preheat the oven to 270°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Trace a 9" circle on the parchment. (If you are making mini-pavlovas, drinking glass can be used as guide.) Flip the parchment over. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl. 

Make sure your mixing bowl and beaters are very clean with no residual fat or grease, definitely no moisture.  Pour the egg whites in to the bowl and begin beating at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium.When the egg whites have reached soft peak, begin adding the sugar little at a time, waiting a few seconds between each addition. While doing this, gradually increase the speed so that you are at maximum speed once all the sugar has been added.

Keep whipping until the meringue reaches stiff peaks. Stop the mixer and sprinkle the vanilla and vinegar over the meringue. Beat for a while longer to blend everything completely.Use a spatula to scrape all the meringue onto the parchment in the center of the circle. Working from the inside out, spread the meringue to fill the circle. Smooth the sides if desired or leave it in billowy lumps.

Turn the oven to 230°F, place the meringue into the lower track and hopefully the heat comes from below. Bake it for until 60 minutes, check if the surface hardens. When the crust looks brown and sounds hollow when you tap on it, it is done.

So, now the filling. Simply mix the yogurt and mascarpone cheese together. Add a few drops of vanilla extract then you're ready to spread it on top of your crust. Of course, you only do that when you're serving it. Me and my friend put the filling on top of the crust way too early, when we took it out to serve, the crust has already been soften due to the moist that yogurt given out.

Anyways, the last step is to slices up fruits you prefer and place them on top! DONE.

Ippudo [RAMEN]

Today we decided to go for the newly opened ramen place called "Ippudo". My friend googled and found that it was known as the no.1 ramen place in Japan. Woo, all that sounds very tempting, when I serached for the photos, my mouth is watering. So I went there with very high expectations.

We arrived at 1pm, the line was so long we decided to walk around and come back later since we're not that hungry anyway. Finally the line died down a bit when it was 1:45pm. We got in, staff seems to be nice and helpful. I ordered number two...Think its the tonkotsu broth flavoured with garlic oil. My friend ordered the original broth and a spicy miso paste. I particularly enjoyed stirring the miso paste into the soup, just like the way it melts into my ramen. Took a sip of the soup, tastes very nice. It is way lighter than Gumshara (If you didnt know Gumshara, it is my favourite ramen in Sydney. Locating in the foodcourt of Chinatown. Must try), however the soup seems a bit salty at the end, I felt very thirsty a while after we finished the ramen. However, the soup is good enough for me to consume all of it. I personally do not like noodles that thin...It is way to thin and it tastes a bit like Chinese wonton noodles...I am looking for noodle that should be thicker and with more texture, you know, better to chew. The noodle is definitely a put down...But the flavoured egg and pork are all fine. I have also tried my friend's broth, mine tastes the best I think. I had the one with garlic oil.
The ramen with flavoured egg costs me $18...way too pricey for a ramen...however I have to give credits to the decor, all very nice.

In general, it is a above standard ramen however I still prefer Gumshara.

Sorry for the photos, I only realized that I have to take photos in half-way we ate...so they don't look like that originally. They should look much better

* Ippudo Ramen is located in Pitt Street Westfield, Lv 5.

 <---The one with spicy miso

<---The original tonkotus broth<- Tonkotus broth with garlic oil
 <---The closed up of the egg, nicely done.
 

A [DISAPPOINTING] CAFE

Surprisingly, this morning I got up pretty early so I'm so ready for a beautiful breakfast to lighten up my day.  T & I wanted to have breakfast in McDonald in the first place (McDonald sounds so not beautiful...I know i know) However, they have already closed breakfast! Its already lunch, that is so unacceptable! Its only 10:30am! Sigh...so we decided to try out one of the 2 cafes in Kingsford that we have never stepped foot in. Not saying they look dodgy or what, its just..the idea having western cafes in Kingsford seems weird to me. Kingsford is always very "Asian" in my impression. You can hardly blame me of not liking the idea - having smoothies in Kingsford... Anyways, we have been here 5 years right? So its time to give it a go. We chose the Meek's Cafe since its always full of people.

It is a medium-sized cafe runs by Asians, interior is quite nice and warm. The put down is the open kitchen, in a hot day like today, the smoke from the kitchen just spread out to every corner in the cafe. Giving me a hard time to breathe...

I ordered Bacon Poached Egg and T ordered Bacon Omelet (we LOVE bacon!), plus a blueberry smoothie to share. I don't usually see blueberry smoothie in other cafes so it is a bonus.

Food arrives pretty slow. The Blueberry Smoothies ($5.90) is very nice, the flavour is just right, not too sweet and very refreshing.

Bacon Poached Egg ($8.90) is alright, the combinations can't really go wrong. Bacon is not too hard to chew, but the hollandaise sauce is a disaster. There is no flavour at all, not to mention the dreamy creamy taste of hollandaise sauce is non-existence. OK boss, you really need to work hard and google a better recipe. This is just not right.

Bacon Omelet ($11.90) is...not good... First off, it doesn't look like an omelet at all. The egg is so flat its like a pizza. Probably that's their intention to make the eggs look like pizza and tastes like it. But I ordered omelet to expect there is an omelet...not a pizza-liked egg. The egg is topped with bacon and pineapple. They did not save the omelet. Well, not worth the $11.90 at all... I miss Le Petit Creme...

<---The blueberry smoothie, very purple

<--- Bacon Poached Egg

<--- Bacon Omelet...

Afterwards, we went to the Kingsford market....also a disappointment...arghhh my beautiful Sunday is ruined!

THE AAMAZING [INFRARED OVEN]

December 10, 2012 · by elaine1123hk · in [ EAT ], [ LIFE ]

I would like to present this amazing Infrared Oven! Not sure if it’s a new technology or not, I got this thing from my friend and I was so excited to test it. So the first dish I would like to try with this oven is of course the classic Roast Chicken! I googled and learn that the Infrared Oven can actually replace oven and even healthier. Sounds so amazing, lets see!

To start, put a whole chicken into this oven ( Only $6 from coles! good bargain). I layered some carrots, potatoes and onions under the chicken. And stuffed garlics, salt and pepper into the chicken.

Look a bit closely, I use a stainless steel stand to lift the plate up so the plate wouldn’t has direct contact with the surface of the oven. (Still weird calling it an oven…)

All ready we can start! I used 200 C and for 25 mins. Looking very High-technology with all the light! People living in my place was amazed by how bright it shines…

Thats the device which projects all the heat.

Dah-tah! This is the chicken looked like after 25 mins! Its already done! I have to give it credits, the skin is so crispy while the meat still keeps its juiciness. However, the carrots and potatoes are not as cooked as they should be, I guess they should be cooked separately in order to achieve the best result.

Cuttingggg

Perfectly roasted! 

Overall I really think this oven will be a very helpful hand in kitchen! Since it doesn’t produce very smoke while cooking, and its so convenient that you don’t have to monitor it all the time. For the score max. of 10, I give it a 8! Next time I will try baking bread with it!

 

THE BEST [ BENEDICT] IN SYDNEY!

November 27, 2012 · by elaine1123hk · in [ EAT ]

So on Sunday 25th Nov, 2012, this historical moment…I found the best egg benedict in Sydney. It is not in some commercial big cafe, it is hidden in this little cafe called “Le Petit Creme” in Darlinghurst Road. My friend recommended me to try it probably a year ago, I went once but it was in weekdays and they only provided the benedict during weekends. What a disappointment, I ordered something else anyways. I remember it was French toast and some kind of salad, French toast tastes really good, the bread was fluffy and soft.

This time I ordered the Salmon Benedict, Ham and cheese Omelette, Iced Chocolate and Earl Grey tea. The benedict tastes like heaven and it looks devine, it DOES worth “dying for”, I wasn’t sure what makes it tastes so good, probably the sauce and the bread, also the eggs cooked with perfection. The Ham and Cheese Omelette doesnt taste as surprise as the benedict but it surely worth trying as well !

The Iced chocolate is pretty light since it has more milk than chocolate which I like. The Earl Grey has nothing special.

  <– Iced Chocolate

  <– Earl Grey Tea

  <– Salmon Benedict

<– Ham & Cheese Omelette

 

STILL THE BEST [MACARONS] IN SYDNEY…

November 17, 2012 · by elaine1123hk · in [ EAT ]

I became a fan of macarons from....probably last year, I remembered I was attracted by some photos in a Chinese magazine. The magazine introducing the “best macarons in Sydney”, all those colourful photographs grabbed my attention in no time. I fell in love with macarons.

Nowadays, macarons everywhere, they are on advertisements, they are on magazines, they are in cafes…etc. Suddenly we are all surrounded by macarons. So…where can we find the best macarons in Sydney?? It all depends…whether you like crunchy shell, softer shell, classic flavour or flavours with more creativity. Its all depends on what you like. (SO blurr) 

I have only tried baroque, zumbo, Laduree and Lindt cafe. Baroque’s macarons are the first macarons I tried, it was in a dark night, me and my friends trolled along the Rocks. We bought a few macarons and enjoyed them under the starry sky. After that, I was crazy about macarons. I have tried to make my own, but its always failed…Eventually I got it very very similar once, however the shells are a bit empty.

Anyways, today I went to the LuminoCity exhibition again…the pier is empty today, I hang around and looked at all the work more seriously. Counted my business cards seems around 10 of them are gone! Excited! 

So after exhibition, we naturally headed to the direction of baroque! However, it was closed until 6pm. Luckily I know there is a cafe nearby that sell baroque’s macarons, so I got 5 macarons in total : Jasmin green tea, Mango and lime, Salted caramel and Milk chocolate. 

Baroque uses Italian method to do their macarons, the outcome would be a more stable and with shells that are more dense. Probably people would think it as less airy inside, but I personally prefer a denser shells. The texture would be between crunchy and moist. The ganache has a very delicate flavour, but not too sweet, thats what I like about baroque’s macarons.

Zumbo’s macarons have very interesting flvours, however, the textures are a bit dry and flat. Tastes doesn’t stand out enough for me. Laduree’s macarons are just so disappointed for me…I don’t understand what’s good about them…I forget what they taste like right after I ate them…