balmain eating house + adriano zumbo @ darling st., balmain

Back to being slow with my posts and this one probably dates over a month back (but nonetheless one worth blogging about!! Adriano Zumbo!! woo hoo!!) So...

It was at my insistence that J drove us out to Balmain to visit the infamous Adriano Zumbo (who I have read about, drooled about and longed for a very long time to visit his shop to try out his selection of cakes - highly commended and posted by fellow food bloggers.

Reluctantly, I listened to J and did the sensible thing of having some lunch before visiting the shop. We flicked through our new Entertainment Book and found a voucher for 'Balmain Eating House' which happened to be on the way to Adriano Zumbo's. And can I add, it was a rather good choice!

J with his steak sandwich that had a rather exquisite drizzle of hollandaise sauce on top.Garlic Mushrooms on wood-fired toast with the freshest side of green salad. This was so delish but did leave me a little hungry an hour later when all the food had digested.A side of herb bread.

It didn't take long for the bill to come and for me to be out the door and hurtling down the street with a sense of purpose. Perhaps I did get a little too excited cause as soon as the Adriano Zumbo store front came into sight, I almost ran across the street without checking traffic (fortunately J was next to me and grabbed my hand before I could get run over by a car). Reminder to self - don't kill yourself over cake.

In the shop, I asked the girl at the counter if I could take a photo to which she replied 'Of Course!' (I don't think I'm the first one to ask)

I could not believe my eyes! Each piece of cake was so beautifully and cleverly crafted and then so carefully and exquisitly arranged in the class cabinets - how could one not ask for a piece of everything!

It wasn't an easy choice but I finally pulled myself out of the store with my boxful of cakes. Even the box itself was so pretty! You should've seen me make faces at J as he drove home - every bump, every corner - I would squeal with the box of cakes in my lap.

Ta da!! My favourite is the one in the middle titled Miss Marple (custard encased in a sweet crepe drizzled with maple syrup and topped with strawberries and toffee - I didn't eat the toffee though).

Over 2 days, the cakes pictured above were consumed and I was seriously amazed by the range of flavours, colours, tastes and textures (and might I add, leave you hanging for more! In my case, I was addicted to the Miss Marple :P) Mum prefers the tarts (lemon and passionfruit) as they're not so sweet and we're both quite a big fan of the millefuille which is crispy as the pastry should be. I could pass on the chocolate dacquoise - usually I'm a big fan of chocolate but in this instance found the chocolate a little overpowering; especially as I was trying to taste all the different flavours in the other cakes and couldn't when I had the chocolate.

It was definitely a worthwhile trip and I'll be sure to be back! Apparently, every so often they launch a whole new range of cakes - which makes Adriano Zumbo that much more exciting!!