garfish @ holtermann st., crows nest

For a change, I suggested to J 'Let's go for brunch, it'll be cheaper than lunch' and as to where 'How about Garfish? We've been talking about going for ages'. J kindly agreed and I woke up bright and early on Saturday in anticipation of brekkie/brunch at Garfish in Crows Nest. It's about a 20-30 minute drive from where I live and well, to some it might seem like a bit of a trek for a bit of breakfast but well, I don't mind it all too much (especially when you know there's good food to be had that 20-30 minutes later).

Seated outside, we ordered our mugs of Flat White to kick start our day. J was surprised at how big it was (he's not a big coffee fan) but for me, it was just the perfect cup - the smaller cups just don't do it for me. I think J thinks I'm a bit of a coffee addict and ever so subtlely, he'll give me a talk about how it's such an expensive habit and that he doesn't think it's good to drink too much. The way I see it, it's got milk, it's got calcium, it can't be that bad.

The meals took a little while to get to the table (during which time I aw-ed and ah-ed at the dog at the next table that just couldn't sit still - so cute!). I'd ordered the Kipper's Florentine - the poached eggs were arguably the best that I've ever had!

J goes for the Garfish Breakfast (a sizeable feed) which comes with sourdough toast.

Sourdough toast with a generous serving of butter..mmm...

I look better in this photo than I did for the rest of the day. After breakfast, tiredness (could have something to do with waking early) swept over and I started to fall asleep in the car (much to J's amusement). Well, there was a lot of food!

Seems like Garfish is quite a popular place with the locals - from those with their dogs, those in their gym/walking gear, friends meeting up for coffee, young couples and old, the place filled up from the time we sat down (which was probably close to 10am, breakfast is served till 11am). I'd actually come here wanting to try their belgian waffles (but J thought it wasn't a proper breakfast and unfortunately, despite me thinking I could fit it in after breakfast, I really couldn't and had to give it a miss). It worked out to be about $22.50 per person which I wouldn't call cheap for breakfast but I do commend the place for it's friendly service (we had a very attentive waiter), food was excellent and the cafe/restaurant is set is a rather comfortable and relaxing part of Crows Nest which makes you want to live there. Metered parking is available just outside but you're better off trying the next street where you can get all day parking for free (and with a big breakfast, you're better off doing some walking anyway).

high tea @ t2 teahouse, mac centre

It's suiting and it makes sense; yay to the fact that T2 are serving up High Tea at their teahouse in Mac Centre! J&I had seen it whilst walking past the shop 2 weeks ago and finally got round to trying it last weekend. It's $30 for 2, you get 2 pots of tea (your choice from the range on their menu) and there's a 3 tiered cake stand (comprising scones with cream & jam; nougat, cupcake, lemon meringue tart, macaroons, finger sandwiches and mini quiches.)

J scowls at the flower tea cup he gets with his pot of Lemongrass & Ginger Tea.

J relaxing in their oversized armchairs (you end up getting so comfortable in them you don't want to move).

The cake stand devoured from the bottom plate (savouries), scones (top plate) and finally all the sweets (on the middle plate).I already have a T2 tin at home but I went for a pot of English Breakfast tea - just love it!

In summary: the tea is fantastic (I don't think you can go wrong), sandwiches/scones/quiches/macaroons have my thumbs up, the lemon meringue tart in my opinion is a bit too big as are the nougat pieces and well, the cupcake (whilst pretty) was quite terrible (dry and crumby). I'm still in love with the interior of the shop, love all the colours, the seating, the lighting (you forget that you're sitting inside a shopping centre until you look back out the door.) High tea is definitely one of my favourite pastimes for a weekend!

cupcakes on pitt @ pitt st., town hall

It's been a good year or so since I was last at Cupcakes on Pitt. The last time I went, they still had the large sized cupcakes and now they've all been replaced by the smaller/bite sized ones which cost $2 each. It actually makes more sense that they're smaller - they're much easier to eat and not as filling. Well, that's until you scoff 3 of them down in one sitting which is what I did when I got home that day after picking up 6 cupcakes en route to the train station after work.

Check it out! The cupcakes have new packaging. So pretty! You can't believe how many people stared at me that day going to the train station, on the train and then on the walk home. So funny, I even caught my mum's attention (we were on the same train and she saw my box of cupcakes before she saw me!)

The flavours: Tiramisu, Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue, Peanut Butter, Green Tea and Cookies & Cream. There's actually quite a few more flavours to choose from - these were my top 6.

First to get eaten was the green tea, followed by the pumpkin - these were their most breakout flavours and I'm pretty sure they didn't have these flavours back a year ago. Liked the green tea, pumpkin - indifferent. To be honest, I was actually a little disappointed with the cupcakes - they just don't seem to taste the same. These smaller cupcakes are a lot drier (probably cause the icing on the top doesn't actually cover the entire top of the cake) and the texture is just very crumby. Can anyone tell me what's happened? I actually think the new cupcake shop that's opened up near Wynard is tasting better.

hurricane's grill & bar restaurant @ darling harbour

After the Melbourne Cup last week, J&I finished up at our respective work functions and decided to eat out at Hurricane's at Darling Harbour. I can't remember how long it took us to get together but I remember J complaining about it - unfortunately due to me being in heels for most of the afternoon, my feet were aching and so we took a very long winded bus trip which potentially took about 3 times as long as it would've to walk. Anyhow, I was more than relieved to plonk my bum down on a seat at Hurricane's. I didn't care all that much that we had to finish dinner by 7.30pm - my feet were aching and I was hungry.

It's quite a relaxed fit out at Hurricane's - I haven't been to the one in Bondi which everyone seems to talk about but somehow, I'd thought it was more upmarket? J reminded me that it is a steakhouse and it probably makes more sense for a more relaxed setting but anyhow, you get the nice view out over Darling Harbour which definitely compliments the meal.

Garlic Roll. J says the Herb Roll is actually even better.

Since ordering the mushrooms at Ribs & Rumps, J&I have become quite big fans of mushrooms - thought we'd try the garlic mushrooms here. These taste even better!

J is laughing at me because it seems that my camera has taken to eating food - apparently there is a sliver of garlic bread on the lens of my camera.I went for the 350g New York Strip with Pepper Sauce. Definitely recommend this over the Prime Rib Eye which J had - much more tender and seemed to have a bit more flavour to it. Chips were a tad burnt so I started eating J's which were fine.The 500g Prime Rib Eye with a side of mushroom sauce. J actually struggled with this one.

Food actually came out quite quickly because we left way before the time we were going to get kicked out. I saw a very pretty dessert at the next table but unfortunately, was too full to fit in any - next time. Anyway, might I add, next door to Hurricane's is the British Lolly Shop where J accused me of flirting with the guy that was working in there. But hey, all I did was walk in to look at lollies whilst he was going to the toilet, and the dude that was there comes up and offers me a lolly (as they do in every other British Lolly Shop you go to). So yes, just making that quite clear to all.

adriano zumbo chocolat cafe @ darling st., balmain

At the mere mention of Adriano Zumbo, my face lights up. Last week, I actually saw him in person and all I could do was sit there stupidly and stare. J actually looked at me and asked if I wanted to go get a photo with him and here I was in a state of nerves 'But what am I going to say'. So yes, all I ended up doing was stay put and stared longingly through the window where he was. (Yes...I grudgingly admit how stupid I am).

For weeks I'd been reading through other blogs the upcoming opening of Adriano Zumbo's Chocolat Cafe - positioned just a couple of doors down from his main shop which I've been frequenting as much as physically possible this year. J seems amused by the fact that I get excited each time I'm staring at the rows of cakes - and well, he's been doing the sensible thing each time making sure I look for traffic before I run across the road into the shop. And yes, then he eventually pulls me out after my hands are laden with cakes and then he also puts up with the fact that I get grumpy when he's driving (and I'm protectively guarding my cakes to make the trip home). So yes, J would've had more than one reason to be annoyed to see Zumbo in person but fortunately, he seems to get me enough to understand who and what Zumbo is.

It was actually lunch time and the plan had been to go to Zumbo's for dessert after some lunch. J suggested that we may as well have lunch at Zumbo's with the dessert. Great idea! One dark and one chilli hot chocolate (the chilli one has serious bite!), a Toasted Ham & Cheese Brioche, and a Chicken & Avocado Toasted Sandwich all enjoyed in the comfort of the courtyard with a stack of magazines and newspapers. Arguably the best way to spend the weekend.

Definitely recommend their sandwiches and toasts but the main reason I was here was to check out their desserts; it would've been less than a second after I finished my sandwich that I jumped back up to the counter to order. Here's the deconstructed Miss Marple. The girl at the counter actually came around to the table to ask what I thought of this one - I said to her quite honestly, I actually prefer the Miss Marple Cake, this deconstructed version was nice but it was just a little sticky and stuck to the bottom of the plate. And well, those orange balls (melon balls?) were frozen and didn't go that well with the crepes.

In response to my feedback on the deconstructed Miss Marple, the girl looked a little surprised but actually, I was just about to say that the main reason why I didn't like that one as much was because I liked the other dessert we'd ordered 'The Younger Years' - a chocolate fondant served with peanut butter icecream and peanut brittle in a novel silver kidney dish with a shot of raspberry coulis in a syringe. J has fun with it!

You see what I mean!
And ok, then the most embarrassing thing in the world happened. We headed up to the counter to pay and realised that between the two of us, we didn't have enough cash for the the food that we'd eaten (and as they've just opened, they've only got cash sales only). Ended up having to leave J at the shop whilst I quickly dashed to the ATM up the road. It wasn't to bad, cause after going to the ATM, I had enough cash to pick up some goodies for home.

Walking out of the cafe, it hit me then and there the amount of food we'd ate - and to eat so much and not have enough money to pay, it was a little hilarious (or maybe I was just that little bit delirious from the amount of sugar I'd had and the fact that I'd met Zumbo - the man himself!). It was definitely a good day and I look forward to going back and trying out the rest of the menu and fingers crossed Zumbo will be surprising us with more of us his cakes and bakes. And hopefully next time, we'll be just as lucky to get a seat as by the time this post and all other posts by fellow food bloggers make their rounds, I wouldn't be surprised that the whole world will be at Zumbo's cafe trying to get a table!