Petal Met Sugar

When I first heard that Petal Met Sugar was selling a dessert called ‘Terrarium’, I raced to my calendar to find when I could next go to Sydney to try it. Meeting a couple of lovely friends there, we snagged a table out the front and then it was terrarium time! The dessert ($10.50) is a finger lime panna cotta, dusted with cocoa nibs and topped with edible flowers. Let me start off by saying that the presentation was immaculate! This was a work of art, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed by the flavour either. The white chocolate wasn’t the sugary, sickly sweet kind, but it did add a rich, creaminess to the contrasting textures of the rest of the dessert. The cocoa nibs were almost like a biscuit crumb, super chocolatey but not overly sweet – I think they were my favourite element actually. Hidden beneath was the delightful burst of sourness from the finger lime panna cotta, just as soft and slightly wobbly as you would expect. Combined, a mouthful with all elements made for the perfect balance. So Petal Met Sugar isn’t just a pretty face, their desserts are well thought-out and definitely worth a visit. Or two.

Petal Met Sugar, 68 Sir John Young Crescent, Woolloomooloo, NSW, http://www.petalmetsugar.com.au/

Bao Stop

Bao Stop part two consisted of the amazing-sounding Peking duck fries ($15). Visualise, if you will, a large tray full of crisp, golden fries, topped with shredded duck, spring onion and Peking sauce. Can you see it? Well, basically that’s what Bao Stop are offering and what we ate on a recent visit to the Night Noodle Markets. The queue for this stall is rather long, so grab something from somewhere else first to snack on while you wait. The service at the other end is actually really fast, so once you’ve ordered the food takes less than 5 minutes to be served (wow guys, wow). We shared this dish between two, and found it very filling – the duck on top is plentiful, tender and full of flavour, enhanced by the Peking sauce that I must learn how to make at home. The meat just falls apart into lovely flakes of duck perfection. The fries were of the thinner variety and were cooked perfectly, although some were slightly soggy after being doused in sauce. The portion isn’t stingy – you are absolutely getting bang for your buck here, worth the wait for a fun, tasty treat.

Bao Stop, Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place until 13 March, http://www.baostop.com/

Black Star Pastry

In celebration of the Night Noodle Markets, I’m interrupting normal broadcast services and bringing you a special week of NNM food reviews, to help you plan your visit. I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about the famous Strawberry Watermelon cake from Sydney’s Black Star Pastry. Well, my Canberran friends, they’ve come to town, teaming up with N2 Extreme Gelato for the Good Food Month Night Noodle Markets in Reconciliation Place. At opening night my friend and I braved the queues (actually not as bad as last year) and before we knew it, it was cake time! The portion size ($8) is actually bigger than I had expected, served in a bamboo boat with a slightly inadequate mini-spoon. This cake is perfect for summer – the top layer was my favourite, with sweet-glazed strawberries topped with crunchy pistachio and delicate rose petals, most of the sweetness was here. Next was the almond dacquoise, deliate and light. Further down was a layer of rose cream, which had a light flavour reminiscent of Turkish delight, but not overly fragrant, followed by the layer of fresh watermelon and more cream. The flavours all worked together and impressively, and whilst I think the overall effect would have been more impressive if it was served slightly colder, this is a cake I will happily come back for!

Black Star Pastry, at the Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place, until 13 March 2016, http://www.blackstarpastry.com.au/

Pho @ Dickson

My friend and I had a craving for pho, so on a Monday night after work we headed up to Dickson to indulge our craving. Pho @ Dickson is unassumingly located on Woolley Street – if I hadn’t know it was there, I might have missed it. The restaurant was quiet on a Monday night and we received excellent service. I ordered the ‘bells and all’ beef pho ($14.50), which included rare beef, beef balls, beef tripe and cooked beef brisket (so, basically, all the beef). The bowl was huge, and this was my first time trying beef tripe – I didn’t mind the flavour actually, although the rare beef is always my favourite part of eating pho. The broth was suitably beefy and I could tell that this wasn’t going to be a need-to-down-a-litre-of-water type pho – it wasn’t outrageously salty and that left plenty of space to appreciate the broth’s flavour. The noodles varied in width, leading me to suspect that they make their own, and all of the usual accompaniments are offered (bean sprouts, Thai basil and lemon wedges, plus the sauces). At the end of our meal a sliced orange was brought out as a palate cleanser. I was impressed, definitely worth a visit.

Pho @ Dickson, 14 Woolley Street, Dickson ACT, no website

Thank you!

Guys, there are 100 lovely people out there following my blog – thank you all so much! Your readership means so much to me and I love hearing about all of your food adventures. Thanks again for your support and I can’t wait to share more amazing eats with you throughout the year. You’re the best! – Sharon

Ricardo’s Cafe

After seeing the cake display cabinet at sister venture Space Kitchen, I knew I had to stop in at Ricardo’s Cafe to try something from their extensive selection. Friends had raved about the cannoli there, but I was sucked in by the incredibly beautiful (and large) cakes in the display cabinet, and after much deliberation (the Cookie Monster? Snickers Gaytime?), I ordered the Raspberry Dome ($9.90) to dine in. The serving is massive – I would recommend sharing, otherwise the staff are happy to provide takeaway containers, so none of the deliciousness goes to waste. This cake is at its best when you can get a mouthful with all of the elements – the raspberry mousse, blood orange curd, chocolate tart shell and pistachio crumb all work together into a light but tasty combination. The raspberry mousse is beautifully light and fluffy, while the blood orange curd adds weight in the flavour department. The chocolate tart shell was a good choice, adding textural contrast, but the pistachios really brought the whole thing together. I would happily order this again – especially when there are plenty of leftovers for future me to enjoy!

Ricardo’s Cafe, Jamison Plaza, Bowman Street, Macquarie ACT, ricardoscafe.com/

Chasing Mr Morris

Sometimes the universe brings things together that are just meant to be. Apple and cinnamon, for example. Or banana and Nutella (can you see where I’m going with this?). On this fortuitous occasion, the magic things were ‘Golden Gaytime’ and ‘doughnut’. Yep. Not even kidding. This was only my second doughnut from Chasing Mr Morris, and I’d found the flavour last time to be a bit too subtle for me. No such trouble this time. The Golden Gaytime flavour was achieved by adding two of the best things ever onto the icing layer – peanuts and dulce de leche. Oh yeah! Whilst it didn’t scream Golden Gaytime, who even cares because it tasted so damn good?!! Dulce de leche is an Argentine treat basically made by cooking condensed milk, so it’s really rich, sweet and creamy. The slight saltiness from the peanuts was fabulous, as was the crunch they added. The doughnut itself just had to bring that lovely golden doughnutty flavour to the party, which it did, and voila, probably the best doughnut I’ve had in my life. So get on it people, this is top notch dessert material!

Chasing Mr Morris, The Hamlet, 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website