Guylian Cafe - The Rocks, Sydney

Hello, world!

After a gazillion months living in seclusion (no, not in a deserted yet uber-luxurious resort 300 miles north of Bora Bora), I'm making a soft comeback! Anyway, it's partially because I hate seeing Cla so lonely being the only contributing contributor at eatlikeacow and I realize it's time I start bringing cameras back to restaurants and snap some pics for you nice people to ooh and ahh and look at (hopefully).

...just FYI, taking a break off from eatlikeacow was like a vacation for me. I really enjoyed not lugging my camera to restaurants and having nice dinners with my friends without yelling "HEY! DON'T TOUCH THAT YET! I HAVEN'T TAKEN THE PICS YET!" to my friends every now and then.

Okay, back to the subject at hand. Guylian Cafe at The Rocks.




As far as I know, Guylian Cafe at The Rocks is still one of the top 10 posh patisserie-slash-coffeehouse in Sydney. It really has that European feel to it. Plus, I love Guylian. It's kind of the affordable alternative to Godiva or Valrhona, LOL. Let's face it, unless you're a Greek shipping magnate, who can afford to stock up on Godiva pralines in your big fridge?



The good thing about Guylian Cafe is, you can get fancy schmancy desserts that they serve in three-star restaurants without having to pay $200 for the preceding junks they serve (ha ha just kidding)

Mango Catalonia

-> This was their special of the day thing so I'm not sure if I get the name right. This thing looks pretty (reminds me of my late turtle Tupples, may he rest in peace), but rather hard to enjoy. The crust is very attractive, but it isn't the easiest thing to swallow. However, on the up-side, the mango mousse is to die for.

Rating: 7/10

Enjoy In

-> Hazelnut dacquoise enveloped with raspberry mousse. What can be better than that? Simply stunning. It's food like these that made me really really want to become a patissier (although I might end up flunking the course and become a patisserie eater, instead)

Rating: 8/10

Guylian Original Belgian Chocolate Praline Spread

-> The takeaway. This thing is crazy delicious. Think Nutella but much better texture, slightly less sweet, and infused with that magical Guylian aroma. This thing is supposed to be used as a spread for your sandwich, toast, cakes, etc...but I said to myself, screw it - I'm eating it straight from the jar.

Rating: 8.5/10

Nectarie - The Cannery, Clarke Quay

Chocolate Truffle Cake
The ultimate chocolate mousse with Valrhona dark Chocolate

Rating: 9/10

www.nectarie.sg

Novus - National Museum of Singapore

At the Museum for the Christian Lacroix the costumier exhibition.

Death by Nuttella, Iced Mint Tea & Flat White

Bakerz'in - Vivocity

needed something sweet after watching "my bloody valentine"...
i'm not one for the gore... was there for the wayfarer-like 3d specs.... ;D
(i didnt get to sneak it home though... *boo )

Rating : 5/10
layers and layers of chocolate, yet only passable... but theres better option out there...

Rating: 9/10
cookies and cream cheese cake
non-baked... all gooey, not too sweet not too salty...

Rating: 8/10
warm chocolate cake
i wonder if i've ever not order this when i'm in the shop...

Latte
the table went all ooh-ahh for the heart shape foam... haha

Da Paolo Gastronomia - Paragon

Tiramisu
arguably one of the best... although would be better if it's alcohol infused... :P

Strawberry Tiger Roll
best roll cake ever.... nyammm.... mind you.. its hugeeee...


Rating: 9/10
despite the gloomy fridge display where you pick your cake from... (didnt help that everything is all boxed up in plastic) gastronomia's cake is top notch...

Guylian Cafe - Circular Quay, Sydney

Finally - after months of waiting (and salivating while staring at the "opening soon" sign on their closed doors), it's finally here - Australia's first Guylian Cafe. Not the first one outside its native Belgium, mind you - that distinction belongs to their Singapore Changi Airport outlet that opened earlier this year.

I have to admit, I like Guylian chocolates very much. In fact, I like Belgian chocolates more than Swiss chocolates (sorry Dri! LOL). Especially Belgian pralines. For luxury chocolates, I still think that nothing beats Godiva, but for middle-upmarket ones, my vote goes to Guylian. I've been consuming their seashell-shaped pralines since I was born - pounds after pounds of Guylian pralines were always sent by my dear Grandaunt from Holland (back then, Guylian wasn't sold in Indonesia). In fact, "Guylian" was one of my first words as a child, so I was told by my dad!

Back to the topic on hand. I have to say that this place is - pardon my unrefined remark - da bomb. They're off to an excellent start - more than decent varieties of gateaux, chocolates, bonbons, pralines, truffles, and drinks. Not amazing variety, but definitely more than decent (hopefully they'll increase their menu in the future). Strictly speaking, this is more like a traditional chocolate cafe. Their menu are straightforward yet tasteful - such a nice break from the ilks of Max Brenner with their sugar overdose-inducing over-the-top menu.

100% Pure Pleasure
Belgian chocolate & Guylian praline enriched with coffee sponge and panna cotta

-> Alamak. It really is 100% indulgent. How does one describe the pleasure - it's smooth and chocolatey on the outside, the texture is as soft as a goddess' lips. It sparkles, too - with gold leaf sprinkles and adorned with bright red-tinted milk chocolate fences. Inside, it's even more smooth with perfect sweetness level and aroma balance. One whiff and one could sense an unmistakable scent of Guylian's famous praline. Lashes of raspberry, dark chocolate, and white chocolate sauces made this creation like a gift from God. Mmmm...

Rating: 9/10

Looking forward to subsequent visits. And the one after that. And after that...

Rive Gauche - Ngee Ann City

Strawberry Shortcake
sponge cake can be a tad too dry, otherwise the sweet-sour combi of the strawberry and cream is just perfect... (i find that lately i've gone off the sickly sweet stuff and preferring those with slight sour and bitterness...)

Rating: 7/10

La Renaissance - The Rocks, Sydney

IT'S MY B-DAY!! Sound the trumpets! Alert the Bouche du roi(*)!

Instead of grumbling about getting OLD (no, no...not old, just more MATURE. That's right. keep denying it...keep denying it...) I'll just shut up and not talk about it at all. *grin*

Aaanyway. This year, I was very much in a French mood (oh COME ON. I'm in a French mood HALF the time! The other half being the Japanese mood!) - so I decided to keep things as French as possible.

Larme de Gauguin
mixed berry mousse encased in decorative joconde and topped with glazed mixed berries

Part of their "Art Cakes" series. It's a beautifully crafted cake - and the name is inspiring as well. "Larme de Gauguin"...we're of course, speaking of the great post-impressionist French painter Henri-Paul Gauguin here. La Renaissance always name cakes in their art cakes series after famous painters - Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso to name a few.

Speaking of La Renaissance, it's still my favorite French patisserie in Sydney. I don't care if that Adriano Zumbo guy (who runs the Adriano Zumbo patisserie) gets all the limelight lately, but to me, classic French patisserie is still the only way to go. Yup, I'm quite the traditionalist when it comes to French patisserie. But it doesn't mean that I'm rigidly conservative. I do love new inventions, but within certain boundaries.


I always felt that French patisserie has reached a point of perfection centuries ago. Treats like the macarons, fraisier, mille-feuille, mont blanc, gateau opera, etc should be considered the staples and people should work based on those classics. It's when they create abominations like the TARO CHEESECAKE and claim them as French pastry I begin to severely object.

Anyway, enough about that - let's talk about this Larme de Gauguin (pronounced LARhm-duh-gah-GAHN). Well, it literally means "Gauguin's tears", hence the teardrop shape. It's very delightful - although just a tad on the sour side for my palate. However, the mousse part is a medley of berries - I can literally taste them dancing on my mouth. How delightful! ...and the Joconde (it's that thin sponge cake sheet that encases the mousse) is blissfully lined with raspberry syrup. There's a layer of coconut compote between layers of the mousse, and it perfectly goes with the whole cake.

Rating: 9/10

and oh...here's a shot of my birthday noodle. I hate to display this photo, but being Chinese- Indonesian, having noodles on your birthday is just as important as having your cake. More important, even. It is said that the long strands of the noodles symbolize long life. BTW, It was 7 am when I cut my birthday cake, so do you think I have time preparing a real, home-made fried noodle? No siree. It's just INDOMIE (Indonesian instant noodles)! Actually, it's Indomie Mie Keriting Goreng Special (Indomie special instant curly fried noodles) instead of the ubiquitous, regular Indomie Mie Goreng, because it's my B-DAY!!! (and it has to be special...)


(*) La Bouche du roi: the royal catering department in the French royal household. Literally means "The king's mouth"

Pony Dining - The Rocks, Sydney

Pony is still very popular these days, they're even full-house for a late dinner on a Monday night. I didn't make any reservations, assuming that they won't be busy on a Monday night - and I ended up waiting 30 minutes for a table. My bad.

The restaurant is quite unique because of their 'communal' dining table. They do have some individual tables for two inside their restaurant, but the main attraction is the alfresco (yet very warm on witter night) long wooden communal table outside, just adjacent to the bar. Supposedly, they design the long communal table to encourage conversations between diners, but being Asian (often deemed to be individualists in Western standards), we pretty much kept the talking among ourselves. LOL

The restaurant is headed by the charming and dashing Damian Heads - one of Australia's foremost celebrity chef. He wasn't there when we dined there, though. The menu is very influenced by Argentinean style cooking - with the use of wood fired Argentinean grill being the restaurant's forte. The wine list is also pretty impressive - good selections of French and Italian wines in addition to Australian wines.

Wine ordered:
2006 Fattori Pinot Grigio (Venezie, Italy)

Reason:
I'm by no means a wine expert, but I heard from someone that Pinot Grigio (it's a variety of Pinot Gris) goes well with anything. Considering the amount of red meat we ordered, it seems peculiar to pair it with white wine, I know, but I think it works just fine.

P.S. Pardon the awful pictures. It's really, really dark, my camera kind of sucks for low light, and didn't want to take too much pictures so as not to offend other diners (remember, it's a communal table!).

Grilled Italian flatbread with smoky eggplant & white bean dip

-> It's pretty good. The dip has really strong Latino / Argentinean kick to it and it's just delightful. The flatbread is crispy and slightly oily - eating it by itself is already a good treat.

Rating: 7/10

Rib eye, crisp layered potato cake, wilted spinach, jus

-> A perfectly-marbled Angus beef with perfect fat ratio. Delightful.

Rating: 8.5/10

Crisp pressed duck, sweet potato mash, bok choy, bitter-sweet orange sauce

-> There's just something with Ducks and Oranges. They go perfectly together, with unquestionable chemistry. Otherwise, why would those grand chefs in France create Canard a l'orange? In fact, I think Ducks should always be eaten with a citrusy-sweet sauce, just like wilted asparagus should always be eaten with hollandaise. Okay, maybe not always, but you know what I mean. Oh, by the way, I just love this dish. It has an obvious Asian influence as well (with the bok choy), and the sweet potato mash is so good I want to eat it everyday. Must-order!

Rating: 9/10

Roasted blue eye, forestiere potatoes, caper, parsley and lemon sauce

-> Just exquisite. Especially the sauce. Must-try.

Rating: 8.5/10

Argentinean style short rib of beef, chimichurri

-> Exquisite. Simple yet amazing dish. It's wood fire grilled, so it has a unique smoky texture. Took quite awhile to cook, but definitely worth the wait. After the rib is sprinkled with lemon juice and dipped in chimichurri (it's an Argentinean dip), it tastes like party in my mouth. Definitely will be coming back for more.

Rating: 8.5/10

Chocolate hazelnut tartlet with vanilla ice cream

-> One good dessert, eaten by many. We're too full for dessert but were boh kam guan (unwilling / un-acquiescent) to leave the restaurant without at least savoring something sweet.

Rating: 7/10

Lindt - Martin Place, NSW

after museum...

Iced dark chocolate

Iced Mocha

Hot Chocolate Lava Cake
flourless cake perfect for wheat-intolerant tummies... its all gooey and yummy... not too sweet not too bitter... balanced with the white chocolate ice cream... and came in a perfect dessert size that wont leave you too stuffed yet still fulfilling... also perfect for indecisive people like me who cant decide if i want ice cream or cake... hohoho
as good if not better than the ones in bakerz'in

Rating: 9/10

Love Supreme - Paddington, NSW

from the same owner as Young Alfred at Custom House (where i'll be having lunch next few weeks due to unforeseen circumstances... ehm)

the daytime menu is light and bakery-like... (erm.. d'ohh~)
would love to comeback and try out the night time menu... or get it delivered at least
delivery is a lil rare in sydney ya? might as well make use of it while you can...

Orange & Grapefruit Juice
ice on the side, ...clever

Bacon, Avocado & Rockets Ciabatta Panino
had actually asked for bacon tart... waiter definitely had hearing problem, and i dont say no for bread when it right in front of my eyes... but the ciabatta turned out really lovely and crisp, with the right amount of dressing... *love
but really... more salad please?

Eggplant, Pine Nuts & Parmesan Ciabatta Panino

Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake
moist, sweet and a lil bitter... yum... could do with a scoop of vanilla ice cream i reckon... :P