I don't cry. I eat...at Guillaume at Bennelong, Opera House

 A NIGHT (EATING) AT THE OPERA

As you may have read recently on my Thank You post, I'm jetting off to live in another part of the world soon *sobs*. Having grown up in Sydney for most of life I have decided to take myself from my everyday Sydney life to to explore living in another part of the globe.  Sydney isn't just a place with great weather but a place full of beautiful food and people which explains why there are so many food bloggers here who just can't stop taking photos of the plate placed in front of us at restaurants. 

With time ticking away (a little bit too quickly for my liking actually) and my journey about to come I have had to say goodbye to my life and this city bit by bit and what better way to say goodbye to Sydney than going to one of the most beautiful restaurants in one of the most iconic house in Sydney?

I don't cry. I bake...Cookies!

CRAZY ABOUT COOKIES

And now for something a little different! You've seen the crazy cakes and the cupcakes. Now time for some 2-dimensional fun! I haven't baked cookies since my teens (a LONG time ago). I dug out some of the cookie cutters we've collected over the years and found some hearts, trains, dogs and gingerbread man. Since I haven't made cookies for a while I decided not to be so adventurous and stuck to hearts. I used the sugar cookies recipe from Peggy Porschen's Cake Chic book. 

I recently came across a sale where there were cookie cutters for $1! I found a doggy bone shape and thought it was so cute. I originally bought it to cut fondant to put on doggy theme cake but I decided to have a little fun by making some bone cookies. Check out the fun I had!

I don't cry. I eat...at Cafe Ish + Bloggers Lunch

LUNCH AT RAMEN RAFFS 2ND HOME

You are starving. Starving so hard you are starting to picture your companion eater's head in the shape of a burger. Then the waiter holding a plate approaches...Please, please let it be mine, you mutter to yourself. Then, like the rain gods have just answered your prayers, the waiter stops by you, and like what seems to be like 5 minutes when it was 5 seconds, you eyes follow the waiter's hand as he lowers  the plate gently in front of you. Your mouth waters, your heart becomes full and just when you pick up your cutlery to dig into the food in front you, like a ninja out of nowhere you feel a quick slap on your hand and you hear "STOP! Let me take a photo first!" Yup, you're having your meal with a food blogger (or someone who just LOVES to take photos of everything). 

Food bloggers are a funny lot. And nowadays you would know one or know someone who knows one. Ever since I entered into the blogging world I've met some awesome bloggers. Bloggers live their passion for food in the blogosphere so we don't actually "meet" each other that often so it's really nice when a few bloggers decided to get together for some good food and chat. 

I don't cry. I decorate...Homer Simpson and Giant Donut Cake!

THE D'OH!NUT CAKE

If you grew up in modern western civilization and watched TV words like "Cowabunga" and "D'oh!" would be familiar to you and you would have said the phrase "Mmmm...Donut" a la Homer Simpson at least once in your life! Being born in the 80s the Simpsons TV show was a huge part of my generation and is still a favourite for people in my generation so it was no surprise that this cake was for a 30th birthday party. 

ganached giant donut
I had to put it on cups and a plate of water to keep it out of reach
from ants since it's warmer these days

I was asked to make a Homer Simpson cake with a Homer figurine on top. I thought having a huge 3D donut would be awesome with a Homer figurine on top either falling into the donut hole or having the time of his life on his dream donut. I was a little nervous about carving the donut, however, having a little turntable (a cake decorator's must-have tool) made it easy to carve the 3D donut into shape. I had to get a reality check on it so I sent the ganached donut (picture above) to a friend who actually thought it was a chocolate donut. Phew! And here is finished cake:

I don't cry. I eat and drink...High Tea at Kables

HEN'S & BRIDAL SHOWER AT THE FOUR SEASONS

No there is no naughty cake in this blog post ;) Just in case you saw the sub-title and thought there was another naughty cake to share. No, this time round it's all class. My friend, Meyo, is getting hitched soon and we had a hens/bridal shower at one of Sydney's super classy hotels, The Four Seasons. 

As we walked into the restaurant we were ushered to the private room at the back (told ya it was all class!). We were greeted by a long table decked out with fine china and goody bags. I must give kudos to the bridesmaids who did such an amazing job with the party favours. Check them out:

THANK YOU + AN ANNOUNCEMENT

IF I HAD A HUGE PIECE OF VIRTUAL CAKE...

...I'd cut you each a piece! There are a few reasons why I don't cry: I eat, I bake, I decorate and I have awesome readers! The reason why I'm so excited is because my page views is more than 10,000! (I promise it's not me sitting here clicking away) So this is just a short little post just to say a big "Thank you" for reading and supporting my blog. I hope you enjoy reading about my eating, baking and decorating adventures and hope I inspire you in some way (even if it's just drooling!). Thank you to my Followers as well :) Don't forget that the blog has a Facebook Page now and Twitter as well (see right hand side of the blog under "Contact"). So please 'Like' and 'Follow'! 

Now for some news, this little blogger will soon be leaving lovely Sydney to experience life somewhere else for a little while. Where to, you ask? I guess you'll just have to find out when I get there :)

☮ & ❤,
idontcryieat

I don't cry. I eat...at New Shanghai, Ashfield

DUMPLING LOVE

Ever since dumpling house Din Tai Fung hit the shores of Sydney a few years I couldn't help but feel that there has been a dumpling craze since then. These little soup-filled delights are so sought after these days that dumpling houses are either popping up everywhere or the people of Sydney started to notice dumpling houses that already exist in the suburbs.

One of these suburbs is Ashfield. About a 20 minute drive from the city of Sydney Ashfield is home to a huge Chinese community where the main eat street (Liverpool Street) is lined with restaurants serving cuisine from China. Many restaurants seem to have the word "Shanghai" in it you'd think they're all associated with each other! A few of them have crowds outside waiting for their table and of course where the crowds hover the food must be good :) 

I don't cry. I eat...frozen yogurt at Moochi!

MOOCHI'LICIOUS FROYO

I once walked into a coffee shop in the city where I saw a froyo machine and ordered some froyo only to met with "Sorry, we don't have froyo today." I was too stunned with disappointment that I didn't even ask why. I figured that it was because it was seasonal for them and they weren't selling it until the weather got warmer. It didn't make sense to me because don't people eat ice cream during winter? Anyways, that little incident put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. So when I found out that a new froyo joint was opening up in Sydney I was super excited- probably at the idea that I won't be turned away if I ordered froyo from this place!

lining up for froyo

MOOCHI opened it's doors to the world a few months ago and it has been a major hit! You'd think that it might be a little crazy to open a frozen yogurt shop right in the middle of winter but the folks of Sydney don't seem to care. I certainly didn't cos I'd eat froyo whether it's cold or hot outside! MOOCHI opened its flagship cafe in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield which is perfect for local diners who want a little sweet treat after their dinners. Strathfield is bursting with loads of Asian eateries (particular Korean). I can imagine that after some spicy food froyo would be absolute delightful for an après-dinner dessert!

The froyo flavours are awesome at MOOCHI: Original, Pomegranate or Green Tea. Then it's time for toppings where you get to choose a huge selection of fruits, nuts, chocolates and biscuits (crushed tim tams anyone?)

I love fruits with my froyo so I had the pomegranate with blueberries and strawberries. I love how the froyo is not that milky and not as sugary as ice-cream. Plus it makes me feel like I'm eating something "healthy" for dessert with all that fruit around it (who am I kidding really...). My mate opted for a sweeter alternative: Tim Tams and raspberries...droolala:

moochiliciousness!!!

If you can't get enough of the froyo at the MOOCHI cafe then you can always bring some home by ordering the 'Massive'. Then you can slowly work through it in your own sweet time on the couch in a Snuggie watching your favourite DVDs....ahhh bliss...

I don't cry. I bake...Coconut Cupcakes

COCONUT CUPCAKES

Do you ever show up to parties with a chocolate dessert and then someone announces "Oh...but I don't like chocolate." *awkard silence* I know. How can you not like chocolate?? That's blasphemous in the dessert world!!!! Just kidding :) I'm all for everyone having their own peculiar taste and meeting non-chocolate lovers is quite a frequent occurrence. So when I bring things to parties now I try to make a more "neutral" flavour like vanilla cupcakes but after a while I can feel myself getting a bit boring. So what so I see as an alternative? 

COCONUT! I love the smell of coconut. It reminds me of summer and holidays! It's not a fruit that has an overpowering smell and it borders between bland and sweet. One of the books that I received for my birthday was the Sparkle Cupcakery Book and there was something called the Coconut Bling Cupcakes recipe. Sparkle Cupcakery is in Sydney (which I haven't visited yet!) and I hear it's a classy little joint where you can get coffee and cupcakes. I did come across them at the Aroma Festival this year and they are a little bit exxy for my budget (girl on a budget here!). I guess I'm just going to have to make myself some cupcakes from the book to enjoy their pretty cupcakes...

toasting desiccated coconut

These cupcakes are perfect to bring to any party where you know there are non-chocolate lovers among the crowd. It's moist and tasty without being super sweet.

toasted!

I don't cry. I eat...Dessert at House

"BETTER THAN SEX"

This is a short little post just to share with you something that was just sweetilicious! After dinner one night my friend suggested we go somewhere for something "better than sex". SAY WHAT? Well, like any human being I was curious ^_^ and followed his lead to House, a Thai restaurant along Elizabeth Street, Sydney (down Central Station end). It was a quirky little place where most of the seating was outdoors. It looked like what you see in South East Asia where casual furniture is used and the only decor are fairy lights but classier.

When we got there it was full house and we managed to get a seat inside the restaurant after a few minutes wait. We ordered the Better Than Sex dessert (which is 2 thick slices of brioche toasts with a massive scoop of pandan ice cream) and Cup D which is chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream served in a huge round tea cup.

Better Than Sex was definitely super sweet! I loved the toast and the pandan ice cream which wasn't too overpowering was a good match. The sauce I think was caramel (sorry, too busy eating I forgot to take a good look at the menu) and it gave it that extra kick of sweetness. The Cup D was just like any chocolate cake. The cup was hot which kept the chocolate cake nice and warm while we dug our spoons into it. Yum... but not mind-blowing.

I guess the million dollar question is: Was the dessert better than sex? Hmmm...my only answer to that is "It's all relative"*cheeky grin*

☮& ❤,
idontcryieat

P.S. I didn't get to taste any of the food as we came here after dinner. I heard that the cuisine here is a bit hit and miss but I think this place looks like a good spot if you're looking for a quirky little spot for a dinner with friends where the company is more important than the food.

I don't cry. I decorate...Sweet Beez Cake

A CAKE AS SWEET AS HONEY

Spring time is here and the bees are buzzing and the birds are fluttering!!! If you love the sunshine you'll be walking around with a smile everyday since the skies have been so beautiful. It's only natural that my inspiration for cakes lately come from all things spring such as the colour yellow and bees. 

Not many of my friends are having kids yet so this little girl, Maddie (who is the first baby in my social circle), tends to get a lot of my cake love :) I have previously posted about a Teddy Bear Cake (click here for the post) which I made for the baby shower for Maddie's mum's 2nd baby. Of course Maddie fell in love with it when she saw it. I believe "Teddy" is a frequent occurrence in her vocab. 

Drawing out the concepts

It seemed like only yesterday that we were throwing a baby shower for Maddie. I couldn't quite believe that time went by so quickly and now she's 2! With her cake I knew I had to incorporate a teddy on the cake but I didn't want to make another cake that was similar to the baby shower cake. I decided to make something that was a little different. And seeing it was the season where flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing I thought what about a bee hive with little bees buzzing around? I also decided to use buttercream on the cake as it was such a hit with Maddie last time. For the cake I used chocolate mudcake so that the stripes created by the yellow butter cream filling would go with the bee theme. 

Layers!