Although I consider myself a complete cake enthusiast, what I know about cake decorating is vast. Scratch that, what I don’t know could probably fit into or be found at Glasshouse Cakes and Supplies in Revesby. For the seriously cake obsessed as well as the mum or dad that wants to make and decorate cakes for their kids, the store is a treasure trove of goodies. One sunny Saturday afternoon Mr NQN and I took the drive out to Revesby. You see I had a big list of must purchases as my supplies were running low and every few months I restock.

Glasshouse Cakes and Supplies is the baby of Betty Lakkis and her husband Michael. I first met Betty when she was the facilitator at a Planet Cake  decorating class and she has since branched out on her own to supply the avid cake decorating world with an enormous range of items, some of which I’ve never seen or heard of before. The aim is to appeal to the hardcore cake decorators who want the tools to make world class cakes but they also wanted to stock items that a harried mum might want to pick up to help decorate cupcakes or cakes herself.

The staff are all cake decorators and even Michael can make valued recommendations (I dare say he has probably watched Betty make more cakes than Mr NQN has mine).

There are amazing food extract oils from U.S. brand LorAnn which comes from Michigan. The flavours range from a delicious cheesecake, peanut butter, red licorice, marshmallow, champagne, cotton candy and more. The fact that they are oils means that they can be used to flavour chocolates without causing the chocolate to seize.

Holly the sales assistant shows us the latest trend – cake pop molds. You fill the mold with cake or cookie dough as per the recipe and then close it up tightly so that any surplus extrudes (you want it to be packed tightly) and you have your cake pop top. It comes in various shapes including an already made cupcake one.

She also shows us the cake pushers which you fill with cake layer and then push the bottom lever up to eat.

Another recent trend? The Martha Stewart paper flowers.

A kaleidoscope of colours

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“I think it’s time for another adventure” I said to Miss America and Queen Viv. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the lovely Maeve O’Meara suggested that we visit Misky Cravings in Sydney’s Fairfield. So in Queen Viv’s little car we battle seemingly torrential rain (which has actually kept most people indoors) and take the drive out to Fairfield.

First things first, what is Misky Cravings? Well Misky is the word for delicious so the name means delicious cravings. Set as the first shop to the right inside a shopping mall. Fortuitously we get a park outside and jump from the car to the kerb while dodging fat droplets. We learn that Carmita runs the restaurant with Julio her husband who is the chef. They opened it in 2011 and they serve authentic Peruvian food. And to prove the latter point the restaurant starts to fill up with Peruvians who sit down to a glass of Pisco Sour and plates of food.

The menu is not for the undecided and by the undecided we mean us. I don’t know if ordering things based on novelty value of the name is necessarily a good strategy so apart from requesting “Leche de Tigre” in a Zoolander voice, we ask for Carmita’s help in choosing. She chooses two entrees and three mains for the three of us which we learn is just the right amount of food as portions are very generous here. And with Peruvian cuisine, three things stand out: the variety of corn, the aji yellow chilli and ceviche.

Jug Chica morada $8

Chicha morada is an interesting drink made up of purple corn and fruit with cinnamon, cloves and lemon to produce a sweet, delicious drink whose cousin would perhaps be a spiced grape juice.

Incakola $4

Tasting and looking nothing like Coke, but nevertheless made by the Coca Cola company, the Inca kola is a bubblegum flavoured soft drink. The first thing that flashes into my mind is the flavour of the blue slushee at the 7/11.

Vuelve a la Vida (back to life) A very spicy ceviche cocktail with calamaris, octopus, prawns and mussels marinated in lemon, coriander, garlic and lots of chilli $12

We’re all fans of this ceviche served in a tall balloon glass with pieces of octopus, prawn and mussels with lashings of lemon, coriander, garlic and chilli and two fried rings of calamari on top. It’s fresh and tangy and the seafood has an excellent, tender texture to it.

Leche de tigre An aphrodisiac hang over cure; spiced up blended ceviche $ 10.00

OK I admit I was curious about this because not only was it called leche de tigre (tiger milk) but also it was said to be an aphrodisiac and hang over cure! It’s a blended up ceviche (“fish milkshake” as Queen Viv calls it) and sure enough it was a cold, tangy soup with chunky pieces of ceviche fish and seafood and large yellow toasted corn on top to give it crunch. It’s probably more at home in a really hot environment rather than a cold, rainy Autumn evening.

Causita frita de atún Fried mash potato seasoned with peruvian spices and filled with tuna topped with a tangy seafood and mayonnaise $10

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I don’t know many things for certain but I do know this. Having a cup of tea makes everything better. And sometimes the mood you are in, or indeed the mood you want to be in, can depend on the flavour of tea that you drink. Madame Flavour is an Australian tea that comes to you in silken infuser pods with large, tea leaves and a delectable range of flavours. There is a blend to suit every taste of mood including Grey De Luxe; White with Rose; Sultry Chai; Green, Jasmine and Pear; Mint Lavender Tisane and their Signature Blend. My favourite is the white with rose with the delicate aroma of rose and the goodness and health benefits of white tea (which will hopefully counteract the effects of the biscuits that I eat with the tea ).

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