I approach Easter like that of a child: a week long chocolate eating opportunity. Unlike a child though, I get a say in the type of chocolate that I consume and my preferences are by Colefax chocolates in Haberfield and Belle Fleur in Balmain-both Australian made using Belgian chocolate. I have bought, in my time, over 150 chocolate truffles from each company for myself or friends/family, in all various shapes and sizes, lured by the tempting displays at David Jones confectionery counters. What I particularly liked, apart from the sublime taste is the craftsmanship put into each truffle. So when I was told that they both had shops that I should visit, I left it until Easter, when I knew that the best displays would be on show.

We head off to Colefax in Haberfield, the suburb right next to Leichardt where there is a strong Italian influenced population. So much so that there’s even a Bocci court in the local park and all of the shops on Ramsay street have a definite Italian flavour. As its Easter they’re open on a Sunday and we walk into the chocolate coloured shop, resplendent with all sorts of Easter goodies in a kaleidoscope of shades.

Reg, the owner Peter Lee’s father, is a very charming and affable fellow whose passion for chocolates is almost equaled by his passion for wine and cheese. He tells us all about Haberfield (yes I’m embarrassed to admit that whilst I was born and bred here in Sydney, I had never visited it, only driven through). He tells us that whilst Leichardt is the sister suburb for eating out, Haberfield is a great place for buying produce and cooking at home. I get the feeling that he’s to go-to man for all sorts of food related advice and his enthusiasm is infectious.

There’s a showstopping range of easter chocolates from the gigantic aboriginal paint inspired eggs with 1 kg of chocolate and hidden eggs peering out from detailed holes (the moulds that Colefax use are from Belgium only, such is the detail on them-check out the detail on the Hen’s night favourite “Kama Sutra” chocolates).

Kama Sutra chocolate

There are also huge half egg shells within which sit a range of smaller eggs in various sizes, colours and patterns in four different sizes up to the enormous extended family version. The colourful eggs are not surprisingly a bestseller and I am crushed to learn that their Babushka easter egg which consists of 6 easter eggs all within a layer of each other (the closest thing to a never ending chocolate fantasy) has been sold. Indeed, Reg laments that yesterday during a 20-30 person crush yesterday that their Babushka display model was stolen! All of the chocolates are made daily starting from 6am for maximum freshness so unfortunately I am out of luck as far as the Babushka is concerned.

Single origin chocolate eggs $30

Single Origin Taster pack 6 eggs for $15

He shows us the latest trend in chocolate-single origin chocolate. These are chocolates where the cocoa beans and butter are sourced from a single location around the globe giving rise to markedly different chocolate tastes. There is Peru with a 32% cocoa, Venezuela 43%, Peru 64%, Ecuador 71% up to Tanzania which has a 75% cocoa component. “Its like wine you see-where a Cab Sav from one place will have a different characteristic and flavour to a Cab Sav in another area” he explains and that these are for gourmet chocolate buffs who treat their chocolate like wine. Seven years ago, the chocolate mix they were selling was 85% milk chocolate and 15% dark. Now its 60% milk chocolate and 40% dark and he expects it to reverse to 40% milk and 60% dark as people pick up on the health benefits of dark chocolate.

He also tells us of a great chili truffle trick. When serving truffles or dessert after dinner, start with a chili truffle. This will help clear the palate and make the next course taste much clearer and true, working much like, or even better than a sorbet. Indeed, he recommends serving truffles at the end of the meal not with a champagne but with Tokay which perfectly balances the sweetness.

Along the way he offers us a sample of the Fiesta chili truffle (divine with a mild chili tingle). There are two chili truffles, the Gold Award winning Fiesta chocolate and there’s also the Chili Bomb for the serious chili enthusiasts. A sample of the Vera Myrtle turns me into a quivering mess with the gorgeous dark chocolate surrounding a perfect whole toffee macadamia-if you wanted to convert someone into a dark chocolate lover, give them this chocolate. Even the novelty caramel easter egg, is divine with gorgeously smooth and butterscotchy caramel with a slight crunch-definitely no relation to the tooth aching sweetness of the caramello koala caramel.

I choose for my purchase the carton of eggs, the smaller version of half a dozen eggs as the colours have caught my eye and my imagination ($15). The bunny with the two types of filled eggs (peppermint and strawberry) also finds his way into my basket ($8) along with a variety of truffles to give to my mother for her birthday ($90 per kg). They’re boxed beautifully and Reg slips in some extra truffles so that the box looks great. What a sweetie.

Unfortunately three hours in the car and the bunny didn’t make it home intact. I feel like a muffled, disguised voice has rung me and said “Your bunny is dead” and hung up. Its quite devastating but thankfully the rest of my purchases remain perfect.

With my mother, she lets us sample these along with her (yes its possible to slice a truffle into two). The St Lazare, sugared pistachios and Italian nougat in milk chocolate is gorgeously rich and nutty.

The Alannah, a vanilla ganache in white chocolate named after their daughter is a sweet and delicious creamy vanilla.

The Orange Blossom, a white Marnier ganache in white chocolate is delicately scented with Orange Grand Marnier.

Sunshine, a pineapple fondant in dark chocolate is a somewhat jarring sounding description but the proof is in the eating. Its gorgeous with the sweet tangy pineapple fondant perfect against the bittersweet dark chocolate. Its one of my favourites.

Cupcake is a raspberry marshmallow with nougat in milk chocolate. Of course I had to buy this being that it is cupcake shaped. The nougat is very nutty with an interesting juxtaposition against the spongy raspberry flavoured marshmallow.

Pamela, the milk butter truffle in milk chocolate flakes is soft and gorgeous like an upmarket flake. Its named after his mother.

The Deco, a honey and almond ganache is a honey lover’s dream. Gorgeously smooth and distinct with fragrant honey. Its one of my favourites.

The easter bun has the slightest hint of cinnamon and a sublime creaminess.

The three eggs: peppermint in dark chocolate, strawberry in white chocolate and caramel in milk chocolate are decadent good version of the humble egg. The caramel is definitely my favourite although the other two are close behind.

The Fiesta: a chili ganache in milk chocolate we save for our experiment. A few days later, we have our main meal and then try some Banana bread. We note the flavours and then try a Fiesta truffle. Then we try the Banana bread again and interestingly, we taste a wider palette of flavours-the other slightly more hidden flavours like walnut emerge alongside a more salty flavour. Its a very interesting experiment and one well worth trying at your next dinner party!

The dark chocolate coffee beans ($22 for 250g), ones that we were warned were moreish are frighteningly and compulsively so. I had to put myself between them and my husband or he would have gladly eaten the rest of the 250g bag. The coffee beans giving a fresh roasted crunch (roasted in their kitchens and then coated) and the sublime dark chocolate enrobing them.

My “carton” of half a dozen eggs is tried last and they are dark chocolate vividly streaked and patterned eggs, gloriously artistic but even better when being consumed. After trying these I’d definitely have to say that whilst Colefax does all kinds of chocolate, their dark chocolate is most certainly the star. I’m not even a particularly big dark chocolate eater but find myself enjoying their dark chocolates the most. The only issue here is that I had 5 left waiting for me to eat them and I have to somehow resist.

In May the rest of the renovations will be completed and there will be a huge cafe with coffee and chocolate and other temptations. I think we’ll definitely have to make this our second visit to Haberfield.

Later on in the day, we visit Balmain to pick up some Easter chocolates from Belle Fleur. We walk in past the sun shaded windows which disappointingly render the displays behind the glass invisible (I am too short to peer over the top of them!). Pity as they’re quite creative ranging from chocolate houses to chocolate burgers. Its all very quiet and whilst the people are polite, there’s a decidedly efficient but quiet atmosphere as if they want to get us in and get us out. I buy some truffles and instead of being boxed they’re plonked into a plastic bag marring the top of the cappucino truffle - if I had intended to give it as a gift, I wouldn’t have been able to do so. I also buy a chocolate bunny with eggs and the when I ask for a bag, they give me a plastic supermarket bag, even though there are spiffy paper bags available. Indeed another customer after buying quite a dozen eggs is given a plastic bag which she declines and asks for a proper paper bag. Surely the paper bags doesn’t cost that much? Call me a fussy customer but given the chocolates are so good, its a sloppy ending.

Obviously the chocolate itself is top notch but the staff putting the delicate truffles in a plastic bag where they will get crushed in the heat of Easter and then putting it in a plastic shopping bag does their chocolate no justice and makes a customer feel like they’ve just bought something from a local milk bar or supermarket.

The cappucino cup is a delicate milk chocolate cup three layer creamy ganache filling consisting of milk chocolate ganache, coffee ganache and white chocolate ganache. Its smooth and creamy but not particularly strong in the coffee taste.

The Easter bun is very, very lightly scented with apple and I might be tasting a bit of Calvados in it although it is very, very light.

The Violet chocolate is gorgeous-unusual and heady with violets. I can imagine that if you like floral teas like Earl Grey, you might enjoy this.

The praline filled white bunny and eggs is good-creamy and sweet.

Colefax Chocolates

78 Ramsay Street
Haberfield NSW 2045
Tel: +61 (02) 9798 2022

32 Cottam Avenue
Bankstown NSW 2022
Tel: +61 (02) 9796 2022

Mon-Fri : 10.00am to 6.00pm
Sat : 9.00am to 4.00pm
Both boutiques are opened on the 2 Sundays preceding Easter and Christmas each year.
http://www.colefaxchocolates.com.au/

Belle Fleur chocolates

658 Darling Street Rozelle NSW 2039
Tel: +61 (02) 9810-2690
Mon-Fri: 9:00am to 6.00pm
Saturday: 9:00 to 4.00pm
Sunday: 10:00 to 4:00pm
http://www.bellefleur.com.au/

On our visit to Bourke Street Bakery a few weeks back, we drove past The Book Kitchen, a cafe spilling over with patrons inside and out. It looked intriguing and there’s nothing more enticing than a busy cafe so we made a mental note to come back. Looking a their website featuring organic and bio dynamic produce (http://www.thebookkitchen.com.au/) we knew just who we would take here -my husband’s vegetarian, health loving family. So after some tandem bike riding in Centennial Park, appetites well and truly worked up, we descended. In some minor miracle, parking in Surry Hills was not a nightmare and we found two spots right outside The Book Kitchen. Inside we stake out our spot on one side of the large square communal table and order. It appears that everyone likes the sound of the same dishes so we all agree to share dishes, such is our curiosity.

We order our drinks and settle back to choose from the amazing variety of books-mostly food related with some design books thrown in for good measure. I feel like I’ve come home to my dream library and I’m picking up book after book. I’ve got Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, my husband has a design book on Industrial Interiors, A&D have a book solely devoted to potatoes including some incredible and bizzare looking Peruvian ones and Anneli is looking for her favourite cookbook -the I Hate to Cook Book.

Mixed berry frappe $5

Our drinks arrive first and the Mixed berry frappe ($5) with Berries, apple juice and lemon sorbet is refreshingly good, especially for a sweltering day like this. Its not too sweet courtesy of the lemon sorbet but still resonant with antioxidant berries.

Sunshine shake $5

The dairy free Sunshine shake ($5) with rockmelon, honey, orange juice is delicious-its very creamy and fruity so should sate any lactose intolerant people and fool their food demons! We barely notice the time that it takes for our food to arrive, from reading reviews, its reported to be very slow but the food arrives before we know it thanks to our reading entertainment-a clever trick to keep the hungry boys occupied.

Avocado, sour toast, Persian feta, poached egg, rocket, and lemon infused olive oil 14

I try the Avocado, sour toast, Persian feta, poached egg, rocket, and lemon infused olive oil ($14) and I am in raptures. The sourdough toast is lacey and the lemon infused olive oil gives it a piquant lift. The persian feta (surely stuff that food fantasies are made of) is gorgeously rich with the crusty lemon scented sourdough and the dreamily soft poached egg and avocado. Even though I’m not even remotely qualified to be a vegetarian, I could happily order this again without feeling as if I’m missing out.

Homemade brioche, Bio dynamic scrambled eggs, salmon gravlax $16

On a high, next I try the Homemade brioche, Bio dynamic scrambled eggs, salmon gravlax ($16). The Salmon gravlax is almost like it has been left out in the heat for too long. I try a little but not too much as it doesn’t smell quite right to me. I usually love gravlax so I can only put it down to this. The biodynamic scrambled eggs need a smattering of the fine pink salt flakes provided and are fairly buttery although any goodness in these is offset against the home made broiche which is bizarrely like rice bread not resembling in the remotest way the sweet pillowy brioche loaves that one is used to at all. I find this a tad disappointing and the crumbly rice bread texture does not do it any favours.

Crispy duck salad, roast peaches, pink peppercorn, and a red wine vinaigrette $16

What is much better is the Crispy duck salad, roast peaches, pink peppercorn, and a red wine vinaigrette ($16) which has a duck confit drumstick and several smaller pieces of duck torn throughout the salad. The baby salad leaves, roast peaches and mild red wine vinaigrette are lovely background players for the delicious crispy duck.

Poached Petuna ocean trout, baby tatsoi, kipfler potatoes, olives, poached egg, herbs, olive oil $16

As a Petuna trout lover, I didn’t realise that Poached Petuna ocean trout, baby tatsoi, kipfler potatoes, olives, poached egg, herbs, olive oil ($16) was actually a salad so when it arrives, the trout in small pieces atop baby spinach leaves, crushed kipflers and a poached egg I’m a little disappointed that I don’t have an elegant fillet of trout. I am consoled in the taste however where the delicate poached fish pieces are never overwhelmed by the other ingredients with the delicious poached egg yolk bursting free and giving the salad an unctuous, creamy dressing.

Pork and fennel sausages $4.50

We ordered a side order of Pork and fennel sausages ($4.50) as this seems to be the popular sausage combination and whilst we get two rather long impressive sausages, the filling only had the faintest trace of fennel with it mostly being a rather plain pork inner. There were also large lumps of fat inside which I wanted to spit out but couldn’t do so decorously so gulp, I reluctantly swallowed them.

Ricotta hot cakes, caramelized banana, roast rhubarb and honey $14

We’ve saved the most interesting til last, the Ricotta hot cakes, caramelized banana, roast rhubarb and honey ($14). I’ve had Bill’s hotcakes, both in his cafe as well as made at home and they’re good. What I’m interested in is whether they are using the same recipe here. I dig in and the hot cakes (two of them) are quite different, not as light or fluffy as Bill’s but very good. The ricotta is actually on top and I presume also in the hotcakes but I would guess inside to a lesser extent than at Bill’s. It also has a slight doughnutty taste here, of which I am in Homer Simpson fashion, very enamoured of. The caramelised banana, sticky sweet rhubarb, honey and ricotta combined with the thick hot cakes are delectable. Even though I am full, I want more. Comparing this to Bill’s, I would definitely prefer these although at Bill’s you do get three hot cakes (for $16.60).

We’re in no hurry to leave with our stomach’s full and the shelves of books to read. We’re not hurried with the bill, our waitress being the very friendly and lovely sort so we’re just happy to relax and read more and feed our minds now that our stomaches have been well fed. The boys are for once happy to linger and eager to come back at another time which just shows, the way to a man’s heart is not just through his stomach, but also through his mind.

The Book Kitchen

255 Devonshire Street Surry Hills Sydney 2010 (between Crown St and Bourke St)
Tel: +61 (02) 9310 1003
Fax: +61 (02) 9310 1085
Open 7 days until late
http://www.thebookkitchen.com.au/

I realise that I’m in the minority as I prefer Puffy’s cookie puffs to Beard Papa’s puffs. Its purely the cookie crumb that attracts me. The filling in Beard Papa is better but I prefer Puffy’s outer. So when we walk past Puffy one evening and I spy a new offering, a Puffy Ice Cream puff, I’m straight in the queue. With flavours such as mango sorbet, durian, green tea, caramel, ferrero rocher, vanilla, chocolate and taro, they’re $2.50 each.

While waiting in line, I spy another item, a Puffy sponge cake. Described as a “Classic recipe” of Golden Brown puff pastry filled with orange flavoured Puffy cake I’m intrigued. At $5.60 I figure why not, it comes in its own cute little box (did I ever mention that I am a sucker for packaging?).

I order my taro flavoured puff and cake and go off to taste my chilly little globe of ice cream filled choux goodness. My first mistake is that I don’t really like ice cream at a very cold temperature, preferring it to melt somewhat before tasting. Unfortunately the choux and packaging doesn’t allow for my drips or slightly melted ice cream so I’m left to take bites of the ultra frozen ice cream and the cookie choux. I usually love taro flavoured things but this ice cream isn’t to my taste and my sensitive teeth doth protest painfully so I pass it onto my husband. He enjoys the ice cream but concedes it was a pain in the bottom to eat and that he would’ve rathered a plain ice cream.

Back at the hotel, we open up the cake to find a convenient set of forks and a knife inside and although plastic, the knife is surprisingly able to slice through the cake’s puff pastry shell. It appears to be a puff pastry outer and a plain sponge inside. The puff outer is sweet and prettily patterned and the sponge inside is very soft and fresh but very, very lightly orange flavoured. Its the typical type of sponge that you’ll find at any Chinatown bakery-usually split and spread with mock cream whereas this one isn’t and as a result it comes across as dry and about as boring as it comes. Qu’elle disappointment. I think I’ll stick the the regular puffs.

Puffy

Shop9/ 644 World Square Shopping Centre
Lower Ground Floor
Cnr George, Liverpool, Pitt & Goulburn Streets, Sydney
Open until 9pm

Located on the far flung but picturesque Northern Beaches, lies a yellow and green painted pie shop that apparently does a very good pie. Surely these very health conscious Northern beachers (the healthiest segment in Sydney apparently) wouldn’t be scoffing this buttery pastries? I suppose low carb gymwork only sustains you for a while before you just have to bite into a hot pastry.

I’ve actually called ahead to reserve myself a pie, as I am intrigued by the chicken, brie and avocado pie and didn’t want to miss out. For good measure I also reserve a cheese and bacon sausage roll. For the other pie I’ll decide when I get there. Run presumably by Sylvia and Fran (whose names remind me of Fran and Sylvia Fine from “The Nanny”), I’m picturing two Jewish ladies with big hair and nasal Queens’ accents behind the counter. The truth is far from it. As we drive up one sunny Saturday afternoon, past the snarls of traffic headed towards Manly beach, there’s a big queue outside of people. The shop is painted in the Australia colours of green and gold with an Australian flag flying atop. There’s also an area to the left where on someone’s fenced off lawn, there are benches and tree stumps serve as a place to eat the pies.

It’s a very small shop, more a counter with a bit of room to queue and a small side table. There’s nary a Nanny character to be seen, it looks like a family business and the boys at the counter look like they could be part of the family. I have trouble deciding on my other pie, the Beef and Burgundy won Gold in the Great Aussie pie competition but that was in 2002 so it seems a while ago. The one that catches my eye is the breakfast pie, with egg, bacon, mushrooms, tomato sauce and mash ($6) so I order this along with my chicken, brie and avocado pie ($7.20) and Cheese and bacon sausage roll ($3.50).

Prices are about $6.50 for most pies up to $7.20, which is a little higher than your average pie shop but obviously judging from the queue, it’s not an issue. There are over 30 fillings ranging from Lamb & Rosemary, Tuna & Avocado, Singapore Curry, Mexican Curry as well as 5 steak pie variations, 7 chicken pie variations as well as a large selection of vegetarian pies with a choice of 6 fillings.

With my goodies secured we go outside to partake of our spoils. The Chicken, brie and avocado is adorably decorated with two hearts and a swirly ribbon. It’s a good 12cms in diameter which is probably why it is a bit more expensive than your average pie. Opening it up, it is packed with tender chicken, brie and fanned out sliced avocado. I am one of those people that prefer to eat the innards of the pie with a fork before eating the crust separately. This way I can also taste the flavour of the filling a bit better.

Our first forkful yields a creamy tender chicken breast filled pie (not dry breast though, very soft), unmistakably brie-ish and made even creamier by the avocado. It’s very good. Taking a bite with the pastry, the brie flavour is somewhat lessened by the pastry. It is very flakey pastry on top but not as buttery as I’ve had. The really buttery pastry could have me enraptured but this is nice but just not buttery enough for a butter monster like me.

The open topped breakfast pie with egg yolk peering out at us like a curious cyclops is next. It’s smaller than the chicken pie and the mash is quite dry, I suppose as a result of this being made more for the breakfast crowd than the lunch crowd and it tastes like powdered potato to me I’m afraid, which is a pet hate of mine.

The egg by now is hard and rubbery so I leave this behind. Biting into the filling, it tastes like spaghetti bolognaise sauce with the tomato, bacon and mushrooms. There’s just too much tomato sauce on it to qualify as a breakfast pie, although if they took to mash and egg off the top it would very faithfully represent a bolognaise pie.

Our sausage roll is last. Cut in half it has some melted cheese at the top and the centre looks like regular sausage with perhaps some ham ground into it as it’s pinker than your regular sausage roll filling. I wasn’t sure what to expect here, perhaps a layer of cheese and a layer of sliced bacon on top of the sausage meat. It’s fairly good but not particularly strong in the cheese and bacon flavour, especially when you compare it to the Bourke Street Bakery’s sausage rolls.

Sylvia and Fran’s The Upper Crust Pies

Open Daily 7am-5pm
1003 Pittwater Rd Collaroy
Tel: +61 (02) 9971 5182

Growing up in Australia at 158cms I’ve never been tall. I’ve always sat on the bottom row of the school photos, and always needed to ask for help reaching the top supermarket shelves. I prefer the term petite to short. So it was a surprise to me when I lived in Japan a few years back that I could actually see the tops of people’s heads. The heads were usually the oba-sans (middle aged matrons) or salarymen but I finally felt what it was like to be able to feel tall. I mentioned that this was only the middle aged people as the youth of Japan, particularly the men, are getting taller. I assume the wider and more varied and more Western influenced diet is responsible for this.

Visiting Takeru, a Japanese eatery that serves food that the younger Japanese eat out -western style pizza and pasta with a Japanese twist, with a lot of cheese just further emphasises the new Japanese diet. We’re preparing for our holiday to Tokyo in June this year and this helps get us excited about it. And before you ask, this place has nothing to do with the Japanese world champion of hot dog eating, competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi

We’re visiting on a Sunday night at 8.45pm and it’s not too busy. They want us to share a table even though there are a few tables free, I suppose just in case there is an influx! I already know what I want to try-the Japanese style pizza and pasta which I miss so much. The pasta sauces include all of the usual suspects like squid ink, kinoko, scallops, clams, bolognaise and cod roe. There is also ramen and the usual Japanese ramen, katsu, meat and salmon dishes offered on the well worn menu. We select the Omochi curry gratin (rice cakes gratin with curry sauce) $6.20, wafu pizza with chicken and mochi rice cakes ($9.90) and Sake cream spaghetti with the Sake being salmon rather than the alcohol ($9.90).

Salmon cream pasta $9.90

The pasta arrives first, and fairly quickly on a large square plate. It’s linguine rather than spaghetti and has small chunks of salmon interspersed throughout the creamy sauce. It’s good, the pasta well cooked and exactly like the cream sauce in Japan and the salmon chunks, at first looking a little few and far between are revealed under the linguine. And just like a Tokyo Izakaya table, it comes with optional parmesan and Tabasco sauce (Japan started me on my love of Tabasco).

Omochi Curry gratin $6.20

The Omochi curry gratin and the pizza arrive next together. The Omochi, set on a cast iron hot plate, are gorgeously stretchy underneath the curry sauce which at first seems too plentiful for the amount of mochi but when you stretch out the small discs, it’s about right. The cheese gratin is plentiful and the curry sauce is authentically Japanese curry, that is the cubed variety that is fairly mild, not my favourite type of curry if I can be frank but authenticity is what I am after and it is very much like what I used to have in Tokyo.

Wafu pizza $9.90

The pizza is sampled next. It’s on a round of Lebanese bread which is a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made pizza at home for a quick snack on Lebanese bread but I was hoping for real pizza dough. The topping, a combination of tender, melt in the mouth chicken which is absolutely delicious, halved stretchy mochi rice balls and a tangy sauce which is all doused in a liberal splattering of mayo is delicious, if impossible to eat. The fabulous sauce, which is a little too plentiful for the thin base slides down hands and onto chins while eating. Overall, it’s not quite like Japanese pizzas that I’ve tried but it’s still quirky and unusual enough for me to want to finish half of it.

We feel full to bursting after this cheese and dairy fest. Oh did I forget to mention that the Japanese youth, aside from being taller are also a little rounder than their previous generation?

Takeru Japanese Casual Dining

10/11 330 Sussex Street Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9283-3522
Open 7 days