The Mall area
Last month, a bunch of food bloggers and I went on a Meet My Suburb Walking Tour of Kensington and Kingsford where I showed them around the secret local’s favourites in the area. It was so much fun so some other blogger friends and I decided to do the same in Cabramatta. Betty from Betty’s Bites grew up in the area and when she emailed us asking if we’d like to join her on a little eating tour of Cabramatta, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. I’m almost embarrassed to say that as a born and bread Sydney-Sider I’d never been to Cabramatta before. What I didn’t realise that apart from the fact that Cabramatta has great food, the people are what I enjoyed just as much. Cabramatta residents have fun and a lot of laughs and the kids…well they’re priceless and they love a camera. And I should warn you now that this is a long post so please settle in with a cup of coffee or tea (sweetened with sweetened condensed milk to put you in an authentic mood).
Colourful desserts
Trissa and I are driving together for the first time Cabramatta from Balmain and the GPS is guiding us. We get into the wrong lane accidentally misreading the GPS. Trissa winds down the window “Please sir, I need to get into that lane” she pleads with the taxi driver who looks at her like she just told him he has a chicken on his head and it’s about to lay an egg. “WHAT?!” he says and before he can figure out what she means she manoeuvres into the space. We arrive at Cabramatta via the scenic route and spot Betty walking towards the train station, our designated meeting point. “Find a park where-ever you can on this street or the next” she says. Parking is notoriously hard in Cabramatta as crowds of people gather there on the weekends to buy and eat and the 50c car park (yep 50c to park your car, compare that to a city car park at $24 for 2 hours) is an option if we get desperate.
Fruit sold at a store
We’re meeting Ja, Betty and journalist Carla and her photographer boyfriend James at the station. Trish is to join us later. It’s a gorgeous day, we couldn’t have asked for better for a food walking tour and Betty has been charged with showing us the best of Cabramatta.
Stop #1 Kim Thanh Company Hot Bread
Read More
I’ve often said things happen very serendipitously for me, especially as far as this blog is concerned. One afternoon I was strolling through Woollahra and I decided to pop into the Donna Hay General Store. I enquired about Halloween decorations (as I tend to do) and the salesperson said that she’d go downstairs and ask Donna. My head did a swivel. Was Donna Hay in the actual store? It turns out she was! She came upstairs with Petrina her business manager and when I mentioned needing the Halloween decorations for my blog they said “Oh you’re Not Quite Nigella?”. You could have knocked me over with a feather. They knew who I was? “We were just talking about you!” they said. It turns out that they actually read my blog!
Donna was dressed casually and she is small in height-I always assumed that she was quite tall from her appearance on Masterchef. They even mentioned taking down the prices of the macarons and making them bigger after reading my comments on it and how for the next 5 days after reading that they asked the customers in the store about how much they’d pay for a macaron! We also discuss her brush with Nigella Lawson – literally, as Nigella rushed past Donna while exiting a London Department Store and getting into a waiting car (she has good manners and apologised for bumping into Donna) and it is with reluctance that I leave as it felt like we could have chatted for a long time.
Rum & Craisin Ice Cream Puddings using a Donna Hay recipe
I had to dash so I chalked that up to one of those funny coincidences and wonderful moments that happen in the food blogging world. Fast foward a few days later and Donna had happily agreed to an interview! So without further ado, here is a Q & A with Donna Hay!
How did you make the transition from a food stylist to food editor at Marie Claire to a cookbook author? Was it hard? What obstacles did you face?
Read More
Sometimes I think that fate has arranged for it that I am my age and without a license. You see I can be a very distracted driver. This is a habit borne out of many years as the passenger always gawking at the passing shops. One such time where I was glad that I wasn’t driving was when we drove past Nookie Cafe in Surry Hills. It’s rather eye catching amongst the industrial looking warehouse types of buildings with shuttered windows. Literally a tiny room, a sign and 2 milk crates. Yet still, the lines come in waves and at any time you go past on a week day there could be 5 people waiting in line for their coffee.
This morning, my dining companion and I need sustenance before a day’s shopping so we stop by Nookie on busy Cleveland Street to partake of a coffee and whatever else they may have to offer. We walk up to it and it’s tiny – adorably so, and it’s like peeking into the room of someone’s house. The friendly barista Tom straightens his hair for the photo “Oh no, I don’t know if I’m quite photo ready. I had a big night for my birthday”. “That was 2 days ago” remarks another customer. I get the feeling everyone is a regular down this end of Cleveland street where there are many hidden offices and few places to get a good coffee.
Swear Jar
Read More
Desserts are like expensive shoes. You know you shouldn’t buy more but they’re just so irresistable that you just cannot say no. So when I invited my friend Queen Viv to accompany me at the Sugar hit at the Inter Continental Hotel I had no idea that she was in her final days of a detox. But like the trooper that she is, she decided that today would be the last day of her detox and if you’re going to celebrate the end of a detox, you may as well do it in style.
So on this Thursday night we arrive at the Intercontinental. We find a park a few streets away and in the cold wind and the high heels we’re just glad to be able to sit down and have a nice glass of something and a dessert. We’re a little early for the Sugar Hit by about 20 minutes so they ask us to take a seat and they’ll bring it out. We choose a banquette of course and sink our weary wind battered selves into it and before long, the waiter arrives with the dessert wine. For the cost of $20 you get a dessert and a glass of Brown Brothers Moscato dessert wine which is a lovely, very sweet drop.
Front to back: Gold Leafed White Chocolate Dome, Dark Chocolate Chilli Slice and Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon with Chocolate Ganache with Nashi Pear Chutney & Vanilla-Honey Syrup
Read More
The Big Merino
Australians have a love of big things. Big icons of things in smaller towns to be precise. These were often used to lure tourists who were also into photographing and seeing large things. There’s even a movie about it called “Big Dreamers”. There’s the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour where my brother in law The Assman worked as a train driver and more close to home, there the 97 tonne and 15 metre tall Big Merino dubbed “Rambo” which we’ve happened upon. Standing proud and grey, Queen Viv told us of the tale where his modesty was clipped as it was deemed too offensive. Well, the balls are back baby and we find ourselves contemplating them closely.
They are lighter in colour you know…
“They’re a lighter colour!” exlaims Queen Viv and indeed they are a lighter shaded family jewels. Locals were offended by the sight of the anatomically correct Merino but apparently he has had them restored in their lighter colour. We can’t go up very far – once upon a time you could see out his eyes, but we feel affection to this dignified beast that had some rather undignified things done to him in the name of decency.
The Loaded Dog
Read More
What is NQN up to now? 
NQN on Facebook
RSS
