I’m no Maeve O’Meara, that’s a fact. She is a legend and in a league of her own really and I am only but one hungry stomach. However one thing that I really love is being a tourist in my own city. There are so many areas that I haven’t yet discovered or only scratched the surface of. And I always find the best way to get to know an area or a culture is through the food that they eat. When Miss Haberfield emailed me a few weeks back and suggested that I do a food tour of Haberfield, I jumped at the chance. For years ago when I visited Colefax chocolates and talked to the owner’s father Reg, he would tell me that this was how the Italians shopped. They might eat out in nearby Leichhardt but when it came to shopping and eating at home, Haberfield was it.
One great thing about doing your own shopping and eating tour here in Haberfield is that everything is in within few minutes walk of each other as most of the shops are concentrated on busy Ramsay Street. The key if you come on a weekend day is to start early and of course you get a sense of the atmosphere but if you’re looking for a low key shop, ideally a week day is best.
Espresso Galleria
We start off at Espresso Galleria for much needed caffeine. In the predominantly Italian suburb of Haberfield, a Greek man serving coffee would certainly raise some ruffles but his short blacks and cappucinos have won over locals. Mr NQN has a flat white and I start with a chai which are both excellent. This is a tiny space but furiously busy and “Manny” that is Emanuel Patniotis literally makes coffees non stop.
Chai Latte $3.40
There are small pastries and sandwiches to go with coffees but there’s not much more on the menu as it’s clearly all about the coffee. I’m meeting friendly local Miss Haberfield here who was kind enough to give me the lowdown on all of these places. Isn’t it lovely to have a local willing to share their knowledge and insider tips?
Flat White $3.40
Paesanella
The mother lode for cheese, keen NQN readers may have caught up with my adventures in their factory in Marrickville on my previous tour. The Marrickville factory, despite all commercial concerns, is closed on Saturday but this retail store in Haberfield picks up when the factory closes and then some. The range here is quite different and I find myself staring wide eyed and slack jawed at the display.
Miss Haberfield sees what I am eyeing. “It’s layers of gorgonzola and mascarpone and it is divine” she says. She is talking about the Mascarpone Reale with the layers of gorgonzola and mascarpone and topped with walnuts. There is also the figaro with dried figs instead of the walnuts which when cut, resembles a slice of cake. There is also Ubriaco cheese which means “drunken” in Italian where the cheese is soaked in wine and covered in grape must and matured. Dot who works there is the ex head chef of Longrain and happily chats about the produce.
For good measure we get a slice of the baked ricotta ($17.99/kg) and the Rollatte Ripiene which is a roll of mozzarella, proscuitto, spinach and olives ($34.99/kg). For the road we get an apricot filled with mascarpone blue and a a date filled with mascarpone. Both are sweet, rich and creamy.
All I can say is that the Mascarpone Reale and Figaro (both $34.99/kg) are the kind of thing you might want to put on your death row meal request. They are both divine, I think I slightly favour the Figaro as I think a sweet touch goes well with gorgonzola. If you are going to try anything from here, make it one of these. The baked ricotta is excellent as is the Rollatte Ripiene and Dot was kind enough to slip in some sun dried balsamic tomatoes.
David Gojak Butchers
A relative new comer to the area, it hasn’t taken long for Slovenian butcher David Gojak (who himself is the son of a Slovenian butcher) to win over hearts. His is a family business with his wife, dad and son working here. There’s the familiar plastic strip curtain but when you look closer you’ll see that this butcher has some tricks up his sleeve. For a start all of his pork and pork products like bacon are all free range and female pigs. And the prices for things like pork belly are $15.99 a kilo which is a good price for free range pork.
David and his wife Mateja
And then there’s the chevapi skinless fat beef sausages which are divine and packed full of flavour. At one end he has a heated section where he doles out already roasted pork (with a lustfully good looking crackling) and gives tasting of sausages like his chorizo, chicken & rocket or continental (a gorgeous garlicky number). Above the counter are the smoked goods which are smoked using Oregon woodchips and include chabai, cacciatore, loins and belly and mini prosciutto.
David and his father
He has only been here for one and a half years but already has a big following – he was formerly at Burwood for 18 years and some customers moved with him. They also can do whole baby lambs or whole suckling pigs and roast them for you. We take some some of their famous chevapi sausages which are wonderfully juicy and flavoursome.
Peppe’s pasta
Pasta is of course an Italian staple and the Cassaniti family have a firm stakehold in the area with Mrs Cassaniti running Cassiniti Bakery next door, one of her sons Joe running Peppe’s pasta and another son running a restaurant across the road. The pasta is said to be silky smooth but Joe himself is a diabetic and cannot eat his own pasta which is a cruel irony. Popular flavours range from the spinach and ricotta ravioli ($9.50 for 500g) to the duck, prosciutto and caramelised onion ravioli ($18.50 for 500g) which they suggest serving with a simple napoletana sauce which are sold alongside a range of sauces in the fridge.
Awards line the walls and they only use durum wheat and fresh eggs in their pasta. The crab with mascarpone with smoked garlic sounds intriguing but the duck, prosciutto and caramelised onion has won our hearts. We take it home and eat it for dinner one night. Oh my, it is amazing stuff. I’m reduced to silence and that doesn’t happen often.
Duck, prosciutto and caramelised onion ravioli $18.50
Cassiniti Bakery
It appears that a queue is a permanent fixture outside Haberfield Bakery. Italians love their bread and here they queue up for wood fired bread and rosetta rolls. The wood fired bread is gorgeous and a steal at $2 for a large loaf. We also try a foccacia smothered with tomato ($3) that we intend to top with some of the goodies that we’ve bought today.
Mrs Cassaniti clearly adores her sons. She talks to me about her bakery and at several times points out her son’s restaurant across the road and asks me to dine there. Miss Haberfield tells me that every child that comes into the bakery gets a small roll.
Mrs Cassiniti
Tomato foccacia $3 and wood fired bread $2
Zanetti’s 5 Star
Arancini
Zanetti’s 5 star is a deli where enormous hunks of grana padano grace the counter tops. Angelo Zanetti tends to the front register while people line up in front of the deli to get their goodies including fresh arancini domes, quince paste, olives, cheeses and meat.
Salt cod display with Italian only instructions
There’s also a display of salt cod where the only sign reads in Italian (loving this!) as well as delicate slices of specialty prosciutto made of emu, kangaroo and lamb. There is also a huge aisle just of dried pasta and we spotted some syrups in peach and various berries as well as an almond cordial syrup which sounds fascinating. Angelo himself is terrifically friendly but a bit camera shy 
Peach syrup
Lamonica IGA
Squid Ink spaghetti
The IGA supermarket here in Haberfield is unlike any other IGA you may encounter. The deli counter is legendary and people have been known to stand there for an hour waiting and shopping while biding their time until their number is called.
Calamari shaped pasta
Parmigiano Reggiano at a steal for $24.99 a kilo at the deli-no wonder they queue! It is the only IGA supermarket where on Saturday mornings a barista gives out free espressos sampling different coffee brands.
The deli counter is definitely where the action is with what appears to be a permanent queue. Miss Haberfield tells us that you could pick up a number that says 320 and they could be on number 8. People continue their shopping around the rest of the supermarket placing their baskets near a centre display and deposit the goods back there while listening to the update on numbers. Miss Haberfield also tells us that “any given day you might find tripe, rabbit, goat or spatchcocks” in the deli display.
Shopping baskets waiting for deposits from shoppers
Pasticceria Papa
Haberfield lovers no doubt already know about Pasticceria Papa, the home to the famous ricotta cheesecake. Anyone curious can check out my previous story on them. As they were furiously busy serving people all sorts of goodies from their sweets cabinet, we only managed to snag a photograph of the queue. All we saw every time we walked past was the queue out the door!
Frank’s Fruit Market
Our next stop is Frank’s Fruit market. On the day we visit this unassuming fruit and vegetable shop happens to have an incredible 16 varieties of tomatoes including some divine heirloom breeds and my favourite Johnny Love Bite tomatoes. These are not a breed of tomato but a grower of sweet, succulent mostly local tomatoes. Frank is well known around here and often speaks at Maeve’s food safari tours.
Frank
Frank offers me a taste of the Johnny Love Bite truss tomatoes. “These are not like other truss tomatoes which are just for show” he tells me and I have to agree that I have found most supermarket truss tomatoes lacking in flavour too. These trusses are sweet and sing with a true tomato flavour. These are the kinds of tomatoes that you can eat as apples they are so packed full of flavour and are worth every cent.
I ask about the vivid and deep red Bello Rosso tomatoes and he explains that they are good for sauce as they are picked mature and are sold at an advanced ripeness. We buy some Johnny Love Bite vine ripened tomatoes and clutch these precious babies on the way home.
Colefax
Colefax chocolates have been making some of my very favourite chocolates for years and I recall coming in years ago and meeting Reg, the father of the chocolatier Peter and visiting their coffee lounge and ogling at their Easter selection. They’ve got some new flavours new including the Africa (coffee ganache in milk chocolate), Bella (a white chocolate praline), the “brown sugar”, almond truffle and Gare du Nord.
“Brown sugar” chocolates
The brown sugar chocolates in the display are completely sold out which is a good indication of them being popular so we have to try one of them (you know the Law of Limited Editions? ). Inside is a thick caramel which reminds me of a filling in an alfajore and on top there is a thin layer of crunchy demerara sugar. Somehow, despite this, is never verges into too sweet. I also love the butterfly which has a lavender ganache in milk chocolate which is heady in lavender but never soapy.
There is a chocolate named after Reg called “Sir Reg” with shiraz and there are chocolates named after the owner’s children Alannah and Mackay and his mum Pamela. We can’t resist trying a chilli bomb which is shaped in an actual bomb mold and it is filled with a chilli ganache. I pop this into my mouth fearing the worst but it isn’t actually too fiery with a mild bite. And keep reading for your chance to win 1 of 4 Colefax ballotine chocolate boxes!
A&P Sulfaro
“It comes in waves” Stefania says laughing speaking of the queue at A&P Sulfaro who have been churning out cannoli, cakes and biscuits in Haberfield for the last 40 years. They hand fill cannoli to order should you want a bite of a crispy, crunchy cannoli shell filled with either ricotta, vanilla custard (my favourite) or chocolate custard. Under the glass counter top there’s an array of biscuits including a very almondy heart with a thin layer of icing on the top and bottom or a pistachio biscuit greener than The Hulk. The original owner’s son Guiseppe and his wife Stefania have now taken over A&P Sulfaro.
I watch as a little boy insists on a smartie topped bear shaped biscuit and won’t let up until his mum buys him one. Prize in hand, he jumps up and down happily with his own little victory dance having secured the treat of his dreams. He drops one of the smarties and looks down on the floor and thinking for merely a second picks it up, blows on it and pops it in his mouth.
As for us, we try some more adult fare including the hand filled cannoli. The ricotta is good but the vanilla custard is my favourite and I think it tends to keep its crunchiness a little better than the ricotta if you have far to travel or are waiting before you eat the cannoli. Because a soggy cannoli is a culinary crime you see and you should always end every tour or day with dessert.
Thanks to Haberfield local Miss Haberfield for her help compiling this list of shops and restaurants!
And I did mention the chocolates from Colefax didn’t I? Well four lucky Not Quite Nigella readers will win a medium sized ballotine box of Colefax truffles thanks to the lovely people at Colefax! For a chance to win one of these boxes, all you have to do is tell me if someone were to name a chocolate after you, what flavour would it be! Simply add your answer as a comment to the story. The competition ends at Midnight AEST 30th November, 2010 so get in quick as you only have a week! You can enter this once daily. This competition is open to Australian readers only.
Best of luck!
Love,
Lorraine
xxx
Espresso Galleria
84 Ramsay Haberfield 2045. Phone 9798 2112
Paesanella
88 Ramsay St Haberfield NSW 2045 Tel. 02 9799 8483
David Gojak Butchers
177 Ramsay St Haberfield NSW 2045 (02) 8065 5658
Peppe’s pasta
151 Ramsay StreetHaberfield, NSW, Phone: 02 9648 3235
Haberfield Bakery
153 Ramsay St, Haberfield NSW 2045 (02) 9797 7715
Zanetti’s 5 Star
108 Ramsay St, Haberfield NSW 2045 (02) 9798 4076
Lamonica IGA
155 Ramsay St, Haberfield New South Wales 2045 (02) 9798 4105
Pasticceria Papa
145 Ramsay Street, Haberfield, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9798 6894
Frank’s
94A Ramsay St, Haberfield NSW 2045 (02) 9798 6388
Colefax Chocolates
Colefax Chocolates has closed down
78 Ramsay St, Haberfield NSW 2045 (02) 9798 2022
A&P Sulfaro
119 Ramsay St, Haberfield, NSW 2045 ) 9797 0001
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145 Comments | Add your own
Thanks for the tour Lorraine! I’ve never been to Haberfield, but looks like it’s certainly worth a visit! For a customised chocolate I’d have to go with a Scandi flavour: cloudberry flavour would be fantastic!
My chocolate would have to be floral, maybe rose or violet and would have a cream top and a soft jellish bottom.
I want that Figaro and some of that bread, well and pretty much everything else in this post.
And I really want my IGA to be like the Haberfield
Lorraine, everything looks so good…too bad that it is too far
After looking at your post I need to get some food in my system 
I’ve never been to Haberfield, but your post has convinced me I need to go! so many delicious things so close together!
Hm, well if someone were to create a chocolate after me it’d probably be peanut butter and chocolate – because I’m all for balance, just like the saltiness of the peanut butter against the sweet chocolate.
I grew up In Leichhardt and love this and the surrounding areas. I now live in the US and just got back from a trip. I am kicking myself for not visiting Haberfield. It is definitely on my list for next time.
I’ve never been into coffee, but I’ll all about cheese and sausage!
Gosh, I would be hard pressed to come up with a flavour – but my favourite flavour is caramel so I guess the brown sugar chocolates would be the one!
Thanks so much for this post – my friend Madam T and I have been trying to plan a trip to Haberfield for too long – perhaps now we will actually do it using your post.
Thank you!!!
Lorraine, we love Haberfield, though I’d never go there on a Saturday! You’re very brave!
It may be called a pinkie and then would have to be strawberry filled
Angry Annie! like the chilli chocolate, this would also have to be dark chocolate with a spice/chilli level being 5!! It would give any taster a kick in the mouth.
Hey! Love your blog!
Have been checking back religiously since your visit to The Lott Foodstore a few months ago looking for your post on it but am yet to see it!!
I love Haberfield, and I haven’t even gone to half the places you just mentioned. Could I love it even more?
Chai Chocolate Truffle, that would be me!
I think it would have to be pistachio- my favourite nut and the colour of my eyes!
The shopping in Haberfield looks delicious! I wish someone would do something similar around Brisbane, I would love to know some secret places…
Another triumph, Lorraine. My Mum and I go to Haberfield all the time and buy the place out. I can also recommend the fresh ricotta at Paesanella, and the ricotta cannoli and mushroom arancini at Papa’s. Sulfaro’s is to die for and has the BEST jam donuts and almond croissants. (PS – thanks for the instruction on eating the kak
)
I think it would have to be a salted caramel chocolate, preferably in a funny shape!
I love Haberfield for grocery shopping, restaurants and sweet treats.
If a chocolate were to be names after me “Sandra” it would be a dark chocolate, with a layer of white chocolare underneath and filled with a salted caramel filling.
My oh my – talk about a foodie heaven!!!
Hmmm a chocolate named after me? Perhaps it would be called an ‘Energiser Bunny’ becuase I dont seem to be able to stop at the moment!
I love Haberfield – thanks for the insight and more places to shop.
I think if someone was to name a choclate after me, it would be a ginger creme brulee flavour – definitely my favourite!
This is like the Haberfield Primavera festival again!
My choccie would be… “To a T”
ive only been to haberfield once for dinner i definitely want to come back again during the day thanks for the picture tour :O)
A shopping and eating tour – sounds like my kind of day!
A chocolate named after me would have to contain white chocolate (for my fair skin) a cointreau ganache centre (as im a bit of a girly girl) and a hazelnut centre (for inside, i think we are all a little nutty!)
What a great tour of Haberfield! As an inner-westie, I love Haberfield, especially the LaMonica IGA with their delicious fresh deli produce. Never ventured down to Colefax though – next time!
If I were to have a chocolate named for me…hmmm. Its flavour would have to be dark chocolate, maybe with an unusual ingredient (chilli or salt?) with a hard shell but a soft gooshy inside!
My chocolate name is White lemongrass. An indulgent white chocolate with a hint of lemongrass to balance the sweetness with the exotic.
My chocolate would be called “short and sweet” and espresso flavoured, purely for the fact that I’m 4’9″ tall (or short!)
It would be called soft caramello as I am a softie.
A soft creamy chocolate hazelnut filling, heavenly, which gives the meaning of my name, Gift from God.
Hmmm Choc a holic would be it’s name.
Forever sweet
If I were a chocolate, I would have to be a chocolate covered pistachio mousse. Like me, they would have the hard exterior cover, but when discovered, be soft and mellow on the inside with a bit of a crunch when you dont expect it!
Fairy floss
Pretty, pink and melt in your mouth!
Hahahaha…. would be coffee buzz lady …. it would be a dark chocolate truffle with a hint of orange liquor and espresso ganache ….mmmmmmmmm
i love love love haberfield foodies delight 
thanks Lorraine
ooh what a good question! The ‘Shannon’ would be a white chocolate with a passionfruit ganache – vanilla meets the tropics… mmm!
Wow once again you have been drooling, particularly the cheeses. Very fond of them I am. For a chocolate I would call it “Brown Betty,” and have the brown sugar concoction, as I love to cook with brown sugar in cakes, biscuits desserts etc. Brown sugar to caramelise pears is also “wow”
Boysenberry cream filling in a decadent dark chocolate shell. Yummmm!!!
Well, the flavour would definitely be hazelnut. And the name, Nut so sweet. Corny I know! These shops are amazing, would love to have them in my suburb!
hmm my very own chocolate you say. Well I’m quite indecisive with a sweet exterior but a definite dark streak and a bit of crazy and some humour thrown in. So, my chocolate will resemble that: A marbled milk and dark chocolate ball with a sprinkle of popping candy mixed through and a small nut inside! I call it a “samball”
‘Grumpy Bear’
A complex, slightly confused internal mix of macadamia, pistachio, honey and dense marzipan, surrounded by a hard to crack dark chocolate coating.
Don’t let the name fool you! This chocolate may be tough to crack, but once you warm up the outer layers, there’s a bundle of joy on the inside!
If my friends named a chocolate after me, they’d probably call it Rosy Glow or similar, and it would be a delicately rose-flavoured truffle; as I’m almost 16 weeks pregnant and finally glowing after the morning sickess (and back on the choccies of course!)
x L
oh no! just one chocolate? that’s too hard. i think a chocolate sampler would be way better/easier.
i would love a floral chocolate to be named after me, maybe a violet chocolate. or a chocolate which tasted of rainbows. if that’s possible. probably not..
hmm that’s a tough one!
I’d be an earl grey dark chocolate with a salted caramel centre.
I’m a bit of a tomboy with an obsession with most sports and am happy to be one of the boys. But I also have a totally girly side that loves cooking and entertaining with pretty things, especially tea parties. (Thus the earl grey).
Plus it’s just my favourite flavours combined!
I do believe I feel like I’ve been in Europe visiting an amazing marketplace! I love Sydney, its got the best food shopping. I’ve not been to Haberfield…. but I know I will. Thanks for sharing, I’m still drooling.
I think I would be a honey filled chocolate, as Melissa in Greek means Honey Bee, and my mother has always joked that while i look sweet (like honey!) I have a sting!!! So i think a chocolate with a creamed honey filling would be the perfect Mel chocolate!
Great post! I did my own shopping tour of Haberfield last year and sampled the cannoli at Pasticceria Papa -
it was definitely the best I’ve had since I moved away from Griffith years ago. Also loved the gorgeous chocolates at Colefax – ‘my’ chocolate would have to be peanut butter flavoured, it’s the perfect combination!
nuta- that’s my name! the choccie would be a dark chocolate coated cashew. Bitter, healthy, and prestigious! King of the nuts!
Oh Colefax…I recall emailing, hunting, browsing Colefax chocolates for Easter and yet never having tried it
If I had a Colefax chocolate named after me it would originally be named the Ravenous Roxy and it would be a dulce de leche-praline filled milk chocolate covered in crushed hazelnuts. Oh dreams…
I adore Haberfield. It’s easily one of my favourite food places to shop in Sydney. I love the deli at the IGA and Paesanella and Pasticceria Papa the best, and the ricotta canoli is my very favourite. The chocolates at Colefax are DIVINE – I particularly love the chocolate toffee covered macadamias. Now I think I have to make a trip there this weekend…
If someone were to name a chocolate after me it would be the Kitty and it would be dark chocolate filled with raspberry ganache. Yummy!
My chocolate of choice is Peanut Butter Chocolate – I LOVE the mix of salty and sweet. Great post – I’ve only been to Haberfield once but am desperate to go back. I glad to have found another butcher doing free range pork <3 happy piggies.
I want to go to Pasticceria Papa soon! D: Hm, if I were to have a chocolate named after me, it’d be something tried and true, like peanut butter and jelly. Something homey, classic, simple.
If i were lucky enough to have a choc named after me, it would be a chili flavoured choc
i think it would be cheesy chocolate and peanut butter chocolate.
Back in my hometown they have this dessert called martabak manis (sweet terang bulan) like a thick pancake filled with shredded cheese and chocolate sprinkles and sometimes peanuts as well. Really nice combination. You will get the balance of sweetness and saltiness. One of my favourite dessert at all time.
Awesome post on my new neighbourhood. Makes me want to go grocery shopping for a change. Or at least just do a roving lunch from one place to the next. That said, you’ll have to go back and tour all the pizza options too. My chocolate, Simon’s Delight, would be a dark chocolate filled with a delicate rosewater turkish delight, with some pistachios on top to add a little crunch.
I truly agree with feeling like Sydney has so many little pockets that just have to be discovered- I feel like that about many many places actually! I’ve never been to haberfield, but you’ve convinced me
One thing I have learnt over the last trips is that the suburbs in Sydney can be really awesome! Thank you for introducing another great neighborhood…or hood as you Australians like to call..
I love going on food tours in my suburbs. Did one in Carlton recently. Saturday before lunch is my least favourite shopping time…too many people.
As for a chocolate named after me…chocolate gluttony which would contain alcoholic choc fudge layer, praline nut layer, oh and probably a delicate crispy wafer too all wrapped in chocolate…yum!
Haberfield is the best! Haven’t been to colefax since the fire years ago, so dying to get back there.
Chocolate flavour made for me would be a sour Margherita for sure. Bit of salt, sweet and sour YUM!
“Just Plain Nutty” – because that’s what I am – at times. Nuts about my food.
If someone was going to name a chocolate after me, it would be nougat and pistachio creme filling, then covered in a layer of caramel, then dipped in milk chocolate!! My mouth is watering right now.
WOO HOO! all my favorite places in Haberfield in one post, and a few more new ones to check out! Thanks Lorraine!
Now for the chocolate, i think the gianna choc would be dark chocolate with a peppermint center, still a classic flavour but with a bit of fun of course!
I’m always driving through Haberfield at the wrong time (on the way home from work when everything is closed). Apart from Papa’s and Colefax I need to find some time to come back here.
Hmmm chocolate flavour that would be me? A chai and honey flavoured filling – sweet and spicey, just like me =D
Ohhhh, great question! Loving some of the ideas already posted.
Seeing as we can make it up, i’ll go a little crazy. My chocolate would be full of many a flavours – just like Alice in Wonderland – so each time you take a bite it gives you something different.
Bite 1. Cherry Pie.
Bite 2. Roast Pork.
Bite 3. Red Velvet Cupcake.
Bite 4. Tomato Soup.
Bite 5. Beef Wellington.
Bite 6. Maple Syrup Pancakes.
… It would also have to be a very large chocolate… Not that I’d be complaining!
Thanks Lorraine for this tour of haberfield… you are my google whenever I need to find yummy food
Oh, it’s been soooooo long since I’ve been to Haberfield! It was one of our favourite places to go when I was little, but we haven’t been back in a while…well, my parents have, but I haven’t.
You should check out Cavallaro’s in Liverpool for fantastic Italian cakes and biscuits outside of the Leichhardt/Haberfield area. It’s very popular here in the south-west. (They’ve got one in Leichhardt as well, but Liverpool is the original location!) I’d be happy to take you there one day
Yep, you’re definitely not Maeve… because you’re about 50 billion times more fashionable, gorgeous, likable, and awesome than her!!
Oh heavens, the chocolate question…
I think the chocolate would have to involve peanut butter, salted caramel-dipped roasted pistachios, and cocoa nibs. And now I’m desperately hungry…
Oops…pressed enter too soon!
I forgot to mention what flavour chocolate would be named after me… if the person naming the chocolate after me had a sense of humour, they’d have it filled with orange cream (I’m allergic to oranges!!) …
Yuummm chocolate….makes me drool. If some1 is to make and name a chocolate after me, it would be a green tea and pistachio dark chocolate truffle.
Both a lovely combinations.
WOW! I really did enjoy the tour and view!
LOVED many foods you mentioned, but got “stuck” eyeing the duck ravioli too!
LOVE authentic cannoli, butcher fresh meat,
WOW and thanks! As expereinces like this cannot be beat!
WHOO HOO!
It would have to be a chocolate covered gooseberry – yumThis area looks just like Italy.
Can I invent a chocolate after my mother instead? Her name is Corazon (means ‘heart’ in spanish), so her chocolate would be a heart shaped dark chocolate shell filled with a flowing golden caramel centre. I would call it Corazon de oro (Heart of Gold).
Her birthday is in a couple of weeks and she would love a box of chocolates…
I can’t go past the fantastic combination of orange and dark chocolate but I’ve just thought of raspberries too. I wonder what would happen in you combined the two? Nice work with the food tour. Definitely a place to visit if I ever get to Sydney.
Fantastic blog. I go to Haberfield a lot and your spot on with your picks.
For me I think my chocolate should be “The Frog”, similar to the chilli bomb with a heavy dark chocolate outer and filled with intense creme de menthe ganache.
I can’t stop looking at that round of figgy, cheesy goodness. Seriously, it looks amazing! If only I could win the Lotto and have one of those babies air-mailed to me pronto.
I’m not sure what flavour the “Amanda” chocolate would be, but it might be a bit ‘tart’!!
Pick me, pick me!!
Mine would involve apple, pear and blackcurrant. Roasted, blackened-and-charred-but-gooey-inside marshmallows. And hazelnuts – toasted, caramelised, honeyed, sea-salted, crunchy.
my old time favourite would be an orange liquor granache filling in a dark tempered chocolate coating, so you get the crunch from the outside and the soft gooie inside.oh my god i could go one right now!!!
The Clare would have to be a soft centre, or a jelly centre… sort of floral, but ocker. Maybe lillypilly with macadamia crumbs in? In dark chocolate. Deffers.
mine would be called exquisite nut and caramel chocolate coated delight. yummy please somebody do one for me, im saliving.
Fantastic and interesting post! Haberfield looks wonderful
Ifsomeone were to name a chocolate after me, it would have to be coconut. I just adore coconut! Maybe a rich coconut creme centre, coated in 85% dark chocolate *drool*
Now I am wanting that food. It all looks so divine. Why can’t my local IGA sell such good food? Oooh, envy, envy, envy!
My chocolate flavour would be semi dark chocolate with a very delicate chilli flavour. Nothing overpowering and balanced by a hint of cinnamon. Mmmm, I think I might just have to try to make this flavour – my mouth is watering thinking about it.
Mine would have to be salted butter caramel with a little fleur de sel on the top. I am addicted to the Lindt salted butter caramel delices (aka macarons) – they are amazing.
if someone was to name a chocolate after me, id be liquer centred, something like bailey’s choc balls cos thats all you need for a good night
You have inspired me to visit!it’s always been on the cards but I’ve never known the good spots where to visit so I always take the safe bet of visiting leichardt.
My chocolate would be “top deck” for my blonde hair & soon to be tanned brown body!
How I envy you for having so many food-oriented places to visit! Those tomatoes looked really lovely, the cheeses piqued my interest, and I actually tore through the Net to know more about those brown sugar chocolates.
I’m not qualified for the contest, but I may as well throw in my two cents’ worth. If a chocolate were to be named after me, it would be a lavender-infused dark truffle encasing a single caramelized hazelnut. The whole thing would then be dipped in 65% Peruvian dark chocolate.
Thanks Lorraine, we live next to Haberfield and were looking for places to buy delicious goodies! The IGA is fantastic, I bought some amazing italian coffee that was half the price of normal stuff…
It would be nutella and banana flavoured because i put these two things together on everything! sandwiches, icecream, jaffles, pancakes, in pies and bread, muffins and brownies! And i eat nutella from the jar!
How lucky to have these gems on your doorstep!
If i had a chocolate named after me I would call it “Bite Me” a bit of attitude from the InTolerant Chef. It would be made of dark chocolate and filled with a lactose free dark chocolate ganache with gluten free biscotti chunks.Yumm…
My chocolate would be Chilli Surprise. I am deliciously smooth unless you bite me … then I get fiery!
My chocolate would be dark coated with a gooey and chewy chocolatey caramel on the inside.
Thanks for the tour of Haberfield, I don’t think we have anything like that in Adelaide, sadly.
Great Tour. Looks like you live in a wonderful suburb with great local businesses selling delicious delicacies
And if I was a chocolate I would be called Lucky Dip-a chocolate with a suprise filling each time to match my lucky personality that can be forever changing
The flavour would be awesome.
Obviously.
And a secret because awesome cannot be measured by mere ingredients.
I grew up in Leichhardt and have recently moved to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. Haberfield is always my number one spot to stock up before heading back to the Hunter.
If a chocolate were named after me, it would have to be filled with rich vanilla ganache, vanilla is my fragrance you see, and it’s warm and enveloping like a hug. Can’t beat it.
The Amanda chocolate would be gin and tonic flavoured (complete with lime zest) and the darkest dark chocolate.
Gotta love a chocolate giveaway!
If some kind chocolatier deigned to create a Rachel chocolate, it would have to be a salted dark chocolate with a fresh raspeberry cream. I don’t even care if that combination works, I would devour it!
–xo.
Flavour: chilly filly!
I grew up in the Haberfield area, and used to love visiting the shops you went to – a lot of them have been around for years! I live interstate now, and whenever I come back to Syd I always end up trawling around the area – only problem is, I’d love to bring more goodies back home, but they wouldn’t survive the trip, being out of the fridge all day etc!
My chocolate would have a layer of marzipan on the bottom and ginger jellyish stuff on the top – coverered in dark chocolate.
I’ve seen other variations like this but never with ginger. I think it could be a goer!
Oh I miss shopping in Haberfield! Yum!
Oooh, I was drooling all the way through this post! Hooray for giveaways. I think a chocolate named after me would definitely contain nuts (self explanatory ;P). Or gianduja. And it would be a little bit spicy too.
Hi Lorraine,
I had never been to Haberfield until I retired and now I am a regular visitor. Paesanella is an absolute favourite and I only go during the week.
Hi Lorraine,
You are a very humble legend in your own right. I’m simply the hungry stomach.
My chocolatey name would have to be ‘Silky Kimono’, the best quality chocolate inspired by silky smooth kimonos worn by traditional Japanese geishas. There will be layers upon layers of rich chocolate of different depths and textures, sweetness and bitterness, like a Tiramisu dessert, exuding the sweet fragrant of cherry blossoms, giving you a lasting impression as the velvety chocolate melts in the mouth, just like quality hand-woven silk.
I really enjoyed reading your Haberfield food tour. It’s really an eye opener! I hope you’ll do more of this ‘Meet My Suburb’ segment (plus video as well – now that you’re a TV personality
). You should try doing Footscray in the western part of Melbourne. It’s a foodies paradise.
Cheers,
Lai
My nom-de-choccie would be “Berry Berry Megalicious” – It’s a reverse engineering marvel, ball shaped with a red thick sticky outer layer of cherry, raspberry, blueberry, a vanila cheesecake inner layer in the middle, and a chocolate centre. Because its important to be luscious looking on the outside, but hard to the core on the inside.
I would be a solid milk chocolate – plain and simple just like me.
I love going to Haberfield and you’ve covered every single place I love shopping at! Luckily for me, my local deli sells Haberfield bakery’s bread and it is nearly always sold out early on Saturday mornings! If a chocolate were to be named after me, it would have to be Campari flavoured, made with very dark chocolate and contain a lovely little piece of candied orange peel!
The cannoli look super crunchy on the outside , smooth and rich on the inside. My chocolate flavour would have to be almond praline….my favourite. Amazing shops you visited, I wish that IGA was my local supermarket.
I’ve re-lived my last trip to Haberfield by reading all about yours today. Oh so much yummy food it brings tears to my eyes.
I too love IGA Haberfield and was darting here and there as there was so much to see and buy. One definitely needs a fat wallet when venturing here. We went to all the places that you did except for the butcher but will drop in on him next time.
My namesake chocolate would be Waltzing Matilda ( yes, people still sing the song to me, I never get upset but utterly amused ). It would consist of a crispy , thin biscuit layer, champagne flavoured truffle and a liqueur cherry encased in the best chocolate money could buy
So many people with so many flavour ideas… How will you ever choose, Lorraine?
In any case, I always try to win whatever prizes you offer, and this will be no exception. My flavour would be hazelnut and caramel OR walnut and caramel, as I love both of these nuts, I adore soft flowing caramel, and they go so divinely with chocolate… dark or milk, I really don’t mind!
Thanks for the chance! Haberfield looks like a foodie’s paradise. Too bad I am all the way across Sydney in Hornsby… stuck with a toddler who hates car trips…
Why are you so wicked and don’t deliver worldwide? This is far too tempting. I love your post for all the pastry ideas, the flat white which I love, the Viennese shortbread..this is a great, PACKED post – just ♥ it!!
I LOVE cheese shops! And oh I miss great Italian cheeses although some we can buy here like the Gorgonzola-mascarpone delight. Magic! I also love discovering the food life of my own city.
Being a big fat cheater and commenting again…
After trawling the Colefax website, I found so many chocolates I’m sure my mum would LOVE, and I’m crossing my fingers that their online store is up and running in time for her birthday!
Which made me start thinking about what a my-mum-flavoured chocolate would be like… sweet milk chocolate with honey notes; rose water and lavender in there somewhere; a hint of ginger, cinnamon and cloves, topped with some kind of candied, caramelised nut and a sprig of rosemary.
Hmm.. maybe I should get crackin’ creating my OWN chocolates for her birthday instead!
I would love a chocolate with 3 of my favourite flavours a rose champagne ganache centre dipped in white chocolate topped of with either a crystalised fresh rose petal or a dried rose petal
Wow what a great place to put on my to do list can dream of chocolate and great cheeses i’m in heaven
Marzipan, nutella and contreau. Yum truffles…
After reading all these excellent ideas, goodluck Lorraine in deciding who wins ! There are some awesome ideas here!
dark chocolate rolled in roasted coconut with a smooth-luscious truffle centre
If I was a chocolate I’d be called ‘Always Nuts’. I always love (and appreciate) a good laugh- often at my own expense. Laughing, like chocolate, makes you feel goood.
Thanks so much for compiling this list,I’ll have to check them all out.
As for, what chocolate would I be named after, “Deep & intense” it would be dark chocolate with a hint of sweetness flavoured with hazelnut truffle ganache center
I so miss Sydney and all the wonderful stores that you can find in each suburb. I have never really explored the haberfield area, but it looks wonderful and all that cheese looks heavenly. I so love cheese.
I looked up their website and they distribute to one store in Canberra, so I will have to go and check it out one day. I am sure they won’t have the range that is at the haberfield store though
Oh I miss Haberfield!! It makes me remember why I loved living in Sydney so much and why my friends in the Eastern Suburbs were jealous of where I lived!
loved loved loved the tour! makes me want to move from Brisbane
my flavour wd be chili and kaffir lime – if there is one cuisine i could not do without it’s thai
Ah Lorraine…. there is nothing like a hot chilli chocolate – not with the chilli mixed in the chocolate itself, but as a hot chilli jam filling with dark chocolate shell. Mmmm! That’s an adult flavour with a layer of sophistication that no other chocolate can match.
Mine choccy would be called Pink truffle and it would be a dark chocolate truffle with a centre of truffle (the funghi kind) and covered by edible pink glitter.
Flavour a la Charmian would have to be…
breadcrumbs avec honey, banana and crunchy peanut butter marbled with nutella with a dash of CINNAMON! (must NEVER forget the cinnamon!)
potentially mirroring my favourite midnight sandwich snack
My chocolate would be filled with warmth and love and tears with real coffee (not instant, PULLEASE!!) and 72% dark chocolate on the outside shaped like a big cuddle.
Thanks for the tour, it made me very hungry.
If I was a chocolate I would be Matcha.
I suspect I would be a bittersweet dark chocolate with peppermint – difficult for many to handle, but unique in all the right ways
Wow, you make my suburb look so glamourous!! To me it’s just the place that I live… (not that I don’t frequent all of these places)…
Thanks Lorraine! But you must come back and try out the restaurants!!!
Wow! Fantastic blog. And some tremendously creative answers!
I’d like to put an Aussie spin on the Turkish delight, inspired by the humble Pavlova…
A deliciously creamy milk chocolate filled with meringue and berries, the ‘Aussie Delight’ – scrumptious!
Hello Lorraine,
The chocolate named after me would be ‘the Big Blue Roo’ and would be a blue heaven flavored praline inside a rich dark chocolate shaped in the classic chocolate dome shape. I look forward to my upcoming visit to Haberfield to savour the delights you describe in this blog.
Regards, Drew.
Hmmm I’m thinking, heavily caffeinated!
Dark chocolate with macadamias because I have a dark side that loves horror movies and I am a bit nutty.
OMG a Slovenian butcher! I can’t believe it! If only I lived in Sydney I could go, but alas I’m in Melbourne.
Yes the cevapi are to die for, especially when done on the BBQ. Good when served with ajvar or horseradish (homemade…deadlier!)
The store is mouthwatering!
If someone were to name a choclate after me I would have to sweet that is for sure and of course a little bit naughty!
So a fairy floss, bubblegum, toffee apple magic melt in the mouth explosion!
Like all your childhood dreams captured in a bite size carnival.
Interesting? Yes!
It would be named Emilia Romagna (after a provence in Italy) and it would be a red wine infused turkish delight concoction! Chocolate, red wine, rose petals, jelly and sugar – a recipe for success.
My favourite meal is steak. How about a steak flavoured chocolate named ‘The Carnivore’?
It’s only when I read posts like this one that I miss living in Sydney! All that good food in one locality.
I’d have to have a hazelnut and coffee truffle with a dark chocolate shell.
My chocolate would be named Decadent as when it comes to chocolate, morals don’t matter at all
My chocolate would be named Risqué Roz and it would be Coconut, Couverture dark chocolate, pistachios and then rolled in cocoa…
Love Truffles!
My 2 favourite favours with chocolate aren’t particully orginal but I can never go past mint and chocolate (everytime i eat icecream especially) and nuts and chocolate – hazelnuts are my fav
Pretty in Pink! And it would have to be strawberry!
My chocolate would be Passion In Paradise … pineapple cream inside rich creamy milk chocolate … because I’m passionate and I live in paradise.
Fantastic summary of the suburb! Felt like one of my weekend days roaming the suburb with Nonno!
Peppermint Passion, an idyllic combination of my favourite herb and summer fruit, encased in dark chocolate.
Amanda’s chocolate would be a delicious creamy Colefax dark chocolate with a rosewater jelly filling and a small dob of salted caramel on top to compliment the sweetness and richness of this beautiful treat.
It would be lovingly called “Amor Rose”.
Hello Lorraine, I only just stumbled over your review of Haberfield and throught to write to you and ask what chocolate flavour won! The reviews were wonderful to read – thank you
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[...] some.I became addicted to whole milk ricotta ever since I visited Paesanella cheese in Marrickville and Haberfield. The soft, cloud like curds with the rich milky, almost creamy flavour was so much better than the [...]
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