Category Archives: NQN's most memorable moments and meals

40 Days and Nights in Paris: A sneak preview of the new Adriano Zumbo collection

Zumbo’s Bedroom Bookshelf

So the story goes, I was in Adriano Zumbo’s bedroom so I took a snap of his bookshelf but more on that later. And what was I doing at his house? Getting a preview of his new collection: 40 Days and Nights in Paris (due out May 23rd) for my birthday! For a food blogger, this is as close to the best birthday gift you could ever get. “You’re the first to see the whole collection” he says “even the guys in the kitchen have only seen two of them” and I suppress an internal squeal.  Oh yes, birthdays are a good thing indeed.

Kitchen bookshelf

Zumbo recently returned from two months in the City of Lights which included attending the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup) and working at Pierre Herme, hence the collection’s name, and he came home eager to get back into his own kitchen and get started on his new collection. Speaking of his kitchen, the minute I walk through the door, I know I’m in the home of a chef. It’s a huge, gorgeously spacious kitchen with a massive island and one of those heavy duty restaurant kitchen faucets. I spy a bookshelf full of cookbooks (including Nigella’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess”) and when I ask if I can take a photo of them, he says “Let me show you the real bookshelf”. This is the one he spoke about in his interview with me which is in his bedroom. It’s packed with some amazing cookbooks of the professional calibre from the Libarie Gourmande in Paris.

Zumbo’s home kitchen

As for the cakes, let me present a preview of them without any further ado. As the cakes remain unnamed at this stage, if you’d like to suggest some names for them, please leave a comment as Adriano will be checking this page. Who knows, he might get inspiration from your suggestions! He said that he loved reading the comments from all of you in his interview so get your thinking caps on and name away! :)

Cake #1

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NQN’s adventure at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

Moo!

Egg judging

I was looking forward our visit to the Sydney Royal Easter Show with great anticipation. The last time I went was when I purchased a Wonder Woman showbag which gives you an indication of just how many years ago that was. I remember the showbag clearly and the headband, name tag, bracelet and other assorted goodies that made me my own pint sized version of Wonder Woman. This was of course when it was still housed at Moore Park. I haven’t been since it moved to Olympic Park.

Although I love traveling by the comfort of car, venturing out there by train is easy and it’s fairly straightforward and relatively quick. Before long we’re standing in front of this enormous swell of people and contemplating our first move like seasoned chess players. Volunteers are handing out copies of maps with some vouchers on the back so we make sure to get one of those so that we can get our bearings. Food of course is priority, but then again so is the many other things that I’ve scheduled courtesy of the show planner on the Easter Show website. Sure some of the things are lower on the priority list (chook washing I could probably give a miss) but some things are too iconic (woodchopping and the ingestion of Dagwood Dogs) or too adorable (the many farm animals) to miss.

Wood chopping

Our first stop is the Woolworths Fresh Food dome. It’s huge, about the size of the Good Food and Wine Show and full of exhibitors peddling their goods. Samples are a little rarer than at other events but most things are available for purchase and most things are discounted from the retail price.

The Chili Factory’s range of chili from mild to frighteningly scary

We try some ferociously hot chili – if you dare, try the 10 out of 10 heat one although a word of warning, try it very sparingly!

My Little Cupcake’s stand

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Conquering a Buffet 101: Buffeting like a Pro, Cafe Mix, The Rocks, Sydney

Cafe Mix display

I don’t often do buffets. It’s not that I don’t like the idea of them – there’s something so gloriously medieval and Roman about a cornucopian spread of food. It’s just that I just cannot eat enough of it to satisfy that I’ve gotten my money’s worth with many buffets priced at the $60+ range. However there are exceptions to this rule and wave the We Love Sydney card which gives us half price buffet at Cafe Mix at the Shangri-La hotel and say the magic word “Lobster” and I am at the ready. For the magical price of $68 for two on Fridays and $85 for two on Saturdays, you can eat lobsters and seafood to your heart’s content. My friends and family are generally good buffet eaters, and by good I mean good at extracting their money’s worth and enjoying themselves at one.

My friend in High School’s parents loved buffets and I’d always be invited along. We’d sit in their lounge room prior to going out and the mum would announce that she hadn’t eaten all day* and was ravenous in anticipation of the buffet. Her dad used to wear the special pants (not quite maternity pants but loose waisted pants) for the occasion and when we’d get there, they’d request the table closest to the seafood. It was usually prawns (they never went to a buffet without at least prawns) and they’d clear the supply of prawns carrying away plates of the stuff. My friend and I were a little embarrassed but little did we realise that they’d set the tone to how I approach buffets nowadays.

My husband is what you might call a  buffet amateur. This doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been to many, he has but he always gets chided by friends and family for selecting what he feels like eating instead of what might give him his money’s worth. My dad is the same. He’ll get a plate with some slices of roast pork, some potatoes and some pasta salad and be happy with that, forgetting that he has just paid $60 for that plate. My mum will literally tear her hair out at him. When we go to buffets, it’s an almost competitive experience but with a  difference, everyone wants you to do well.

Pork Roast with crackling separated for easy access-yes crackling, food of the gods!

Pretraining

One thing that I asterisked was my friend’s mum’s comment that she hadn’t eaten all day. I think this is a mistake. I find that my stomach “shrinks” if this happens. Some say that eating breads and pastries however ensures that you will be hungry, protein less so.  So despite all natural instincts to eat less carbs, eat more (the opposite of what you’d do when you have a big event coming up and want to look your best). Take it from the word of competitive eaters.

While there

Ask for a table near your favourite foods in the buffet (and no I don’t mean dessert!). Not only does this assist in your endeavour but when the best foods are replenished you’ll be the first to know. Thankfully at Cafe Mix, this wasn’t an issue except for with the fruit salad. The seafood was readily and steadily refilled.

Survey the buffet before digging in. No matter how pretty the desserts look (and they usually look very appealing and colourful) ignore them. Didn’t you know that there is a separate compartment for desserts anyway called the Dessert Tank? Have a look at everything that is offered in a buffet. Pretend you’re on The Price Is Right and price them.

Filling up on drink will reduce stomach space so say no to drinks or only order some still water and merely sip it. I never finish my drink, ever, even when I’m not at a buffet. I have my stomach space reserved for food.

Cafe Mix is divided into 6 sections: a seafood section (with lobster, prawns, balmain bugs, oysters and crab), a Western mix section (roasts, vegetables, breads and potatoes), a Japan Mix section (miso soup and assorted sushi rolls and salmon nigiri), a China Mix section (steamed buns, chicken wings, stir fries, fried rice), an Indian Mix section (pappadums, saffron rice, curries) and the dessert section.

Having a look at the buffet and doing my research online, from the range offered today I categorised the food into 3 sections in terms of value:

Top ranking foods

Lobster: aside from Abalone (which you’ll never get at a buffet, this is the prize pick)

  • Seafood: Lobster, crab and balmain bugs
  • Seafood: Oysters
  • Seafood: Prawns
  • Seafood: Mussels and others

Necessary evils

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New York Restaurant & Diner, Kings Cross

After our delicious journey back in time at the Oceanic Cafe where we emerged to the sights and sounds of 2009, Queen Viv could sense my excitement and suggested that we follow up our meal at Oceanic with a visit to New York restaurant in Kings Cross at a later date. A similar concept to the Oceanic Cafe, New York restaurant is a restaurant serving traditional Australian/English meals at very reasonable prices to a loyal community. I was more than happy to, the only problem was that they were closed over Christmas until January 19th (I only found out the opening date as the owner happened to answer the phone while he was there). I rang up on the 19th to book a table for 4 the Saturday after only to be told by the friendly owner Paul “Oh darling, we  don’t take reservations” and then he asked my name and I answered “Lorraine” and he said “OK Lorraine, I look forward to meeting you!”. Wow, friendly folk indeed!

We’re supposed to meet Queen Viv and Miss America at 7pm this Saturday night but we are late-by half an hour (arrgh since when did Kings Cross become a 1hour parking only zone?). Queen Viv calls us to ask where we are-the maitre’d is enquiring about our lateness. Of course we don’t realise why. It’s because the New York restaurant closes at 8pm! On Kellet Street in Kings Cross, it’s located between two brothels.

Rushing in, we order quickly. I go straight to the Chef’s specialties where I order the crumbed lamb cutlets, my husband orders the chicken schnitzel and Queen Viv and Miss America both order the beef sausages. There is a note which makes us grin: “Minimum order $3.50″. For good measure we also get a glass of orange cordial for 70c and an entree bowl of soup for 80c. Items are divided into old fashioned sections such as “Cold Collations” and there’s even an oyster section with the cheapest item being Light Gold Toast for 40c.

We look around. There are groups of mostly men, of various ages although mostly senior citizens. One is so enamoured of his chop that he picks up the whole thing (about the size of a plate) and eats it with his hands. There’s also younger men, including two fashionable young men and one dashingly handsome guy. A real mix that has us intrigued. As it’s busy some of the men share a table and exchange greetings.

We scarcely have time to observe our fellow diners as everything arrives quickly. We ask Jeff the maitre’d if it is ok to take photos-he is intimidating looking with his tattoos but he smiles broadly and spreads his hands out and says “Of course, no problems at all” and tells us that we are free to take any photos we like and that fellow diners won’t mind at all. In fact it’s most hospitable reaction we’ve had. He tells us that the New York restaurant has been around for about 50 years, and at this location for 17 years.



Orange Cordial 70c

Vegetable soup 80c

Crumbed Lamb cutlets $10

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Adriano Zumbo Interview: International Man of Mystery

Regular readers of my blog know that I am crazy about the man but like a lot of Sydney, and the rest of the world, we don’t know a lot about him, apart from the fact that he makes some of the most stunningly masterful creations known to humankind which if anything, gives us a fleeting glimpse into his soul. He’s shy and if I recall back to the first time I met him, nothing like I expected him to look like (I don’t know why but I expected either a portly older gentleman or a skinny ponytailed Franck Eggelhoffer).

To meet the man in the flesh is a surprise. He’s young, modest, agreeable, quite shy and down to earth and possessed with broodingly Brando-esque looks. Nothing like the tortured aesthetically crazed genius that I expected. And he makes the girls go crazy like nothing we’ve seen. A friend of mine, when I told her about meeting him said “Maybe just lick him for me or something” (I didn’t dear reader, although I suspect he might taste of cake, nor did I inquire of her what the ‘or something’ meant). Married or attached friends of mine would profess their outright lust for the man. It seems that a man that creates these beauties can do no wrong with the womenfolk.

I wanted to delve a bit more into the man himself, what fueled his passion and his artistry and so I did what the curious do, I asked for an interview and he was happy to oblige. We talked about his history, growing up, how he comes up with his collections, what he does in his downtime, his thoughts on bloggers, Pierre Hermé and of course the question that everyone wanted to know, whether he is single or not.

It’s a Sunday afternoon when I meet him at his cafe in Balmain, just a few doors down from the shop. He’s late by about 5-10 minutes but calls to let me know.  When he arrives he’s sporting a “I love Betty” t shirt (Betty being the Beresford pub), a few day’s worth of stubble and a New York Jets cap. And of course his eyebrow piercing, arm tattoo (”I’m a bit superstitious,” he has a tattoo of a scarab beetle for luck and his favourite numbers) and shy demeanor. I place my voice recorder down and he straight away asks if I want the music (Come On Eileen currently playing) turned down and I agree with visions of hours of tape of recorded music instead of speech in my head.

The Young(er) Zumbo

Spot the younger Zumbo

Being quite comfortable in Balmain (Zumbo lives here and has both his shop and cafe here) I first enquire about where and how he grew up. He was brought up in Coonamble, near Dubbo, where his parents owned supermarkets, one having a bakery in which he played around after school. He also remembers fondly the other perks of having supermarket owning parents. “I grew up on junkfood. I ate crumbed chicken, Vegemite (which probably explains why his “Zumbo the Kid” cake has Vegemite in it), peanut butter, hot chips with chicken salt, ham panini and pasta with no sauce, only olive oil. I wouldn’t touch sauce, that was yucky and all red with tomatoes.”

Zumbo the Kid-Photo from the Zumbo family.

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