To celebrate Linus' birthday, we decided to have a nice girly afternoon tea at The Tea Cosy. I first heard of The Tea Cosy from a friend and I was won over by the cute tea cosies, wide selection of tea and gourmet jams and the fact that their scones are baked fresh. The tea room is located at the back of the Irish Design Shop and as we make our way through to the open courtyard we pass the staircase of teapots and their handmade tea cosies. The courtyard is quite small with a number of tables and chairs crammed against the wall. They do have more seating upstairs on the balcony and also a separate tea room for private events.



From the menu we ordered the 'Deluxe Tasting Basket for Two' which consists of an assortment of scones in a two tiered stand and a selection of gourmet jams, double thickened cream and drinks of your choice ($24). Scones that were in oven today were plain, cheese, chocolate scones. They also had sultana and apple and cinnamon but unfortunately they were out of those. We choose to get two each of the plain and chocolate scones served with wild berry, and pear and vanilla jams. For our drinks, I ordered the Green Tea with Strawberry and Linus had the English Breakfast.
The scones were probably one of the best I've had. I liked the plain scones over the chocolate; they had the perfect amount of crumbliness but were still soft and moist. I love their variety of jams and they had the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.

I would definitely be back here to try their other selection of specialty scones and jams. I love feel and atmosphere of the The Tea Cosy and it was the perfect place to have a girly afternoon tea. It would be the ideal place to host a kitchen tea, have a baby shower or have a girls day out. Who doesn't love tea cosies!



The Tea Cosy
Address:  33 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9247 3233
Opening times: Thursdays and Fridays 10am - 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10-5pm. 
Website: http://theteacosy.com.au

Before our scones birthday date, Linus and I wanted to grab some solid lunch before we stocked up on sugar. We wanted to go somewhere a bit fancier but also try something different for her birthday. Xanthi is definitely a hidden gem located at the top level of Westfield Sydney. As I walked in, I was in awe of the amazing decor and silk draped walls and ceiling.

To start, we decided to get a couple of sharing plates. I only recently discovered one of the best things on Earth, haloumi cheese! So when I saw the Barbeucued Haloumi sharing plate, we had to get it! The Haloumi was barbecued to perfection and had the characteristic 'squeak'. The tomatoes and figs were a great accompaniment to the saltiness of the cheese.


I would definitely recommend a visit to this Chef's Hatted restaurant. The menu has something for everyone and the small sharing plates are perfect if you're wanting to try a bit of everything. Their dessert menu sounded so tempting which included Caramel Bakalava Icecream and Honeymilk Pannacotta but we had to give it a miss as we were so full and had to save our stomachs for afternoon scones at the 'The Tea Cosy'.



Xanthi Bar and Restaurant
Address: 100 Market St Level 6 Westfield Sydney 2000
Phone: 9232 8535
Opening times: Monday–Saturday: 11am–3:30pm, 5pm–11pm,  Sundays 11am–kitchen closes 8pm
Website: http://xanthi.com.au/

I visited Adriano Zumbo at the Star last week and had his salted butter popcorn macarons and I knew I just had to recreate them! I loved the balance between the buttery goodness and the salty aftertaste.

Recipe was quite simple. I made plain macarons shells and decorated them with melted butter and popcorn pieces which I blitzed in my mini wizz food processor (right). The buttercream filling was flavoured with sea salt. I was hesitant to add too much salt as I thought it would of been too overpowering, but when I tasted the finished product, the more salt the better! So I ended up sprinkling a bit more sea salt in the middle of the macarons after piping. Those with high blood pressure, avoid!

I didn't take many photos of the whole process as it was kind of spontaneous! Above, I brushed on the melted butter and sprinkled on the popcorn pieces. Be prepared for some serious butterfingers when putting these babies together.

The finished product below. Of course they aren't as good as the zumbo ones, but they are addictive!! They are best enjoyed after refrigerating for at least 24 hours for the shells to become chewy. Before serving, leave them out of the fridge for the buttercream to soften!






Recipe inspired by Adriano Zumbo (Zumbarons: A fantasy land of macarons by Adriano Zumbo)

I ordered the chicken burger with wasabi mayo and a side of chips also with wasabi mayo ($4). Although it wasn't bad, it was nothing special. I kept staring down JHL's cheeseburger. The overload of wasabi mayo was also a bit overwhelming, but it's good in small doses! 


The karaage soft shell crab omelette which I've tried at the former Cafe Ish, is also a must try! I wish this place had opened earlier when I was at Sydney Uni.  I would want to go back to try their brunch items,  range of milkshakes including rocky road and  peanut butter and jelly milkshake and  their Malteaser tart!! 




Milk Bar by Cafe Ish
Address: 105 Regent Street, Redfern
Phone: 9699 8828
Opening Times: Monday-Friday: 6.30am-5pm (Tuesday - Closed), Saturday-Sunday: 9am-4pm
Website: https://twitter.com/MilkBar_CafeIsh