Food from the New Zealand Cruise Holidays

Having recently retuned from a cruise to New Zealand, I'm getting over the result of a good holiday - or what I would say, 'overeating'. I had a wonderful time in the ship, but as a result, now need to shed a few kilos.

The showcase of pictures below are the different meals I have indulged in over the 2 weeks period. Enjoy!

 

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Kooroomba Lavender Farm and Vineyards

Kooroomba Lavender Farm and Vineyards is one of my favourite places in the Scenic Rim. 

I have visited several times and each time the beautiful mountain scenery just had me in awe: gazing at the breathtaking backdrop and admiring the beautiful natural landscape created by God. I couldn’t help but enjoy the peace and tranquillity the place has to offer.

It is located just over an hour from Brisbane. It is close enough to get away for a short weekend trip, but far enough to enjoy a taste of country life. The journey from Brisbane takes you along the majestic view of Scenic Rim Mountains and eases your mind from the busy city life.

The restaurant is open from Wednesdays to Sundays offering a range of Modern Australian dishes. Do keep an eye out for the dishes containing lavender as a key ingredient. Personally, I loved the baked potatoes with lavender honey mustard dressing. The lavender scent was subtle and did not overpower the dish.

On the other hand, I wasn’t very keen on the lavender ice-cream or sorbet. It was too strong and reminded me of hand-wash :(

I have always found that dining with this surrounding makes the food taste better. Eating lunch while looking out at breathtaking scenery is what I would call a great weekend away! I recommend you try it for yourself!

Pork Loin, Braised Green Lentils, Caramelized Baby Onions and Brandy Jus

 

Lamb Back Strap with Semi Dried Tomato Couscous, Green Beans and Pink Pepper Jus

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Road trip to Northern NSW

Thanks to the Queen, we have an extra day of public holiday this year. To me, it was a much needed break as it was the end of my one week mid-semester break. I needed the time off from both work and studies to rest and recharge before I power on full-speed for another month till the end of the semester.

We decided to go for a drive down south to Northern New South Wales, where D grew up. It was fun listening to his childhood stories as if we were reliving it again.

Our first stop was at Kingscliff for lunch. We recharged on a scrumptious meal and then continued our journey down south.

The next stop was Ballina where we had booked a place to stay for the night. It was a peaceful and quiet coastal town.

The next morning, we headed west to Lismore and Casino where D spent most of his childhood years.  Finally, after taking a few pictures for keepsake, we commenced our journey back home.


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Olympics: Ancient to Modern

In the spirit of the Olympic Games, the most talked about topic this week, I have decided to share some pictures from my trip to Greece last year.

Our tour group explored the ancient ruins of Olympia, where I stood on the first Olympic Stadium. This was where the first Ancient Olympic Games was held back in 776BC. It started off with running as the ONLY event in the Olympics.

The ancient game was held to honour the mythological Greek God, Zeus. The game lasted until 394AD when Rome reigned over Greece and Christianity became the state religion of Rome.

The Modern Olympic Games was revived in 1896AD in Athens. A young Frenchmen, Pierre de Coubertin brought revival to the games to inspire sportsmanship. Our tour group made a stop at the Panathenaic stadium where the first modern Olympics took place.

It was an incredible experience to go back in time and appreciate the sights from different era in history. 

Back to the topic of Olympics,  I have never been to a real game.  If you have any pictures or stories to share, feel free to me drop a comment.


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Cupcake Decorating Class at Whimsical Cakehouse

For the past few years, I have always wanted to attend a cake decorating class but couldn’t find one that suits my budget and time. This year I managed to sign-up for two courses: a 2 hour cupcake decorating class and a 6 weeks cake decorating class.

Last Saturday, I went for my first ever Cupcake Decorating class at Whimsical Cakehouse.

When I walked in the classroom, the cupcakes, ganache and all other equipment were already set on the table. This class focused solely on decorating - not baking or preparing the fondant. The cupcakes were bought from a local Brisbane baker and fondant used was from a commercially available tub.

We were taken through a series of steps on how to decorate our masterpiece. First, we had to trim off the edge of the cupcakes with a small knife.

Then, fill the top of the cake with white chocolate ganache to even it out. The teacher showed us a trick to even out the ganache by dipping the icing knife in hot water and spreading it around the icing.

Next, brush the ganache with sugar syrup. This is useful for sticking the fondant to the top of the cake, as well as for adding moisture to the cake. A plastic strip is then used to smoothen the fondant on the cake.

We then moved on to the fun part of decorating the cake. We were shown a series of techniques such as bows, craft and piping before attempting it on our own.

Here are my creations:

It was a very enjoyable class. Even though it was a very basic class, I still felt that I learnt a lot from the teacher. I am now looking forward to my next class where we will decorate a whole cake!


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Lindt Café

This is one of my favourite dessert places in Sydney. Upon entering the cafe, we were enticed by the collection of beautiful looking cakes. It was a difficult decision on what to order. I wished we could taste one of each without burning a hole in our pockets. A slice of these gorgeous looking cakes cost somewhere between $12-14. Some cakes cost more for dine in.

We went to the Lindt cafe in Martin Place last year, so we thought of giving the one in Darling Harbour a try this trip. I might be biased but I think they are equally as good. The only difference is indoor vs outdoor dining.

The other specialty is their “Delice Collection”, which is also known as Macarons by the French. Out of the few Maracons I have tested before, Lindt’s Delice is definitely the best by far! Full of flavour and melt in your mouth texture. We ordered a Strawberry Delice (for me) and Passion Delice (for Dan). It is so delicately delicious that I could easily have eaten half a dozen. It is also reasonably priced at $2.20 each.

There are other delicacies from their Connoisseurs Collection and Ice Creams which we did not try on this trip.

Now I am hoping that they will open a cafe in Brisbane......still wishing~


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