AntiOx Giveaway

It is time of the year again when the chilly winter arrives. Coupling with the exam month, this weather is the biggest culprit for the increase in appetite and snacking (well, at least for me!). I have been contemplating for the past one week whether to eat or not to eat supper, and I failed to have that discipline to deter myself from snacking late at night. This habit has given me mixed feelings of guilt and happiness where I felt satisfied after having a bite a packet of chips but still feeling guilty that my general health will be affected. How many of you guys have the same feelings? I am sure I am not alone (I hope?)! 

So, here is a good news for those who snack frequently as I am! Wanting to tame your mouth while snacking healthily? AntiOx snack bars and chocolate can be THE option! As part of Nuffnang blogger community, I was given an opportunity to try out AntiOx products under 'Product Talk by Nuffnang'. Check out more about the product talk here. 

I received 2 chocolates in Acai and Goji varieties as well as 3 snack bars in Acai, Goji, and Chia and Quinoa varieties in my mail box few days ago. It is always a delight to be able to receive free gifts (what an Asian!). Hence, I will be sharing my experience of snacking (on AntiOx products) in this blog post. Please read till the end of the post as there is a surprise waiting for you!

AntiOx Chocolates and Snack Bars

The first product that I tried on was the AntiOx Goji Snack Bar. Goji is a very familiar ingredient to me as it is always present in my mum's homemade soup. Goji berries contain a very high concentration of antioxidants, vitamins and essential minerals. They are also rich in vitamin C. 

Before opening the packet, I thought it would be a normal muesli bar just like the ones you can find in Coles or Woolworths. Surprisingly, it is a dark chocolate bar with mixture of Goji berries, wholegrain and forest fruits within. The key thing that I love the most is that the chocolate is made up of 70% cocoa and it is SUGAR-FREE. How good is that? I can indulge in yummy chocolate with low caries risk! 

One bite at the snack bar will give you the impression that snacking is no longer unhealthy. Soft and chewy, with a tinge of sweetness were the sensation. The mild sweetness mainly comes from goji berries, instead of chocolate itself. Antioxidants which are present in chocolate and goji berries can help us to equalise the free radicals that cause ill health within the body. It is very important as we are more susceptible to colds and flu during winter. What an awesome way to boost our immune system while feeding our stomach! And the snack bar indeed makes you feel full as it is packed with goodness.

AntiOx Goji Snack Bar 

Sick of the conventional snack bars? AntiOx can offer you more than normal muesli bars can do. In terms of varieties, they also have snack bar with acai berries, chia and quinoa. These are powerful fruits. Acai berries have over 16 phytonutrients and antioxidants, and twice as many antioxidants as blueberries. Besides that, quinoa has an exceptionally high protein content compared with other grains. It has more calcium than milk and is rich in iron, fibre and B and E vitamins. It also contains all 9 essential amino acids. On top of that, chia contains significant levels of omega 3 (of plant origin), fibre, protein, calcium, antioxidants, potassium and magnesium. 

Winter will never be the same again with AntiOx chocolates (in Goji and Acai varieties) as they provide you additional antioxidants which will guard off ill disease. The sweetness is not overwhelming too. The note-worthy point is that they do not contain any artificial ingredients. Let me give you another fun fact - Goji/Acai is equivalent to 12 cups of green tea. Wow!  

Be aware that I am talking about super power snack bars, not the ordinary one. So, why don't try one of those or win one of their prize packs? And here is a surprise! AntiOx is currently having a giveaway promotion where you can win a a free AntiOx prize pack which contains 6 AntiOx snack bars and 4 AntiOx chocolates. I reckon that would make a good supply of snack for the exam month. It can make a good sweet gift too. 

The terms and conditions of the giveaway can be viewed here. Basically, this promotion is only opened for Australian residents, aged 14 years and over. In order to get an entry to the giveaway, YOU my lovely reader must answer 'Why do you want to try the new AntiOx snack bars and chocolate?' at the comment section below! Comment quick as the promotion will end on 28 June! Only 2 of the readers who gave the most creative comment will get the prize! Please leave your email as you commented because the winners will be contacted personally to get their phone number and address. 

Do not worry if you are not selected because AntiOx is currently running a Winter Snack Bar Giveaway on their facebook page! Sign up to be a member and they will send you a free AntiOx snack bar as a lovely gift. 

So, do not wait anymore! Comment below 'Why do you want to try the new AntiOx snack bars and chocolate?' using your email. Please note this only applies for Australian residents. The winner will be contacted by 28 June. Happy snacking! *wink*

Love, Victoria

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Steven ter Horst Chocolatier

Steven ter Horst Chocolatier has always been on my dessert list since some time ago but I never managed to visit it. And now my wish came true! Being invited by Chloe, the community manager of Yelp, I stepped into Steven ter Horst Chocolatier (finally!) for a chocolate tasting event as part of the dessert club gathering.  

The chocolate tasting event kicked off with the introduction and history of the chocolatier by Steven, the founder of the chocolateria. He is an amiable and passionate chocolate enthusiast. His area of expertise is in the sinfully delicious chocolate masterpiece. Together with him, his partner Chantelle, on the other hand, is specialising in the making of luring cakes and other desserts. 

Steven started off this chocolateria as a vendor booth at Adelaide Farmer's Market. As his customers grew, he decided to enlarge his business to a permanent spot. In order to serve his loyal customers, Unley Road was then chosen to house this cosy chocolatier as it is near to the market itself. Steven went to Melbourne for training from Paris chocolatiers, as France is famous for its fine chocolate. Bringing back the essence of chocolate making, Steven made some modification by sourcing and incorporating local ingredients into the chocolate. As far as the creativity is concerned, Steven ter Horst Chocolatier still remains one of the top chocolateria in the town due to the quality of chocolate!

Steven with much passion 

Everyone should go for Steven ter Horst Chocolatier's chocolate tasting at least once in your lifetime! This cost of this tasting was $15, which included a cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate, tasting platter consisting of Nuts about Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart as well as a hand crafted chocolate of own choice. It was very worth it especially for a chocolate lover like me!

A visit to a chocolateria will not be complete without a cup of hot chocolate. It is by far the thickest chocolate drink I have ever had! It is rich in chocolate and what makes it special is its nutty after-taste. You can literally feel like drinking melted chocolate block when you gulp the hot chocolate down the throat. Thick and smooth, yet with surprise!  

Hot chocolate

If you do not like chocolate with thick texture, iced chocolate can be a good option as the ice cream tones down the richness of chocolate. It is my friend's favourite!

Iced chocolate

First up on the tasting plate is the Nuts About Chocolate. It consists of toasted almonds, hazelnut dacquoise, chocolate cremeaux, decorated with chocolate chantilly. The layers of this dessert are pretty defined where you can see different kind of ingredients being used. You can never go wrong with nuts and chocolate as they are always a great combination! The crunchiness of nuts, smoothness of chocolate and whipped cream get married in mouth, creating one of the happiest moment in life! Definitely a try! 

Nuts About Chocolate

The salted caramel tart is filled with layers of rich chocolate ganache over salted caramel. It is not too sweet on overall. However, I found it difficult to cut through the outer tart layer with fork. Hence, I adopted the most original way of eating a dessert, using a bare hand. The tart swept my mouth in a typhoon way as it is to my liking!! One of the best dessert in the chocolateria! 

Salted Caramel Tart

There are over 20 different types of handmade chocolate to be chosen from! And each of them has a feminine name! Isn't this special? I found it very interesting. Chocolate is like woman, I suppose?

Different patterns on different chocolate

Note the names

More chocolate

After much explanation and recommendation from Steven, I settled on Eliza, a French floral Earl Grey Tea ganache layered with a quince pate de fruits. It is refreshing as the Earl Grey flavour washes out some of the sweetness of chocolate, leaving the floral scent behind in the mouth. 

I also managed to have a quick bite on my friend's Hedgehog, the second most popular handmade chocolate in the shop. It is rich in chocolate and most importantly, the shape of the chocolate is really worthy to be adored at. 

The most popular chocolate is the Fleur de Seul, which consists of salted caramel within. 

Nutty chocolate bar

Desserts display corner

Steven ter Horst Chocolatier also sells hand-crafted chocolate in pack of 4, 9, 16 and 24 with lovely boxes. Gifts will be never be the same with Steven ter Horst chocolate.

Chocolate box

Apart from chocolate, this chocolateria does have the petite macarons too!

Macarons

Yelp dessert club

Chocolate tasting

Website: https://www.facebook.com/chocolatiersteven?fref=ts
Address: 221D, Unley Road, Unley, SA. 
Trading hours: 9am-11pm (Tues-Sat), 12pm-5pm (Sun)



Love, Victoria

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Brussel Sprouts and Lamb Riblets Story

Hey guys! It's going to be May soon! Time passes so fast that more than a quarter of a year has crept away. Still remember Seasonal Story post at the beginning of the month whereby I mentioned about April seasonal vegetables? Well, the limelight today will be on May seasonal vegetable - Brussel Sprout. Together with this tough lady, this post will also be focussing on Lamb Riblets which have overwhelming fat content! Other key ingredients include Celery and Tofu.

Day 1

Grilled Lamb, Pumpkin, Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts with Thyme

Ingredients:

- Pumpkin

- Potato

- Lamb chop

- Brussel sprouts

- Pine nuts

- Garlic 

- Thyme

- Seasoning: salt and pepper

- Extra virgin olive oil 

Methods: 

1) Marinate the lamb chop with salt, pepper, garlic cloves and soy sauce for at least half and hour. 

2) Mix extra virgin olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat pumpkin, potatoes and brussel sprouts with the mixture. 

3) Grill all the ingredients in the oven (180-210'C) for 15-20 minutes. 

Note: I love the crunchiness of grilled brussel sprouts as they are less bitter, however beware that you don't over grill them in high temperature. Thyme does play an important role in enhancing the flavour of each ingredient. 

  

Grilled lamb, pumpkin, potatoes and brussel sprouts 

Day 2

Fried Rice Stuffed Portobello + Hashed Brussel Sprouts Stuffed Celery

Ingredients:

- Celery

- Corn 

- Brussel sprouts

- Tomato 

- Tofu

- Rice 

- Portobello

- Cheddar cheese 

- Dijon mustard

- Seasoning: Salt, pepper

Methods: 

1) Fried rice stuffed portobello recipe here. Instead of using sushi rice, I substitute it with fried rice. Tofu is being smashed to simulate the texture of eggs. Black soy sauce and sesame oil are added to fried rice to enhance the flavour. At last, cheddar cheese is put on top of fried rice and portobello to be baked in the oven. 

2) Stuffed celery recipe: Saute garlic and onion in the pan. Add in, corn, mashed tofu, tomato, brussel sprouts in strip form. Season with some dijon mustard, Shaoxing wine, salt and pepper. Stuff them in a celery stick and top with cheddar cheese strip. Microwave them in oven so that the cheese melts. 

Fried rice stuffed portobello + Stuffed celery sticks

Day 3

Nutella Oat Bar + Nutella Stuffed Celery Sticks

Ingredients: 

- Celery sticks, nutella 

- Oat

- Sweetened condensed milk

- Chocolate chip

- Nuts 

- Nutella  

Methods:

1) Nutella stuffed celery stick: Spread nutella generously until it fills the whole celery stick groove. This is the Australian style snacks. You can try it with peanut butter too. 

Nutella stuffed celery stick

2) Nutella Oat Bar: 
(i) Pour around 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk onto a frying pan. Bring it to simmer. Stir constantly to prevent it from being burnt. 
(ii) Crush chocolate chips and nuts and mix it with 1/2 cup of oats. 
(iii) Pour the condensed milk into the mixture and mix them together
(iv) Condense the mixture in a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes (180'C).

Nutella oat bar

Day 4

Grilled Black Pepper Sauce Marinated Lamb Riblets + Stir Fried Brussel Sprouts with Wolfberries and Dates

Ingredients: 
- Lamb riblets
- Marinating sauce: Black pepper sauce, Sugar, Soy sauce, Salt, Pepper 
- Brussel Sprouts
- Wolfberries and Dates 
- Seasoning: ShaoXing wine, Salt, Pepper 

Methods: 
1) Marinate lamb riblets using the marinating sauce above. Leave them aside for at least half an hour. 
2) Saute garlic and onion till fragrant. Add in brussel sprouts, some water, wolfberries and dates. Let them to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add some seasoning to the brussel sprouts. 
3) Grill the lamb riblets in the oven for 15-20 minutes (210'C).

Notes: Another option of marinating sauce would be mixture of lime juice, thyme, salt, pepper and soy sauce. A surprise as the lime juice exerts sour and refreshing flavour onto the riblets. 

Grilled black pepper sauce marinated lamb riblets + Stir fried brussel sprouts with wolfberries and dates

Day 5

Lamb Riblets Stew with Tofu and Bok Choy

Ingredients:

- Lamb riblets 

- Corn 

- Bok Choy

- Chicken or vegetable stock

- Tofu

Methods: 

1) Saute garlic and onion until fragrant. 

2) Prepare 500ml stock and bring it to boil. 

3) Add in garlic, onion, lamb riblets, corn and tofu. Simmer it for around 1.5-2 hours. Add in bok choy at the last 1/2 hour. 

Notes: Another option is to substitute bok choy with pickled radish or pickled cabbage. 

Lamb riblets stew with tofu and bok choy

Do follow the weekly recipe story here and drop me any comments if you have any dishes to introduce so that I can try it out. 

-The end of the presentation of the fellow humble dishes-

Love, Victoria

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Fork on The Road @ Light Square

Fork on The Road was back on 12 April after the Fringe event! If you missed the last Fork on The Road post, you can check it out here. This time off, Light Square was chosen as the place of aggregation. With the grassy seatings, it was feasible for the diners to laze around in the afternoon or evening, enjoying their meals. 

With the ending of daylight saving this early April, the day ends earlier than usual, around 6pm. Hence, we set off for Fork on The Road dinner event around 5.30pm to enjoy a short period of day light before the dusk kicked in. 

Being driven by the research I had done the night before the visit and my unwavering curiosity, I decided to try out Little Big Cheese Co. Unfortunately, the special of the day which was the pulled pork toasty with King Island Smoked Cheddar, had been sold out and I chose to have Classic instead. It was a toasted bread with smoked shoulder ham, Swiss Gruyere, seeded mustard and lashings of butter. A stick of gherkins came as an accompaniment to the toasty. 

The ham was heavily smoked and hence the saltiness was very prominent. It was sourced from Marino's in the Central Market. As the curing and smoking process is labour intensive, Little Big Cheese Co has no time but to pass this important task to the Marino's. The cheese was seriously good too! However, do prepare a cup of water when you are having this toasty as you might need it to wash away the saltiness before taking another bite. 

Do try out its pulled pork toasty as it is smoked by Little Big Cheese Co itself and that is the highlight of this South Australian, Italian family run business. 

Classic Cheese Toasties 

Little Big Cheese Co has been operating around Adelaide for the past 4 months in various events such as East End Wine Down, Adelaide Food and Wine Festival and Fork on The Road, not to mention some makeshift locations! Do like its facebook page to keep yourself updated on its trail. 

Little Big Cheese Co 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Big-Cheese-Co/461087203963963
Phone number: 0433 503 836

Hereby I declare my favourite brownie stall is Four Seeds! There are a number of variety you can choose from, but the most famous ones are peanut butter and salted lime brownie. I tried its salted lime brownie and it was so amazing! The lime flavour was incorporated into the moist chewy texture of the brownie which was topped with sea salt flakes. The saltiness kicked in after the refreshing lime, making the brownie a special one!

Four Seeds Stall

Website: http://fourseeds.com.au/baked.without.numbers/home.html
Phone number: 0409532500

Behold vegetarians! Let Them Eat can be a new addiction to you! It offers vegan tarts, desserts and fritters in which you can munch them as snacks! It does offer catering and retail service where you can consider to have a vegan banquet without worrying that your guests will rant and rave about the food! 

The array of food offered

Parsnip sage and mascarpone arancini I ordered turns out to be a surprise as I never realise vegan food can be this special and delicious! Especially with the sour and sweet condiment, the fried rice ball fed my stomach really well. 

Parsnip sage and mascarpone arancini

Website: http://www.let-them-eat.com.au/
Address: 18 Elizabeth Street, Croydon
Trading hour: 10am-4pm (Tues-Sun)



Get forked up! And hopefully there will still be the next Fork on The Road event! 

Love, Victoria 

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From Scratch Patisserie

A good breakfast always blows my mind away! If you are following this blog close enough, you will notice that I am actually in a breakfast/brunch hunt. And From Scratch Patisserie is my newest addiction! This patisserie is a proud child of a pair of young couple, Johnny and Edwina. 

I always adore pastry, loving the softness and buttery texture of the layers. Different toppings or fillings can come in as a surprise because you will be amazed by their impeccable combination with the pastry. Gahh! A beautiful morning can be birthed through a satisfying breakfast. 

From Scratch Patisserie provides a few series of pastry for its customers to choose from, including brioche, cookies, croissants, danish, tarts, sfogliatelle, fritata, pies, eclairs and macarons. They look so tempting and I am spoilt for choices!

Patisserie 

More patisserie 

Pain Au Chocolat

Croissant like pastry with dark chocolate sticks baked inside. This is my favourite of all! It is soft, flaky and buttery with chocolate flowing out when you take a bite. Given that I am a croissant and chocolate lover, I can never get sick of this! A must try! 

Sfogliatelle

Layers of wafer like pastry with a cooked ricotta and semolina custard, citron peel, cinnamon and vanilla. It has a hard crusty covering with a generous serve of smooth custard inside. The custard has a mild flavour as ricotta does not really stand out. 

She's Apples 

Almond pasted pastry with apples, cinnamon and vanilla baked with a biscuit crumble on top. This is one of the most popular pastry in the patisserie. The biscuit crumble complements the apple well, which reminds me of apple crumble. It is not too sweet though.

Ugly Raspbettie

Laminated pastry rolled up and baked with vanilla custard and raspberry then rolled in cinnamon sugar. This is the most popular pastry and I can see the reason of its popularity. The layer of pastry is prominent and soft. A small bite will release the buttery flavour together with its raspberry fillings. Highly recommended!

Wham Bam Strawberry Jam

Seasonal fruit danish - flaky yet buttery pastry topped with seasonal fruits. This is not too bad, but I find the layers to be harder than the one in Pain Au Chocolat.  

Nice Nuts

Hazelnut pasted scroll with cinnamon and vanilla roasted peanuts, hazelnuts and almonds. The hazelnut paste becomes the limelight of the pastry, accompanied by different kind of nuts. Like the wham bam strawberry jam, I find the pastry a little bit hard. 

Clockwise: Wham Bam Strawberry Jam, Sfogliatelle, Pain Au Chocolat, Ugly Raspbetti, Nice Nuts

The popup patisserie at Leigh Street is situated just beside Coffee Branch and only opens on Friday from 7am to 9am. The early bird catches the worm, so do drop by before going to work or classes and grab an awesome pastry from there. You can choose to sit at the tables provided by Coffee Branch to savour them too. In case you miss out on the Friday popup, you can still visit it at the Farmers Market, Adelaide Showground. 

People lining up for the pastry

The quaint popup stall is definitely a not-miss when you pass by Leigh Street on Friday morning. I will definitely come back again for more pastries. Till then, From Scratch Patisserie. 

Website: http://fromscratchpatisserie.com.au/
Address and Trading hours: Adelaide Showground Farmers Market - 9am-1pm (Sun); outside City Council - 7am-9am (Wed); Leigh Street - 7am-9am (Fri)

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Bar 9

Hello lovelies! Excitement overfills my heart and soul as I am writing this post because it is the start of my mid term break! How many of you love breaks and holidays? I am sure most of you do! It's a time where we can take a break from the busy routine of university and catch up with friends and family! Brunch can be a great idea to start off with! Adelaide suburb always has a lot of hidden gems in which I cannot find myself stop stumbling upon. Bar 9, a tea and coffee specialist as well as brunch cafe situated in Unley, is one of them! 

As soon as we entered the cafe, the aroma of coffee greeted us before the friendly staff did. Bar 9 is also affectionately known as the 'coffee nerds shed' which is very aptly named. It does have some popup cafe in the city once in a while. The most recent popup was at the Depot for the Fork on The Road event on 17 March. It was an overwhelming response!

The interior of the cafe is chiller-friendly as Bar 9 provides comfortable wooden seats, backgrounded by the ocean blue wall and paintings. 

Seatings by the window

Interior design with Specials board hung on the wall

Cafe interior

Near the pastries and desserts display corner, there is a bench over the coffee and tea brewing place where you can sit while watching the barristas preparing the beverages. 

Bench and brewing corner

Pastry and dessert display corner

We were served to a table with menus available for us to choose our breakfast options. There is also a tablet at the brewing corner in which you can choose your tea or coffee from.

Bar 9 Menu

Filter coffee

This is offered by Just Brewed which is a young off shoot from Bar 9, situated just right beside the cafe. You can find no expresso, cappuccino and chai latte over here as the team's focus is on quality tea and simplistic brewing.

Filter coffee is a healthy and natural way to taste the origin qualities behind the bean. It is generally served black and more caffeinated than expresso-based coffee yet lighter and sweeter. See other ranges of teas and coffees here.

Guatemala carmona 

Super creamy body with milk chocolate, buttery caramel and juicy green apple acidity. It is not too bitter but I cannot taste the presence of milk chocolate texture. 

Primavera Arnulfo Leguizamo 

Creamy texture, balanced and super sweet flavour giving way to accents of mango, mandarin, cherry and delicate florals. It tastes really bitter! 

I am not so much a coffee person and so I am not able make any comments about that. 

Filter coffee

English Muffin

Served with vanilla bean mascarpone, frangelico macerated strawberry, basil and toasted hazelnut 

A sweet deal where dessert is incorporated into breakfast. The mascarpone has a really smooth texture and melts upon entering the mouth. If you are craving for dessert in the morning, this muffin can be a good idea. 

English muffin with vanilla bean mascarpone

Creamy Truffled Mushroom Ragu

Served on toast with poached eggs and finished with truffled honey. This is highly recommended! The emphasis on mushroom has added some bonus points as I am a mushroom fan! A scoop of mushroom stimulates more than just one type of taste buds. It is sweet, creamy and has a tinge of saltiness. And come on! It is truffled mushroom, one of the best mushroom that you can ever ask for! On top of that, the toast and poached eggs match with the mushroom really well, making this a heavenly brunch! 

Mushroom ragu

On overall, I love the mushroom ragu so much! I might come back again for another cup of coffee. Maybe capuccino this time off. Cheers! 

Yours truly blogger

Asian level 99 

Website: http://bar9.com.au/
Address: 96 Glen Osmond rd, Parkside SA 5063
Trading hours: 7.30am-4pm (Mon-Fri), 8.30am-2pm (Sat-Sun)



Love, Victoria

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