Eat, Pray, Love

Are you an avid home cook? Are you constantly receiving compliments from your friends and family on your delectable home cooked dish? Are you a foodie? Are you passionate about food? Do you have a signature home cook dish you are proud of?

Well, that must a sign for you to enter Australia's Best Home Cooked Dish Competition held by Noosa International Food and Wine Festival! The festival is happening for the 11th year in 2014 from Thursday 15 May to Sunday 18 May. What an amazing event to combine the sunny and beautiful Noosa with variety of food!

All you need to do is to submit your best savoury recipe online at http://www.noosafoodandwine.com.au/Australias-Best-Home-Cooked-Dish/. The cost of the dish has to be less than $15 per serve. Besides that, photos and 30 seconds video have to be submitted together with the recipe. The submission will give you a chance to enter the semi final in your respective state to contend for a spot in the grand finale at Noosa.

Lucrative prizes are up for grab, including a trip for 2 to London for the Australian's best home cooked dish! The state prizes include a trip to Noosa International Food and Wine Festival whereby you can experience the vibe in the midst of fine food! How cool is this!

Still thinking of whether you should enter the competition, let me persuade you with 4 reasons:

#Reason 1: An opportunity to show cast your home cooked dish to the nation
#Reason 2: An opportunity to meet up with great chefs, home cooks and foodies
#Reason 3: An opportunity to attend Noosa International Food and Wine Festival
#Reason 4: An opportunity to win a trip for 2 to London

Do take note that it has to be savoury dish, but not a dessert. It does not have to be fancy mancy. A simple dish that you normally cook at home will do. Food cooked with love and attention to details will always be kept in a special space in our heart. That is why mum's home cooked dish is irreplaceable and heart warming.

I would love to stand with you if it is the obstacle of courage and confidence which deters you from entering the competition. It is because I have the doubt that my dish will not be on par with the competition's standard when the organiser approached me about this competition. But soon enough, I realised that it did not hurt to pick up the courage to give it a try. I guess, as long as we try our best, we will not regret regardless of the results. It is the learning experience through the journey that counts. So, would you like to join me in this journey?

The competition closes on 30/11/13, which means you have less than 10 days time left. So, be hurry! All the best and good luck in the competition!

Love, Victoria

Hi readers! It has been really encouraging to receive comments from a couple of you that you have been keeping an eye on this blog and how useful it can be to find a hangout place and good food! With heartfelt gratitude, I hope you (yes, you!) will continue to follow this blog for more culinary journeys ahead with me!

It is Malaysia National Day today! 56 years had gone since Malaysia gained independence from British colony. It is the day to applaud the painstaking effort given by the nation leaders as well as to pray and anticipate for the better future of Malaysia. Malaysia is a blessed country, shielded from natural disasters and has bountiful natural resources. Not to mention that it is also a melting pot of different cultures and this can be demonstrated through the variety of food it offers.

How do Malaysians often gather together? Yes, it's FOOD. We often have open houses during festivals and food is definitely not an element that you can exclude. NEVER! This idea has been engrained into every overseas Malaysian student's mind and that is why Merdeka Raya was being held at Adelaide University today. It was a collaborated event of National Day and Eid al-Fitr (Feast of Breaking Fast).

Let us have a brief overview on the array of food the committee had come out for the day.

Fritters

Lontong with peanut sauce

Fried mashed potato

Roti canai

Breadcrumb chicken

Nasi lemak with rendang

The food was really yummy, especially the satay sauce and lontong. With one serve per dish, I was full to the brim. Thank God my baju kurung did not burst! Anyway, it was a great get-together event whereby I got to see my fellow Malaysians whom I lost touch with. The warm weather, the Malaysian food, the people and the colourful decoration had made me to miss Malaysia even more. Home is where the heart is!

Pretty flower deco

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!

Since it is a celebration day today, my Penangite identity has stirred me to make a Malaysian Penang food. This is none other than my favourite muah chee, a glutinous rice ball dessert coated with peanut and sugar! Guess what? You can make it in 10 minutes time!! You will only need microwave oven, glutinous rice flour, peanut powder and sugar. I was a bit sceptical when I saw the recipe online but the result turned out to be quite good! It might be slightly chewier than normal but the peanut powder covers it well. You can try to play with the proportion of water and glutinous rice flour to get your desired texture.

Ingredients (for 1 serve)
- 60g glutinous rice flour
- 90ml water
- 1 tablespoons of cooking oil
- Peanut/sugar mix or crushed peanut candy

Methods:
1) Mix glutinous rice flour, water and cooking oil together in a microwaveable bowl.
2) Microwave it for 3.5 minutes. Cut the sticky mixture into small lumps and coat them with peanut and sugar mix.
3) Enjoy!

You can get the recipe from here.

Muah Chee

Hope you guys have a good day so far! Do try out the recipe and let me know what you think. Once again, Happy Birthday Malaysia!

Yours truly blogger

Love, Victoria

Do you know what is the limelight of the pastry world at the moment? You might have heard of it, yes! It is the delicate yet complicated CRONUT! (*drum roll*) It was introduced by Chef Dominique Ansel from New York on May 10, 2013. Even though it is only 3 months old, it has taken the world by storm, spanning the whole world with its imposters. In Adelaide itself, Jenny's Gourmet Bakery on Glen Osmond Road claims to have the best cronut in Australia (eater.com).

I reckon we should get more insight into cronut to find out its beauty which attracts thousands of people around the world everyday. It is a half croissant, half donut hybrid which is the result of hard work, taking 2 months and more than 10 recipes. Instead of the simple croissant dough, it is made with laminated dough which has been likened to a croissant. After being proofed, it is then fried in grapeseed oil at a specific temperature. To finish it, it is flavoured in 3 ways - rolled in sugar, then filled with cream and lastly topped with glaze. The whole process takes up to 3 days! Can you imagine how much effort has been put in? Apart from that, it has short shelf life and do not refrigerate nor warm it to preserve its original flavour and texture. One difficult lady hey?

The cronuts caught my attention when I first saw the poll set up by Yelp. After frantically searching for the best cronut in Adelaide, I finally came across Jenny's Bakery which is situated about 10 minutes ride away from the city. Without further ado, here I am at the bakery biting my cronut all the way back to New York.

Introducing the salted caramel popcorn cronut that I have! It is so yummy! Mhmmmm! One could never go wrong with a salted caramel related delicacy! The cronut is flaky on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside. The level of flakiness is between a donut and a croissant. The level of sweetness is apt with the rolling of icing sugar and the salted caramel blends in well.

Salted caramel popcorn cronut

Ohhh! There is another surprise waiting for you when you first take a bite! Upon the bite, the fresh cream flows out! It does not contribute to the overall sweetness of the cronut, in which I find it very soothing.

A bite says a thousand word

The cronuts are situated near the entrance so you cannot miss them at all costs. There are a few toppings available - namely Fruchoc, Fairy floss, Salted caramel popcorn, Choc mint chip and lemon cheesecake. They might have a different variety everyday too.

Types of cronuts available

The exterior of Jenny's Bakery

Indoors

Jenny's Bakery is a lovely shop serving pastries and breakfast with cosy ambience. Definitely a great place to enjoy your chilly morning with hot coffee, buns and pastries.

Vast array of donuts

On overall, the cronut is a pleasant surprise whereby croissant and donut marry each other in a great manner. The layered pastry and donut-y texture just make my day! I am so going back for another nomnom!

Besides Jenny's Bakery, there are a few places in Adelaide where you can find the imposters of cronut:
1) Please Say Please, Grenfell Street
2) Milkaholic, Norwood - Kronut
3) Bakery on O'Connell - O'Cronut
4) First Pour, North Adelaide - cronut from Jenny's Bakery

So what are you waiting for now? Get hold of this latest sensation and let me know your verdict!

Website: http://www.jennysbakery.com.au/
Address: 81 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood, South Australia, 5063
Trading hours: 8am-5pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-3.30pm (Sat)

Love, Victoria

If you type 'Fried Mars Bar Bondi Beach' at any search engine, 'Bondi Surf Seafoods' will appear with no doubt because this shop is the pioneer of deep fried Mars bar in Sydney. Hmm, for those who hear this for the first time, there is a sense of disbelief hey?

Bondi Surd Seafoods claims to produce the world famous deep fried Mars Bar. It is the only outlet approved by Mars company after several laboratory tests for bacteria level. Indeed, the popularity grows and the outlet sells more than 50 deep fried Mars bar everyday.

A trip to Bondi beach will never be complete without a try on the famous fried Mars bar. I am never exempted from this temptation on trying any good food recommended by Sydney insiders. Hence, this has always been part of my Sydney food list.

Bondi Surf Seafoods

The outlet has been voted as Sydney's Best Fish and Chips on 2011. Since I was there after having my lunch at Hurricane's Grill, deep fried Mars Bar was my only target. When I first entered the shop, before I even finished my order, the boss had figured out my order! How amazing it is? It showed that how popular this snack is.

The Mars bars were dipped into coconut batter, pre cooked in a low temperature oil then deep fried. Icing sugar was sprinkled as a finishing touch on the heavenly fried bar. The cost of a bar was $4.

Deep fried Mars Bar

The sight of it had stimulated my appetite as well as my salivary glands. It looked so inviting and I just cannot wait to take a bite!

And trust me! A bite is never enough! The batter is so crunchy on the outside and aptly fried. That is the essence of a well fried Mars bar. Being too hard or too soggy for the batter will spoil the beauty of Mars bar. With a crunch on the bar, melted Mars oozed out, releasing its caramel sweetness. The coconut batter and Mars bar just blend together seamlessly.

Deep fried Mars bar

However, there is a friendly reminder for all those who want to try the snack. Please shut your brain from calculating the calories and sugar content when you are consuming it. Let this experience be a sinful one because it is definitely worth it!

Beautiful weather

Coastal walk

Loving the rocks!

Love, Victoria

Website: http://www.bondisurfseafood.com.au/mars/mars_fr.htm
Address: 128 campbell parade, Bondi Beach, NSW

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

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!

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!

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

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

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.