Recipe: Bitter Chocolate and Blood Orange Tarts

Another quick one from me today, sorry guys just think of this as the wait before the onslaught of awesome posts that I shall write up (hopefully very soon).

When the world throws at you blood oranges in the fruit bowl and copious amounts of cooking chocolate then there is really only one option and that is to bake. More precisely, Procrasti-baking, and yes I wrote it correctly. I pretty much always bake in order to avoid doing school work and what not so it was only befitting that I make something bitter in line with my online name.

Contrary to the photo, they are actually blood oranges

Taken from Lily Vanilli:

Makes:  6

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
You will need

For the pastry: 
130g unsalted butter
130g caster sugar
150g plain flour, sifted
50g cocoa powder, sifted
Pinch of sea salt

For the filling: 
125ml double cream
200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
50g butter, burnt (melt the butter in a small heavy-bottomed pan for two minutes, or until a dark tan colour, then remove from the heat and set aside)
75ml fresh squeezed blood orange juice, and the zest
Zest of another orange to garnish (optional)
Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until evenly mixed- approximately one minute. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Beat until everything just comes together in a big crumbly mess.
3. Press the crumbs tightly on to the base and up the sides of your prepared tart tins and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line, weight down with baking beans and blind bake on a baking tray for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and use the back of a teaspoon to smooth out the pastry. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until crisp. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the filling, heat the cream in a heavy-bottomed pan until it’s starting to simmer and light steam is coming off it. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, leave to melt for 1 minute, then stir until fully melted and combined. Whisk in the burnt butter, blood orange juice and salt until evenly incorporated. Allow to cool, then pour into the baked and cooled tart cases.
5. Put into the fridge for 20 minutes to set. Ideally leave them to come to room temperature for 45 minutes before serving.
6. Garnish with the remaining blood orange zest if using.

What do you think?

My tip is to make sure you have at least 70% cocoa in the chocolate you're using, might be best if you go easy on the sugar because I found it quite sweet and so I made sure there was a pinch of salt on each tart.

Vapiano Review

Hello days of split bills or at least at Vapiano, read on further for an explanation.

This will be a quick post from me, I won't bore you guys by talking on about food groups and what not but pasta is definitely my guilty carbs pick. Think Vapiano for a quick meal, big groups and minimal fuss. 

Carbonara Salmone- smoked salmon with onion, fresh cream and Parmesan cheese with copped parsley $19.50 

I think I may have a terrible relationship with creamy pasta, at times I absolutely love it and other times I feel as though it is my mortal enemy. Unfortunately this experience fell into the later category, I hope that I am weirdo (it would be better that way) but sadly this was one bowl of pasta that I couldn't bear to finish. It may also be hard to tell that this was a salmon carbonara from the above photo (I wouldn't blame you for thinking that), serving wise there wasn't much. I did manage to steal some of my friend's bolognese based pasta, someone remind me to order that next time I go because that tasted really good.

With pasta, next comes pizza. I wonder what came first pasta or pizza or maybe it is something like the chicken and the egg (:

Bruschetta- tomatoes marinated in garlic and extra virgin olive oil with rocket, parmesan on homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella $17.90

We all should be aware of how awesome bruschetta is as a starter now imagine that as a pizza, the more the merrier and pizza is one of the best ways to feed a big group without ordering too many mains.

Prosciutto E Funghi- smoked ham and fresh mushrooms on homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella $17.90

This was actually the pizza that I picked, would have liked some greens but I won't complain because I love mushrooms.

Barbecue Pollo- Chicken breast, red onions, smoked cheese on a homemade tomato and barbecue sauce and mozzarella $19.50 

I guess this was one moment where the camera didn't eat first, or more precisely my hungry friends don't care for photos. I actually preferred this one to the previous pizza, maybe it is because I am a sucker for barbecue sauce and onions. 

One of the big quirks about Vapiano is their ordering and payment system. So basically every diner gets a Vapiano card which works much in the same way as a credit card. Everything you order gets billed to your card and when you finish your meal, just walk up to the counter and present your card and then pay like you normally would. So no more split bill dramas. Also if you're ordering pasta, they pretty much make it on the spot with your choice of pasta and option sourdough bread.

That's it for me, Over and out~

The Empire Collection: Connoisseur Pop Up Store in Surry Hills

First off apologies for my absence, after a few hectic weeks filled with copious amounts of tea to the point that it may be considered borderline extreme, I have had a few days of reprieve from uni assignments. For those that aren't aware, I am a big drama fan and can proudly say that I was raised on dramas (since 3 years old to be precise) and so these past few days I've been marathoning a Chinese war drama. But lest, reality hits and unfortunately uni is far from being over and so without further ado, I would like to let you guys know of a Pop Store in Surry Hills. One of my favourite treats is definitely Connoisseur ice-cream, though at times my stingy side cannot be reasoned with. I agree that for a take home ice-cream they definitely are at the higher end so I'll be sure to let you guys know if there is a sale at either Coles or Woolworths.

Connoisseur have released a new range of ice-cream, I actually saw it back when I was buying all the Lindt Chocolate that I wrote about earlier. I have to warn you though that these tubs are rather small and pricey for that matter.


Flavours:
Emperor Jing Zong (red bean ice cream paired with coconut), King Cyrus of Persia (Pistachio ice cream with cinnamon, honey and date sauce swirl), King Louis XIV (French Vanilla studded with choc flakes and mixed with Armagnac sauce) or Emperor Nero (coffee hazelnut ice cream with chocolate-coated hazelnuts and hazelnut liqueur sauce). You can sample all four flavours, I personally prefer Emperor Jing Zong the best followed by Emperor Nero

Bitter's Strathfield best eats

You guys probably know that I will take any opportunity that I can get to eat. I recently had a lovely conversation with an elderly couple who travelled from Hornsby to Enmore to try the Cow and the Moon gelato and we agreed that life would be lacking when you do not eat well. Perhaps this may be contrary to my food crawl trip I embarked on with a few dear high school friends of mine but a food crawl can be approached in various ways- you can binge eat and marathon food from one stand to the next or you can approach it like a degustation and savour the food before making your way to your next destination. I feel as though Strathfield, as a food destination, doesn't get enough attention when all you can do there is eat, eat and EAT. So continue reading as I share some the places that I frequent when I'm in Strathfield.

1st stop: Red Pepper

For a restaurant, this place is fairly obscure, tucked away in the local sports clubs lies the best Korean Fried Chicken joint in Strathfield. That said, there are certain issues attached to the place that I won't shy away from. As someone who eats out a lot, and someone who especially loves Korean, I am used to expecting a lot of side dishes or banchan, even when I am buying takeaway. Unfortunately (I don't want to stereotype but) Koreans can tend to be fairly racist in that they definitely prefer their own, I don't have anything against that but at Red Pepper that meant unequal treatment with the Korean diners being blessed with plentiful servings of side dishes. I, on the other hand, only got what I ordered and when I asked I was only given a small serving of pickled radish which I would have gotten without any fuss at other Korean Fried Chicken restaurants. Perhaps this may come as being ridiculous to some of you but when the status quo of being served side dishes is so established, it is really disappointing to see polar service when it boils down to race. 

Onto what I ordered...  

Spring Onion Fried Chicken- Half Chicken $17

This would have to be by far, their signature chicken. I always say this but fast food chain, KFC's Colonel Sanders has got nothing on Korean Fried Chicken or what I affectionately call KFC (you get the difference... right?) Rather than just getting the original fried chicken which is also cheaper, I highly suggest the same option but with spring onion on top, for one it looks better but superficial reasons aside, it also tastes better. One of the reasons why I prefer this KFC over the fast food counterpart is because of the batter used here which trumps the 7 secret spices that Colonel boasts. It super light, non-greasy and doesn't leave you feeling stuffed to the brim with oil. Though, if you do feel like that, chances are you've finished half a chicken solo and that is where the spring onion and radish comes in to clean your mouth. What I enjoyed about Red Pepper's version, is their wasabi mayonnaise; it had a slight kick to it, not to overpowering and overall very enjoyable. If you're new to KFC, you'll love the crunch that you get, it is just one of the most satisfying sounds. 

Fried Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Sauce- Half Chicken $18 (as pictured) Whole: $32

Despite being generously lathered in their sweet and spicy sauce (YUM), the chicken still retained a wonderful crunch. How I don't know, perhaps it is the magic of KFC but whatever it is, I will happily eat more. Initially the chicken is sweet but it leaves a spicy aftertaste, I would rate the spiciness as a mild and if you belong to those that can't take chilli, unfortunately you guys are missing out.

2nd Stop: The Mandoo

The next stop was a dumpling house that opened last year 

Prawn Dumpling $12

Pork bun dumpling $10

I have to admit, upon seeing their adorable dumpling face mascot/logo, I was sold (yeah it's pretty pathetic I know).  You may find it weird going to a place and only ordering one to two dishes but if you can put that aside, you will have a great time eating lots of foods. Being Chinese, I can say that there are slight differences in Korean dumplings like the pastry and definitely the filling. It pretty hard to put it into words, despite all the dumplings I have happily chowed down but I think you guys will just have to try it for yourself. Overall, I really liked their dumplings, perhaps the pork bun ones were a bit odd for me because they were really big for a dumpling. If you want to try different things I suggest only ordering the prawn dumpling because the two share similar stuffings so maybe go for the kimchi or fried ones instead. If you're not a dumpling person, first why are you in a restaurant that translates to dumpling, but that aside, they do have noodles (cold and hot).

 3rd stop: Waffle Bant

Tucked in the centre of Strathfield Square is Waffle Bant, which may or may not be my favourite place to get waffles. Even with a waffle maker at home, it sadly will never taste the same as this place. They offer heaps of combinations but if you ask me I pretty boring and just prefer the original waffle $3.50, for one it tastes amazing on its own and two I'm cheap and I really don't see the point in paying a huge mark up for fruit, and whipped cream on waffles.

Original waffle $3.50

It's a bit of a wait because they make it fresh on the spot when you order but it so delicious. Buttery goodness right here. Make sure you eat it quick pronto because waffles taste so much better when they're still warm.

 4th stop: Noggi

I remember the good old days of 2012 when I first discovered Yoghurberry, that was before frozen yoghurt exploded in Sydney. I do feel as though the craze has died down, but when I am in Strathfield I simply cannot go past Noggi. Sure Noggi is a franchise but if you ask me, I think Noggi Strathfield has the best frozen yoghurt, apart from YoghurtWorld in Westfield Sydney- it's their texture, and flavour. So I opted for the max size or whatever size allows you to have 2 flavours and is just under $10 (sorry I failed to follow up on the price). Because I really wanted a coffee kick that day, I decided to get biscotti but out of the remaining flavours, I only like green tea so I asked them to  put it in different cups. Mochi toppings for the green tea and oreos and coffee shot for biscotti. It tastes as good as I remember but by now, I was really full so we took our time to eat this. I have to say that nowadays I don't really like frozen yoghurt or it's not that I don't like it but I do feel like it is very overpriced so this will be a rare photo (cherish it guys).

Beauty and the Beast:

Note: not part of the food crawl, I had this on a different day but since this is a Strathfield post, it had to go here

PATBINGSOO $15

After a disappointing trip to Kanzi Fashion Cafe, I returned back to Beauty and the Beast for their Patbingsoo. I don't understand the low rating on Urbanspoon, I've been in the past for their lunch menu and I loved it, it was so filling and very affordable. We're talking lunch specials for $10 and they come with lots and lots of sides (ahem cue in my disappointment again with Red Pepper). You should definitely share this one, it's huge, filled to the brim with shaved ice, seasonal fruits- we had kiwi, rockmelon, banana- red bean (the pat in patbingsoo), condensed milk and ice-cream. It's the perfect dessert for summer or winter... I had in the dead of winter at night and I was shivering throughout (I was outside as well) but I still loved it. Also how cute are their spoons, spend a solid few minutes just snapping photos of them.

Casual glam: Bitter's 5 Fall Favourites

Oh Northern Hemisphere, whisk me away so I can escape the lull that is the Southern Hemisphere. Whenever I look at my blog stats, I feel as though I might need someone to pinch me, so many of you guys are from countries that I can only dream of visiting at this stage and so when US company Raise.com inspired me to share some of my fall favourites, I was so super excited deck myself in an all-American outfit (or as close to it as I possibly can). I always consider Americans to be spoilt rotten when you stack Australian retailers against the plethora of US shopping outlets available and Raise.com brings together all your favourite retailers. They specialise in the gift-card industry by creating a virtual platform, or community. where people like you and I can sell unwanted gift cards or buy gift cards at fraction of their value. A part from US specialty shops, they also boast big name players like Walmart, Home Depot, Sephora, Nordstrom, Target and Macy's and for the record Target in the US is so much better than in Australia. My American wish list actually includes Target because they have had so many successful collaborations with up and coming American designers like Jason Wu, Missoni and Phillip Lim- I even managed get a Target jumper by Phillip Lim into the country.

I have always considered Fall or Autumn as being the prelude to Winter. Fall is also the time to experiment with layers and to figure out what outwear best suits your figure. One of my favourite coats would have to be the trench coat, be it Spring or Fall it is always one of my go to pieces; it's light, sophisticated and instantly makes any casual look chic. I also happen to tend to dress according to my surroundings and so whenever I think Fall, I think cascading copper leaves as deciduous trees begin to bare all. Perhaps that is the reason why I tend to gravitate towards the browns and definitely the neutrals for a softer look. A touch of white is also always appropriate (at least in my books) if you feel like you're wearing too much of a particular colour. 

DETAILS:

1. Trench Coat: Ralph Lauren

2. Top: Michael Kors 

3. Pants: J Crew

4. Bag: Celine Cabas Tote

5. Lipstick: Nars Cassablanca (

Loafers: Borrowed from my mum

Gift cards are available from Raise.com for Ralph Lauren, Nars can be bought from Sephora, J Crew and Michael Kors from Nordstrom. Again, I wish shopping in Australia was as good as in the US (you guys are seriously so lucky on so many levels) and I cannot wait for Raise.com to go international!

In the elements + a beautiful coat!

Sorry guys but you will have to excuse this set of revolting facial expressions, on the one hand you can take it as I can't take photos without looking like I want to hunt someone down or on the other hand you can think of it like I'm telling a story (I hope you choose the later). So whilst it may look all lovely and sunny in the photos, would you believe that it rained quite heavily after I took these shots?  

Have you ever had to wait for someone? Think of these shots as that kind of journey from where you turn up to the meeting spot, to realising that your date is late or panicking that he is a no show to when you're bored out of your mind waiting... just waiting. If you hate waiting, you shall be my new best friend, though I can't stand waiting for more than 10min without a very, very good reason so be sure not to stand me up.

Also, how amazing is this coat? (Don't answer if you disagree, I like to stay in my bubble) I usually stay far away from plaid but in this case, I couldn't drop my money any faster. There is always an exception to what you like and don't like and my man, Jason Wu is the plaid exception. 

Blouse: Ralph Lauren

Sweater: Ralph Lauren

Pants: Ralph Lauren

Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Bag: Mulberry- Alexa

Coat- Jason Wu

Photos taken at Rouse Hill Town Centre (yes this place exists there)

Lindt like no other

Okay so this is a rather spontaneous post spurred by my craving for snacks and ice-cream. I rarely go to Woolworths or in fact grocery shopping at all, but when I do, I am a master at it (or at least I drop a lot of cash whenever I go). Admittedly I am a little sad that I'm too busy to go to Vogue Fashion Night Out (VFNO) but all the grief I felt washed away when I found out that Woolworths was having a 50% off sale for their Lindt Chocolates. And you know what they say,  chocolate is practically synonymous with love so need I say more.

 Feel free to browse all my Lindt posts here (p.s Lindt, hire me as a brand ambassador). And rather than a review this is just going to a be a post where I will just simply flaunt what I bought.

This is how I feel whenever I have to think about all the assessments that I have coming up. THINK FOOD, THINK CHOCOLATE

L: Lindor Balls Cafe Collection RRP $20, now $10 - bought this because I wanted to try Cappuccino and it was more worth it buying this pack than just this one flavour

R: Lindor Gala Celebration Gift Box $29.99- I'm not sure how much this cost because I actually found it lying in the chocolate section (don't judge me) but upon asking for the price and comparing it against how much it would cost at the Lindt Cafes, I was sold. When lindor balls aren't on sale they cost $100 per kg and so for a 480g gift box of chocolate, $30 is actually reasonable except for the fact that they do throw in some of the more ordinary flavours like milk, dark and white chocolate. That said, I absolutely love Stracciatella (cookies and cream) and peanut butter so I hope my Grandma in China will enjoy it.

Proof that I'm not lying:

I didn't do this all on my own though I did single-handed reduce my local store's supply of Lindt chocolate. Perfect Competition? I do not believe in such an unrealistic economic concept because if I was going to China myself then you won't see any Lindt left. Perhaps I should ask my dad if he wants me to buy more.... Did you know that my dad absolutely loves Picnic chocolates so when they were one half price I remember going to the cash register and buying 12 bags of picnic. So guys if you're in Sydney and you can't find any Picnic then chances are my dad go there before you (sorry).

Pretty much bought at least one of everything I wanted.

Creations: RRP $4, now $1.94

Heavenly Creme Brûlée x2

Divine Hazelnut x2

Sublime Mint x1

Excellence: RRP $3.89, now $1.94

Strawberry Intense (Dark) x2

70% Cocoa (Dark) x1

Extra Creamy Milk x1

Zest of Lime (New) x2

Mint Intense (Dark) x2

A Touch of Sea Salt x1

Extra Silk White chocolate with Madagascan Vanilla x1

Coconut Intense (Dark) x2

Orange Intense (Dark) x1

Roasted Almond (Dark) x2

So all up I spent $86.86 on chocolate... but I can be forgiven because they were on sale right... RIGHT (><) ?

Anyhow I'm now motivated to crank out a 1200 word criminal law essay for next week, wish me luck~