21st season has begun, and I think it's about time I posted about my 21st. Planning does require some time and research, so for people out there who are thinking of venues/ideas and are like me who go on blogs, well you've come to the right place! My (non existent) mid sem break catching up on posts over a month ago.
I originally wasn't going to have a 21st, since it technically meant sacrificing travel money and shouting people food, but I've had from memory, a 5th Maccas party, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 18th party (and possibly more in between), so it made sense to have a 21st, especially since I had relatives coming from overseas for holidays. I'm actually the first of my high school/uni group to host a 21st, so thinking I've ideas/venues/things to do was quite challenging, but it all worked out in the end. I opted for something more 'small scale' and something to do with brunch food. Also, didn't hire a photographer, so used that money for cake and more food, so photos below are from a compilation of photos.
Dream cake! (insert love heart eyes emoji)
Unbirthday Bakery: small hybrid cake
2 shades of purple buttercream, pink and chocolate crown, macarons, fruit, edible flowers all covered with edible gold. old school vanilla cake inside.
Specially requested for 2 shades of purple (since I love purple a bit too much), and extra gold paint and glitter. Edible flowers are also the best! I actually don't wear purple/glittery/floral clothing, but I love eating that sort of stuff.
top view
I've been following Unbirthday for over a year now, and decided turning 21 calls for a special cake which is so pleasant to look at. Should have picked it up earlier just to stare at it. Full description here
Venue: Haven Tailoring Coffee Joyously
Super convenient place right opposite Central station, and quite a spacious cafe compared to other places in Surry Hills. Staff were super friendly, could tailor the canapé selections, free to decorate the place (although I'm not very creative, so just had really simple things), set up a 'Photo Booth', and super generous with everything.
21!
My friends know me as kinda of the foodie for the group. (Not really a food blogger because I don't have the time or money to constantly go out and eat. Plus, I've been constantly eating during my birthday month, which is probably not the best idea). I planned to have the cafe's specialities, and things I wanted to try from their main menu, but in smaller forms.
Mini Polenta, Mushroom and Tomato Kasundi Bites
Love a healthy option of polenta. The kasundi wasn't too spicy, and gave good flavour to the mushroom, and freshness from the watercress.
Pork Belly Kimcheese Sliders
Pork Belly, Kimchi, Bocconcini Cheese, Grated Apples, Kale & Aioli
One of their signature dishes, it was my first time having it that night. So, so delicious. I don't even like spicy stuff/kim chi, but it actually enhanced the flavour of the pork without being. The pork was cooked well, esp since there were so many pieces to cook. Wanted second but these were gone way too quickly.
Mini Roasted Pumpkin, Goats Cheese and Pomegranate Bites
Another vegetarian option. Vego stuff can be quite nice. If only the pomegranate wouldn't keep slipping off the pumpkin. Did you know I used to hate pumpkin when I was younger. This pumpkin wasn't too overly seasoned, and kept true to its flavours.
Genmaicha Chicken in cups
Miso seared Chicken, Fried Cabbage, Flaked Almond, Genmaicha Tea & Sweet Soy Aioli
Food in cups! So glad I made this decision, definitely a crowd winner. They normally come in burgers, but since there were too many carbs already, decided to put these into cups (hence why there was a lack of proper coffee cups for coffee). The chicken was so juicy with flavour, and roasted tea with that super delicious aioli, and a generous serving of cabbage under that, definitely took care of everyone's vegetable intake at this event. Coriander garnish to add another fresh element.
Soy Seared Mushroom with Carrot and Wakame Sliders
I love wakame, and this paired perfectly with the juicy mushrooms. Everyone was already quite full at this stage, we ended up taking home over 15 of these sliders...
Another signature dish but in mini form. There is a strong coffee hit from the espresso, some people had to even put sugar in it since the brownie definitely had a good amount of dark choc with minimal sweetness. Frozen mascarpone gave it some creaminess without it being too heavy. A good sized portion considering everything we had before.
Soba noodles for 'older' people.
Had these the first time we went to this cafe, and thought it would be suitable, with some tea flavours and more familiar Asian ingredients
BYO drinksss
iced tea, hot tea
Everyone had 2 drink vouchers to use on any drinks. I had the Perfume iced tea mocktail (rose, lime, honey, cold brewed jasmine), and a mocha. Both drinks were really nice
trivia timeee
Did not expect the questions to be that hard, haha. Half of the answers were kind of on my Instagram (i.e. food related). No speeches because I'm not a huge fan of making speeches. I love hearing other people's speeches though! Also, didn't bother with technical stuff since you have to source them/hire mics/projectors etc yourself, and that money was definitely better spent on food and cake :)
the cake that stopped a party
two cakes are better than one
Vanilla and Berry custard cake made by Haven
It's a non sweet cake option. Custard incorporated into a sponge cake. It looks dense but quite light when you it eat, with a subtle vanilla custard flavour. Berries mixed into the cake as well. Super interesting texture and flavours, should try it when you're there and they baked it that day. They put all 20 candles around, and not 19....which meant I blew out 22 candles =/ oh well, at least they were spaced evenly. (Anyone recognise that name plaque? hehe)
silently cringing when cutting the cake, it's too beautiful to cut into!
layers
finding dresses to match my cake
balloons!
last to leave
party bags-reminscent of my childhood birthday parties
(took over 4 hours to hand pack)
There you have it-details of food on the night :) (this actually took me over an hour to type up, so I did hope it was useful in some sort of way, even if you're just enjoying the slightly not in focus photos haha)
Memorable night filled filled with delicious food! Thanks dear family and friends for all coming! Definitely worth all that money and study time put aside to plan this out!
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