Le Monde

Been wanting to try this place for around 2 years and finally went after some errands at uni. Love how this place isn't too far of a walk from Central, and no need to walk up the hill.

Crunchy Potato Rosti: smoked salmon, roasted cherry tomato, feta, spinach, poached egg, saffron hollandaise, crushed pistachio-$16

perfectly poached egg

We both opted for Le Monde's Signatures from the menu. You had a choice between smokehouse bacon or salmon, and since salmon is healthier and less fattening, I went with that option. Salmon wasn't overly smoked, and that yolk in combination with the rosti didn't make the potato dry. You could see heaps of oil since it's been fried, it didn't feel too oily in your mouth-crunchy outside, soft inside. The pistachios were a pleasant addition in the dish which did add flavour without being salty. Lovely creaminess from the cheese and veggies were cooked well.

Truffled Poached Eggs: grilled haloumi, confit tomato, avocado, white truffle oil on toasted miche-$16

Tried a bit of the this dish, and unfortunately the truffle oil they used was just way too subtle, and almost undetectable. I guess we were expecting at least a hit of fragrance or taste but that didn't happen. The sourdough here was also super hard to cut into. 

food + detox juice

inside

decided to skip uni today because ceebs going to uni for 1hr just to make 1 pair of glasses. it's the only lab which doesn't have a roll, but it's just your loss if you don't show up to practice. used my lunch break yday to make a pair so didn't have to go today.

avocado rose

pretty much trending on Instagram, but this one was very half-hearted. didn't cut it into thin slices, didn't even peel the skin off properly, no olive oil for shine'structure, did it on top of my wrap with cheese instead of flat surface with grease-proof paper. but even without thin slices, it still is pretty do-able. as long as the avo feels firm when you cut through it but still ripe enough to bend and eat. ended up smashing it lol.

7.30am Hyde Park-felt so peaceful in the morning

Went to a food expo in my 6hr break on Monday, lucky it was down the road at Moore Park. so much free samples to eat and take. could have eaten/taken more if i didn't have 4 cups of ice cream...

freshly made gelato (:

they also had a competition run by Savour patisserie school, where competitors from different places like Star hotel, Zumbo, other patisseries around Aus competed to make eclairs, macarons and an entremet. the judges were from overseas well know places like The Peninsula in HK. couldn't taste them since they're for VIPs only. even if you're friends or related to the pastry chef, you weren't a VIP, i think they were people who sponsored this. but tbh, how do VIPs even eat 10 macarons each day over 3 days? the judges just cut it and try a bit, but watching the VIPs they eat the whole macaron...i think i can do max 3 macarons, since these aren't your ordinary ones as they have stuff added.

chocolate from Africa, so a map of Arica both in chocolate form and on the shell

eclairs

i posted this pic up on Insta as a competition (didn't win), but i felt like i got spammed with so many random likes/followers...didn't even get to try it...

macarons by a pastry chef from Burch & Purchese (in Melbourne)

inside

nearly at the end of the day, so most VIPs had gone, and my mum stayed behind, and they ended up giving the macarons out to the public. everything is prepared by the chef beforehand, and they just plate up on the day, so the macarons weren't really fresh, and the jelly filled centre made the the macarons a bit soggy. it still tasted good though, and wasn't really sweet at all. the tempered chocolate piece died before it got home...like the rose detail on top.

also, took up Happy Apple's advise on buying some Chobani last night. i used to hate Greek yogurt but it's pretty nice now. there were only 4 guava and blood orange left at my woolies, so i bought 2. was hoping for more fruit flavour, but still pretty interesting.

not reading for exams in 2 weeks...must study harder

Wolfe & Co Take 2

Back here again, this time for the french toast which they sold out here on my last visit. It was a weekday and even around 1.30pm all the outdoor seats were taken. Initially sat inside then moved outside when a table was free. Staff here are super friendly, just like last time. Food so pretty I needed more than one photo.

Quinoa, orange, pecan and fig cake-$7.50

Pleasantly surprised when I saw the cake so nicely plated, was expecting just the cake from their display on a plate. I thought the cake had fig inside, but it was on the side-even better. Super fresh and full of flavour. The orange peel on top was too bitter for me. First time having a quinoa cake. It was a bit dry and crumbly, but I guess they used minimal butter in this seince I couldn't really taste the butter, so yay for healthier cakes. Decent amount of pecans on top. Their honey is really good since you have the honey flavour but without it being sweet. The whipped creamy was nicely scooped, and helped give some moisture and creaminess to the cake. 

Mocha-$3.50

Coffee delicious as always, with a nice dark choco flavour.

Creme brulee french toast-$18.50

that blow-torched banana

I think the price of this increased slightly, and now they also have a liquor licence, but I guess the price doesn't really matter when something is delicious and so pretty! This is the first french toast I've had which was minimally sweet and hardly any oil coming out of it, and the 'healthiest' one. I can buy 9 loaves of bread for the price of this one piece of toast, but I definitely can't make all the elements on it. The toast wasn't overly eggy or overly fried, and still moist inside. The creme brulee was more subtle, but I  loved how they blowtorched the banana to give you that 'crack' from the usual dessert. The rhubarb was actually quite sour, but together with the sweetness from the banana and honey, it helped cut through. Like I said before, the toast and honey aren't that sweet to begin with, so the rhubarb really helped make the dish minimally sweet. Loved the fresh berries and edible flowers. Everything worked so well together.

This week seemed both long and short. Had Stewart House on Wed, and it took 1.5hours drive there (under one hour on the way back). Leaving the house 10mins later does affect you getting stuck in all that traffic....

With all these massive breaks, it feels like I've learnt nothing, yet learnt so much at one time. Got screwed up in PBL today again. Had the main lecturer (again), and got asked so many questions, but after our group, her laptop died so she didn't ask as many questions to the other groups =/ Oh well, I guess it's a learning experience even though we probably got bad marks...currently just scraping through therapeutics, somehow have to remember everything by finals...if she even uploads the lectures by finals....so much respect for all those specialist out there who just know the diagnosis, differentials, ways to manage/treat straightaway. Some interesting cases of real life situations these 2 opthals created a group on fb. It's quite sad how some px refuse to pay to get some additional tests done, and they have tumours in/behind their eyes/brain...and all these are pretty much malignant, and most do die...

Long breaks are unproductive, but I know I'll miss them once next sem hits. Can't believe we're almost at the end of sem 1!

Tested some school kids (well screening test, we do proper paediatrics next year), and the kids were so cute! It makes your job so much easier when they are talkative.

Pomegranate and black sesame-$4

Actually haven't had aqua s as often this year. Shared this with other people, but in hindsight should've gotten one for myself. The pomegranate on first taste reminds me of flat creaming soda (others thought it tasted like grape). It was was too sweet, and couldn't taste any pomegranate tbh. The black sesame was on point though. It was thick, creamy, with visible sesame inside, and not icy like other sesame soft serves. Reminded me of the chinese black sesame paste dessert. I actually hate that stuff since it's too thick, but in soft serve form it was pretty good. At first the hit of sesame was too strong for my liking, but each spoon was more delicious. Do recommend before the flavour disappears next week. The spoons are blue now, and they got rid of the aqua s logo for small cups.

Should actually start studying rather than watching movies/shows and procrastinating my time away...

The Coffee Club

Don't normally go to these type of cafe, but my Mum had a voucher, so I tagged along. 

large coffee-$5

Buy one get one free. The coffee was average, probably a bit on the watery side.

menu

 
Top: The Reuben w/ salad and chips-$15.90
Bottom: Smoked salmon, onion, tomato, cream cheese w/ salad and chips-$15.90

Fillings for both sandwiches were generous. The reuben had flavourful beef with good amount of sauce. Smoked salmon one was quite rich with the cream cheese, but decent serving of salmon. The turkish bread wasn't too tough. Chips and salad were average. I guess it's on ok price considering the size of the sandwich and it came with sides.

Made

It's nice to see home bakers open up little boutiques, since it's a lot more convenient to get to, especially if they open in the CBD rather than going to their house. Made is a collab between MakMak Macarons and Bakedown Cakery, so now I can try her cakes without having to purchase a whole cake. It's in a little alley within the building. 

cupcakes-$5.50 each

macarons-$3.50 each

display

36hour cookie-$4

Apparently the dry and wet ingredients are combined and soaked for 36 hours before being bake to make it more moist and fudge. The cookie itself wasn't really moist, but the chocolate did turn out fudgy, soft and somehow moist. It wasn't gooey though, so something worth trying, but won't try again due to the price. Yes, it's one expensive cookie, and I have had better ones (mainly in NYC...)

Pandan Coconut: pandan base topped w/ white choc coconut buttercream

vibrant green

The cupcake is quite small for the price, but it came in a nice takeaway box so taking it home without it being destroyed wasn't an issue. The cake is quite soft, not too buttery or sweet, and a good hit of pandan. The coconut frosting was also fragrant, but the buttercream was quite grainy, and you could taste the sugar granules in it, which is a no for me. The piping is quite pretty, but would have preferred more cake in proportion to the icing.

Cre Asion

Finally a place in Sydney where I can get a good, strong hit of matcha. Yes, I'm late to the party, spontaneous decision to go here after a lecturer didn't show up so we ended up having a 7 hour break.

cute little corner cafe

macarons and cakes!

There is really minimal seating here, more stools and also stool height tables, so not ideal to study at, but good to just relax away from the busy-ness out on the main streets. Most people but stuff to takeaway. It actually is quite tiny, but I think they do some/most of their baked goods there. Could see them whipping up egg whites for the meringues for the chiffon cake (which I will be coming back for), and saw a whole tray of granola stuff which smelt amazing. Their toasted sandwiches smelt really good as well, but didn't have any at this visit.

Matcha latte-$5

It was quite a big bowl, so value for money. You could really taste the matcha in it. It's quite nice initially and I prefer bitter matcha over the sweeter matcha lattes, but it got a bit too bitter at the end. The milk was frothed perfectly here. I guess i have had a more bitter matcha latte overseas, but it was a smaller portion. Still a good price for the quality and quantity.

Genmai matcha latte-$5

Could definitely taste the roasted rice flavour in this. So fragrant.

Green tea tart-$4

Had a bit of this, and the green tea was so smooth. It wasn't too bitter or sweet, just the tart base was a bit harder to cut through, especially since the tables are so low.

Fondant cake-$8.50 ($6.50 takeaway)

inside

Apparently the size is smaller compared to when my friend was here last. It didn't completely melt and pool out when I cut into it, and wasn't super warm either, but it was still moist. It looked really chocolatey, luckily it wasn't. Matcha flavour prominent both inside and out. This cake is minimally sweet. The matcha sauce on top was actually even more bitter than the matcha latte, but helps to keep the cake moist with every bite. The berries on the side with a coulis actually helped bring sweetness to the dish, The fondant wasn't mind blowing, but still very good and worth a try.