
i am susan thye. aka chocolatesuze. lives in sydney, australia. born 30.5.83. married to noods. works in social media. this is a food and lifestyle blog. i like cheeseburgers, cake, fried chicken and macarons.
email: susan@chocolatesuze.com
twitter: @chocolatesuze
[more about me]
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PERSONAL DISCLAIMER. this is a foodblog; a personal journal where all opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions. Although it may claim otherwise, this blog does not offer legal, medical, psychiatric, veterinary, logical or any other kind of professional advice. all text+photos by me - S. Thye, unless otherwise noted. i will hunt you down if you steal or hotlink any of my images and/or text. have a nice day!
19 May 2013, 20:47

I heart bread. Soft pillowy innards and crusty golden edges? How can you not love bread? With butter of course :P

And the best thing about bread? The smell as it bakes and fills the whole house. Zomg best!











13 May 2013, 03:22











Bill worked out to be $400/6 people which was a bit pricey but well, we are in the touristy area and everything was delicious and I guess in hindsight we should’ve gone with the degustation menu as the prices would’ve worked out the same. I’m always wary of special menus on those celebratory days but the service at Sake was spot on and it was nice that they gave each mother a bouquet of flowers. So in the words of Rove, say hi to your mum for me!
5 May 2013, 23:19








26 April 2013, 01:20











21 April 2013, 23:32

So like, it was Noods and I wedding anniversary a while ago and the very awesome people at PARKROYAL Darling Harbour offered us a weekend stay to celebrate where we could eat, drink and be merry without worrying on getting home. While we both work in the city we tend to not stay out very late due to the lack of public transport past the bewitching hour to our area out west. We had a fabulous time and it was good to unwind and explore the area nearby but hang on, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour are also running the competition Trade for a Trip on their Facebook page so keep on reading to find out how to enter!

After checking in, we start the weekend off with breakfast in the newly refurbished Barkers restaurant.

Baked good galore! This station always makes me pause as my stomach struggles with the concept of taking ‘just one piece’..

Noods heads straight for the omelet station, pushing to see how many eggs he can eat before the chef starts recognizing him.

Staying right smack in the middle of Sydney means we don’t worry about transport and take a walk over to the Sydney Fish Markets to ogle at the fresh produce. Even though we’d had a massive breakfast we can’t resist a tray of Sydney Rock oysters and some salmon sashimi.

After a walk back to Chinatown and a couple of hours shopping at Paddy’s Markets and Market City it’s time for lunch. Gumshara’s Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen in Eating World Plaza is always a winner for us especially with the cold weather creeping up on us. The thick, rich broth and fatty slices of melt in the mouth pork will make anyone instant converts.

We were staying in the PARKROYAL Club Room which has the sweetest perks like free wifi aaaaand meant we got access to the Club Lounge on the 10th floor. Helloooo free drinks and canapés!

Chillaxing with a glass of champers while watching the sunset = BEST

Speaking of canapés, while I dug into the platter of cheeses Noods chortled with glee at the mussels in white wine sauce. His last meal on earth would be those mussels.

Best seat in the house to watch the fireworks show every Saturday night!

The night was still young so a Roti Tissue from Mamak was ordered. With a side of condensed milk and kaya of course :P

The Grasshopper Bar was a bit of a walk but because we weren’t in a hurry we didn’t mind and made sure to drink many delicious beverages from bear jam jars so we wouldn’t mind the walk back!

Buuuut then we got the munchies. Naruone has the best Korean fried chicken in Sydney bar none and best of all? They’re open to 3am on Sat!

Nighty night.

The next morning was hard to roll out of bed so we decided to try the Club Lounge breakfast to avoid the humans. While there was no chef to make omelettes we preferred the selection of food here and especially the low noise level!

I’m very easily amused and absolutely had to get the pancakes. I totally want this for my kitchen and get pancakes at the push of a button!

I freaking love honeycomb!

We ended up heading back to our room for a nap after breakfast to sleep off the night’s beverages lol but our grumbling stomachs woke us up mid afternoon so off to Fuku Restaurant in World Square for seafood hotpot! Filled with noodles, vegetables and seafood, the hotpot warmed our souls and all was right with the world.

Knowing our weekend was almost over I may have strongly suggested we stop by Emperor’s Garden for a quick round of desserts at yum cha. Flaky egg tarts and custardy buns, I heart you.
And that my friends, was our weekend! Want to win a delicious weekend at PARKROYAL Hotel? Hit the jump here to enter the Trade for a Trip comp! All you gotta do is trade your city’s best kept secrets for the chance to win a stay at a PARKROYAL Hotel of your choice!
ChocolateSuze received a complimentary weekend stay at PARKROYAL Hotel
14 April 2013, 23:37

So like… I made a giant Wagon Wheel. From scratch. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Wagon Wheels but I’ve always felt like the marshmallow and jam to biscuit ratio was never right! So it took me a weekend of pottering around my kitchen and questioning my sanity on whether or not it was worth all the hassle. It totally was haha but this is totes not classified as an easy recipe and there was stacks of washing up!

Tee hee forgot to weigh it but I reckon it was more than 5kg?

INNARDS SHOT!!! Now THERE’S my ideal ratio!!!

Allllrighty then! Steps in the event you people out there want to make this behemoth! You will need 2 springform tins, 1 larger than the other- I used a 21cm and a 25cm tin. For the biscuit layer I used this recipe. Make sure to divide your dough into 2 amounts and when rolled out cut out 2 circles the size of your small tin.

For the marshmallow layer I used this recipe but without the coconut and the colouring. Spread the marshmallow into your baking paper lined small tin, there’ll be enough mixture for 2 layers so if you want you can make normal marshmallows with the excess. Make sure the marshmallow has several hours to set, I left my marshmallow in the fridge overnight.

For the jam layer I used this recipe but halved the amount and cooked the jam a bit longer so it wouldn’t be super runny inside the Wagon Wheel.

Ready to assemble layers? Grab your larger tin and melt some chocolate! I used about 500g of chocolate for the bottom layer, make sure the layer is a solid 1-2cm thick and make sure to spread the chocolate up to the edges of the tin. Leave to set for a bit before adding the shortbread layer otherwise the shortbread with sink to the bottom of the chocolate layer. Spread on the jam layer. I shoved 2 biscuit bits into the jam as a semi attempt for stability.

Unwrap the marshmallow layer and plonk him on top of the jam. Chuck on the 2nd shortbread layer. Melt some more chocolate and begin drizzling over the top and down the sides. I ended up using about 1 kilo of chocolate to cover the top and fill up around the sides mmm now leave your baby to set. If you’re in a hurry you can put him in the fridge but warning it may discolour the chocolate because of the sudden change in temperature.

Carefully undo the springform tin and tadah!

Only drawback with massive Wagon Wheel is there’s no way you can just take a bite out of it lol so ended up having to stab at it and hack off a piece to see the insides.

There we go! Insides and a comparison shot!

I have plans for more giant candy but let me know what you’d like me to make :P
8 April 2013, 00:12

So I was debating posting about my trip to Uluru/Ayers Rock. It’s not exactly the place for spectacular food and usually all my holidays with Noods involves eating as a primary and sight-seeing as a secondary need. But well, it was an awesome experience and I want to share it with you guys esp for the rellies that drop by here occasionally (HI UNCLE KEN AND MOON YEE!)

It was a pretty spur of the moment trip, we knew we wanted to get out of Sydney for a bit but wanted to stay in Aus… next thing I knew flights were booked from Syd-Uluru (don’t book to Alice Springs unless you like waiting for connecting flights or feel the urge to take a long drive there). We landed late afternoon and checked in at Sails in the Desert and made it just in time to grab the last tickets to Sounds of Silence dinner ($169 each).

The Sounds of Silence dinner is held on a sand dune a short bus trip away with a perfect view of Uluru. It’s pretty damn awesome sitting out in the middle of nowhere with only candles and the moon lighting everything. The food was buffet style with the usual salads, grilled meats and aussie desserts. Oh and free flow alcohol in case you are stuck on a table with obnoxious tourists :P

PURDY! There was also a ‘Star Talker’ who gave us a little bit of a talk on the southern night sky.

There may have been one too many beverages the night prior and we managed to sleep through breakfast time so ended up grabbing lunch at Walpa Bar. Bbq pork ribs, mini cheeseburger and fries for me.

Kangaroo steak for Noods.















1 April 2013, 01:35

YOU GUYS!! I THINK IM IN LOVE!! His name? Mr Crackles!!

Mr Crackles (155 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst) is a magical place run by ex Wharf chefs Carlos Justo and Sam Horowitz and it is all kinds of amazing. Think unicorns and rainbows amazing. Their bread rolls are sourced from Laurent Bakery and the caramel apples on the counter are from Dem Apples Pty Ltd but everything else is made in house and it smells incredible.

Look at that pile of crackle!!! Just look at it! Bask in its glory!

AND YOU CAN BUY IT BY THE CUP!!! And all for the heart stoppingly low price of $5! Insert all the superlatives of crunchy, golden and just plain delicious right here because damn just one bite and I was hooked. You will be too. Unless you’re vego then well, maybe skip this..

But we couldn’t just eat crackling now could we? (Well I could but Noods wouldn’t let me..) The Classic Pork Roll with Vietnamese Salad ($10) is a must, the crusty bread houses the Banh Mi style pickled vegetables but instead of the weird processed flat slices of meat it’s stuffed full of tender, juicy nubbins of pork and topped with pieces of that glorious crackling. The rolls come in 2 sizes ($7 for the small) but really, just get the normal size. Orrrr I may try the Manwich ($15) next time which has double the meat and half the salad mmm

We also got the roll of the month, the Philly Cheese Beef ($10), which had slices of tender corned beef, pickles and Philly cream cheese. I loved the corned beef buuuut I must admit that my mind automatically assumed the roll would be more like a Philly Cheese Steak, you know, with melty cheese? It was still tasty though!

We ended up getting the small Wagyu Beef roll ($7) for the road which was filled with braised meaty goodness, beetroot, spinach and relish. Normally I have issues with beetroot but oddly the flavours worked and I regretted getting the small roll not the normal size lol

Mr Crackles opens till the wee early hours on Fri & Sat which means no more dodgy late night maccas runs down Oxford St! I want to try the rest of the menu esp the Hotdogs and the Lamb Rolls but I know it’ll be hard to go past the Classic Pork Roll…

25 March 2013, 00:01

So like, I love dip. Garlic dip, smoked salmon dip, babaganouj, even hommus. But my favourite is this cheesy spinach dip, a dip I tried back in the 6th grade which came complete in it’s own edible bread basket. Gotta love the 90’s!

I mean, who doesn’t love dip? It’s freaking awesome and seriously the easiest snack to whip up when you have the munchies or unexpected visitors drop by. A lot of dip recipes use packet soup mixes but I tend to find them uber salty so always leave it out. Ready? Here we go!

Ingredients:
Family sized packet of spinach leaves (about 300g)
1 tub of sour cream (250g)
1 Cobb bread roll
2 cups grated cheese
1 Tbsp ground black pepper

Chuck the spinach into a pot and cook until the leaves go stringy and soft.

Like so. Take the pot off the heat.

Add in the 2 cups of cheese and mix until cheese is all melty.

Make sure the pot isn’t super hot before adding in the sour cream and pepper. Warm is ok but not hot otherwise the sour cream goes weird.

Stir stir stir. Transfer dip to container and chuck in the fridge until needed.

Take your Cob loaf and rip out the middle and its innards and arrange all pretty on a platter.

When you’re ready to eat, fill er up and tadaaaaah!
18 March 2013, 01:32

It takes a lot for the boy and I to roll out of bed early enough to make it for breakfast anywhere. Usually by the time we’ve stumbled out of the house it’s nearing noon and our craving for something with eggs is left unsatisfied buuuut Westies rejoice! Short Sweet Bakery (Shop 17, 162-172 Church St, Parramatta) to the rescue for all your baked goods and breakfast needs! They’re closed on Sundays but open from 6am week days for the caffeine deprived souls heading to work.

Follow the lively tunes of the band parked out front every Saturday near the Hungry Jacks and make your way up to the counter and drool with indecision. On Saturdays there’s a breakfast menu and hopefully soon to be during the week too.

Mini tarts just crying out to be held!

Golden, flaky pies at $5 a pop.

Scrambled Eggs, Avo and Toast ($9) is pretty damn incredible, the eggs are freakishly light and fluffy and I just want to bury my head in the cloud like pile.

I can’t resist ordering the Waffle with Honeycomb ($9) and while I love honeycomb and I love waffles I kinda wished they weren’t together? I like my waffle toppings to be either pourable or spreadable and I ended up just stabbing the honeycomb and saving it to the end to eat it separately. But hey it was tasty and sufficiently satisfied waffle craving I’ve been having for the past couple of weeks.

I was drawn to the breads counter and couldn’t stop staring at the piles of freshly baked croissants, carrot cake and banana bread loaves.

Emergency secondary stomach was activated as I couldn’t leave without trying the Vanilla Mille-feuille which tasted every bit as delicious as it looked with its layer upon layer of pastry sandwiching a velvety vanilla cream.

Noods loves a good lamo so one Panncotta Lamington was ordered. And yes I know you guys will ask if it’s better than Flour and Stone but honestly I reckon it’s two completely different lamingtons. Flour and Stone’s lamington is damn tasty but to me it isn’t a true lamington because I like sponge cake to be well, spongey and not so er wet. So I prefer Short Sweet’s lamo over Flour and Stone but I prefer Flour and Stone’s coconut shaving exterior :D

Unfortch all the hot cross buns had sold out before we’d rocked up and Noods had had his heart set on bringing home a bag of hot cross buns but luckily a lonely survivor was found and a light toasting with a pat of butter and all was right with the world.

We roll out the door but not before taking a quick peek at the shelf against the side window for packaged takeaway treats, from giant clouds of meringue to golden anzac biscuits and jars of cocoa powder.
If you spot her, have a chat with Leanne Beck of Sweet Infinity fame, she is an incredibly energetic force of nature and worked hard at getting Church St cleaned up and made beautiful with the addition of beach deck chairs in the mall. I’m glad to have found Short Sweet Bakery and will definitely be back to try out the tarts and pies!
ChocolateSuze + Noods received complimentary meals with thanks to Short Sweet Bakery