‘dya think they’re gonna lock us foodbloggers in a room and then kill us?’ was a question that did the rounds a few weeks ago when an invite to a website launch was received. ‘nah they wouldnt bother feeding us if their intention was to kill us’ came the slightly reassuring response. alot of people still believe blogs are all about the mundane ramblings of the average joe and there has been alot of talk on the blogosphere on whether or not we have the right to write if we are not ‘professionals’ pfft

the problem now with print media is that by the time this seasons fruit and vegetables start appearing at the farmers markets us food bloggers will see it and immediately cook/bake and then blog about it straight away. theres such a huge collection of blogs out there, all with different takes on recipes that when the magazines hit the shelves it feels as if weve already seen it which we have because blogging is so immediate (and free heh). the website launch that we (helen from grab your fork, lorraine from not quite nigella , christie from fig and cherry, anna from morsels and musings, lisa from spicy icecream and kathryn from limes and lycopene) were invited to was for all recipes. all recipes is the world’s largest food-focused social networking website and has recently launched an aussie website where all measurements are in the metric and if youre unsure on how to start a blog you can register as a member, create a profile page and add your own reviews and photos.

step 1: start with one comfortable and unique venue. after a one hour crazy cab ride to surry hills, i found myself climbing up 3 flights of stairs (almost there! the signs encourage) and step into a gorgeous open plan room filled with tea light candles and sparkling fairy lights. in the centre of the room is a long table with namecards that have been strategically placed and are surrounded by bright red chillis.


a nametag! i chortle to myself oh how i feel so special!


step 2: add twenty flavoursome guests. and flavoursome they were! a mix of food bloggers and industry media as well as the reps from all recipes


step 3: stir thru 3 delicious hand-picked authentic dishes. dinner tonight was made from recipes on the all recipes website.


grilled kangaroo and cactus tostada


jamaican prawns


but the star of the night were these absolutely awesome chilli chocolate brownies. crispy crunchy outsides and gooey fudgey chocolatey innards with the perfect amount of chilli heat that was not too high in the burning. i polish off my brownie super fast and start eyeing christies untouched dessert who hands over her plate about halfway thru and then the gorgeous darcie from zing tells me she doesnt eat chocolate and also hands me her plate. i dont argue. 3 brownies are better than 1 =D


step 4: top with good conversation, great wine and a relaxed atmosphere. our food matching wines were from starvedog lane. the bartender also made one sexy mojito mmm


step 5: season with 2 guest speakers – lisa sharples, company president and ian ‘herbie’ hemphill, spice guru. sadly i didnt take any photos when they gave their little talks but this was the awesome gift pack i got- a shiny silver mixing bowl from all recipes and a box of herbies spices. the dinner was a lovely relaxed event and i got to chat to some of the reps from the website who had flown in from the states. it was thrilling to be recognised and be treated ‘like a rockstar’ (heh heh found that on the zing blog) but its great that food bloggers are finally getting some credit. much thanks to all recipes for inviting us to the launch and to darcie for making sure we arrived there and back safely we had an awesome time!

the boy and his work mates are attempting the menya godzilla ramen challenge tonight- over 2kg of ramen in 30mins if you fail it’s $29.90 heh im going just to laugh at them but if you are up for the challenge we’ll be there at 7pm. ill be floating around in the city from 3pm-7pm if anyone wants to have a coffee cos theres only so much shopping i can do =D email me for my mob number to meet and/or about the challenge susanATchocolatesuzeDOTcom

the bubbly sweesan who studied at le cordon bleu in sydney is the cupcake genius at Cupcake Chic in the Curve, Malaysia’s first cupcakery.


greetings from oz!


mmm colouful babies (RM4.50 each, RM25 for 6, RM48 for 12)


the cupcake menu changes daily but the five top-selling range are available every day (Back to Basics, Naughty n’ Nice, Othello, Fatal Attraction and Chocofee)


my selection: top row: Citrus Garden (orange cake with marmalade frosting), On Cloud 9 (chocolate marshmallow cake with chocolate frosting), Othello (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting), bottom row: Cookies and Cream (cookies and cream with vanilla frosting), Red Velvet (red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting), Peaches and Cream (peach cake with cream chantilly and almond flakes)


and something i found intriguing- cupcake biscotti! slices of actual cupcake is baked until crispy!

after a long day of shopping we were feeling the munchies and because we were a tad sick of the local foods we stopped by at sentidos tapas in starhill gallery


we look happy yes? we ate around 4pm and 4 hours later noods starts feeling queasy and since i ate everything BUT the clams i think we can assume he got the food poisoning from the little innocent looking bivalves


but the scallops (RM22) they were delicious! plump juicy morsels in a golden buttery sauce


the deep fried fetta (RM18) were golden bread crumbed nuggets with gooey cheesey salty innards


soft shell crab (RM18) was ok, nothing special but nothing wrong either


alas the clams (RM15) they were so promising and yet so evil…