Sydney food bloggers yumcha, Malaysiafest
Sydney food blogger yumcha meetup plus 5 plates of egg tarts equals happiness.
Is this not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Sure at yum cha there are the must have orders of siu mai, har gow, chive dumplings, pork buns and oodles of noodles but for me as soon as I see egg tarts on a trolley I just HAVE to order them even if I have yet to eat my share of the savouries… and so 5 plates of egg tarts lands on our table but not to worry they weren’t all for me because I was here at Marigold along with fellow food bloggers Betty, Billy, Cate, Jacq, Janice, Julie, Karen, Mae, Rachel, Richard, Rita, Simon, Tammi and Thang for a yum cha meet up with Sarah and Vanessa from Nuffnang
I can never go past mango pancakes! Once mango season starts I am determined to make this at home!
Ooh humans!
And more humans!
Still feeling a bit peckish, Karen, Richard, Simon and I head for Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour where the annual Malaysia Festival was being held. Zomg so many people! It was such a beautiful sunny day that I had braced myself for crazy crowds but luckily the queues for the food stalls weren’t too hectic
Apam balik (2 for $7) are crispy pancakes filled with a crushed peanuts, a dollop of creamed corn and a sprinkle of sugar.
Our crew disperses to join multiple queues and return bearing containers filled with satay, rice cubes and a pool of peanut sauce; fluffy roti and curry sauce, teh tarik ($3), ice chendol ($4) and teh ais ($3). Satisfied with our haul we roll home where someone may or may not have persuaded Karen to swing by El Jannah and score some fabulous charcoal chicken and garlic sauce for dinner mmm so much deliciousness in one day!

Zaaffran, Darling Harbour: A Food Bloggers Evening
New 5 course BBQ Banquet ‘F’ ($54.50 per person) at Zaaffran (10 Darling Drive, Harbourside Centre, Darling Harbour)
When I received an invite to dine at Zaaffran (10 Darling Drive, Harbourside Centre, Darling Harbour) from Rush Dossa, part-owner of Zaaffran saying “We promise that all the guests will be just food bloggers… We don’t intend to invite ill-mannered, highly coiffed people with too much makeup who think that they are ‘experts in all things stylish and trendy’,” I couldn’t help but laugh because it was obvious that Rush had taken the time to do his research after this event which happened way back in April.
It was refreshing to see a restaurant owner openly embrace food bloggers and be able to put names with faces and their blogs. Rush and business partner and head chef Vikrant Kapoor are delightfully welcoming and are quick to make us feel at ease. After some pre dinner canapes, we were treated to the new 5 course BBQ Banquet ‘F’ ($54.50 per person).
Pappadums and mint dip. I love pappadums! I could totally have eaten that whole basket. And kinda did. But luckily it was magically refilled hehe
A round of pastel coloured lassi’s for the table- mango, strawberry and um salt? Considering I’m not a super big fan of yoghurt I really loved the strawberry lassi which was sweet, creamy and works wonders against the battle of chilli vs mouth
Potato-corn mini patties. Do you like the word moreish? Cos that’s what these babies were. So freaking tasty and moreish, potato nubbins embedded with kernels of delicious corn and covered in a crunchy breaded coating topped with a swirl of mild chili sauce.
Gol guppas, cute spherical shells that came with the novelty factor of seeing how much mung bean & chick pea filling I could stuff in without making the whole thing explode.
Each course came with a basket filled with piping hot naan bread. The fragrant garlic naan is demolished within seconds.
Tandoori king prawns and chicken seekh kebab.
Mushroom naan with truffle butter. I do love my mushrooms and could have eaten the naan bread as a meal on its own though I couldn’t really taste the truffle butter.
The Seasonal fried fish (barramundi) is a crispy delight until I feel the burning begin. Oh the burning! The fires of a thousand suns! It is a dry heat and I alternate mouthfuls of fish with gulps of lassi.
The Baked salmon isn’t quite as spicy despite it’s appearance and I <3 the crispy potato triangles.
A palate cleanser of Mango kulfi is a welcome breather between courses, the ice cream-like dessert is smooth and refreshing.
Eggplant. Um I really can’t remember eating this. Doo di doo…
By the time the platter of Lamb ribs and Lamb seekh kebab came out I was well and truly full.
But dessert is another matter entirely as we all know that when it comes to desserts a second emergency stomach will come to the rescue! A dessert platter arrives bearing Spire of saffron, Cardamom and roasted almonds kulfi, Dome of gulab jamun, Rose kulfi, Brandy glaze and a pyramid of kuih lapis. The spire of kulfi is impressive and is quickly toppled but I am most intrigued with the kuih lapis, a layer cake which is one of my favourites and eat layer by layer.
Mmm delicious carnage.
Chocolatesuze dined as a guest of Zaaffran Darling Harbour.
How to make a watermelon keg
Step by step instructions on how to make a watermelon keg! Serve juice from the fruit itself!
Check it out! A watermelon keg! I first saw a how-to guide on the keg here and the idea of serving fruit juice from the fruit itself was too freaking awesome to pass up! Ready for a how-to guide on making your own watermelon keg? Here we go!
First you need a watermelon. Pick one that doesn’t have too many blemishes on the outside. Important: it’s best you make the watermelon keg either on the day of your party or the night before as once opened the watermelon goes a lil funky.
And you will need a tap. I scored this plastic tap with its bits and bobs from Bunnings for about $20. It took us a while to find this plastic one as I wasn’t too keen on sticking a metal tap into fruit. The important thing with the tap is that it needs the washer/adapter thing that needs to be screwed on inside the watermelon. More on that later but meanwhile wash the tap with soapy water and rinse thoroughly.
Big props to Noods for helping me make my dream keg! Ok so now if your watermelon is a bit wobbly shave off a bit until it is stable and sits flat.
Cut the lid on your watermelon. Make sure the lid diameter is big enough to be able to stick your hand in.
Scrape off the pink watermelon flesh from the lid
And then go ahead and scoop away all the watermelon innards, occasionally pouring out the liquid into a bowl
Once all the watermelon has been scooped out, figure out where you want the tap to be placed
Carefully carve a small hole that is just under the size needed to fit in the tap. Start off small because once the hole is too big the tap will leak and there’s no going back! Once the tap fits, screw on the washer/adapter on the inside of the watermelon and make sure the tap is placed on an angle otherwise the liquid won’t flow properly.
To test for leaks fill the watermelon halfway with water
Woohoo happiness!



Food Bloggers Spring BBQ
Food bloggers spring bbq = massive amounts of food and alcohol. And a watermelon KEG!
“I have the house to myself. I propose lots and lots of food” These are the magical words that Karen has uttered which will ensure that all food bloggers will spend the days leading up to the shindig to plan (and in some cases draw) and cook up a storm. So I know there will prolly be several posts floating around about the bbq so I’ll be keeping mine short and sweet and focusing more on the humans. I like humans!
Heh heh food bloggers!
I thought for once I wouldn’t bring any food and instead I brought a watermelon… But not just ANY watermelon… Check out that tap… That’s right folks it’s a watermelon keg!

Post will go up on Wed on how I made it. Basically cut a hole on the top of the watermelon big enough to fit your arm in and scrape out the watermelon. Cut a hole on the bottom and squish in your plastic tap (bought from Bunnings) and screw on the plastic washer inside and while making sure the tap is closed pour in your choice of beverages. I had strained the watermelon juice and also used a bottle of passionfruit soda, and a bottle of moscato. Pouring all 3 together means you can be lazy and not have to pre mix the drink.

Tadah! ‘Punch’ on tap!

Cameras waiting for some food porn action

Lex re-enacting Wolverine with his massive crab

Frenzy!

Is this not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Dripping in butter and oh so delicious, the only sounds heard are the cracking of crab shells and the cries as we reached the bottom of the bowl all too soon.

Uncle Billy has set up temporary bbq’s and is grilling his satay with ease. Like vultures we crowd around him as he pulls off the cooked satay from the grills so we can slather them with his homemade peanut sauce.

Karen’s other half Shaun, is hard at work grilling her homemade Bakkwa on their brand spanking new bbq

Quick collage of all the food: Fried noodles from Karen, Rojak from Billy, Otak otak from Shez, grilled ocean trout with awesome crispy skin from Lex, Grilled tofu from Billy, Bulgogi and kimchi from Simon, Potato salad from Karen, Fried chicken from Linda

Auntie Shez has made Kuih Serimuka and the tray is demolished within seconds

Helen and Minh were going to make chendol from scratch but um kinda failed hehe so we made ice kacang

Yas has brought 20 Portuguese custard tarts from Sweet Belem

Linda has arrived after we had demolished most of the food but comes bearing the gift of fried chicken! Zomg best fried chicken evah!

And of course what’s a party without some drinkies…

Pimms and ice coffee and bottles of moscato from Richard

LOL LOL LOL

I failed in taking a pic of Phuoc’s shortbread and of our wagyu from the awesome Tim from Urban Food Market. But some homemade Limoncello from Phuoc rounds up the night and we are all happy campers. Thanks to Karen for hosting!