ERMAHGERD!!! It’s a Tim Tam Colosseum!!! I love Tim Tams, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t love a Tim Tam. What’s not to love? It’s a delicious chocolate biscuit! So anywhos a long, looong time ago, back in 2006, I followed a blog by a girl called Bex and she built a Tim Tam Colosseum for her Roman/Toga party and ever since then I have known that I would try and recreate it. And then like magic, I was sent a couple of cases of Tim Tams from the good people at Arnott’s and while I did my best to eat as many as I could, I knew that my time had finally come. A high school mate’s bday was near and with nothing scheduled for the weekend I set to work! I made it over 2 days because I wanted to make sure the base set properly before attempting the upper tiers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: my Tim Tam Colosseum! Isn’t it just beyoootiful?! It didn’t take too long to assemble but it did take a bit of time to wait for each layer to fully set and be stable enough before adding another level.

What you’ll need! Tim Tams. Lots of them. My colosseum was a bit over the top considering only 5 people were gonna be eating it so um maybe half everything if you’re gonna attempt this! I used about 30 packets of Tim Tams, about half a kilo of chocolate to melt and use for the ‘cement’, 2 packets of gummy men, 1 packet of gummy snakes and dinosaurs, 450g tin of Milo and a board to place your creation on. I used a foam board that can be bought from art shops, I wanted something quite sturdy incase the chocolate seeped through. Start by drawing a circle so you can use as a guide to place the bottom row of Tim Tams.

Melt chocolate in small portions at a time either by microwaving in short bursts or on a double boiler over the stove. Dip the ends of Tim Tams into the melted chocolate and place on your circle. Be sure to space the Tim Tams out evenly, use another Tim Tam as a guide- they need to be close enough that a Tim Tam can lie on top with another. I kinda suck at explaining so look at the pics! Make sure the Tim Tams are fully stuck and cooled before doing the next layer.

Spoon melted chocolate on top of the standing Tim Tams 3 at a time and place Tim Tams horizontally around the circle.

While the layers are cooling stack Tim Tams for the audience stands. I used more melted chocolate to keep everything in place but I reckon ‘next time’ I wouldn’t bother. I stacked it 3 Tim Tams high for the back stands and 2 Tim Tams high for the front. I only did a half circle for the stands because I didn’t think I had enough gummy men to put in the stands so whatever floats your boat.

Aaaand next layer, dip Tim Tam bottoms in chocolate and place in the middle and repeat.

Lol Noods snapped this while I was doing the next horizontal layer and started placing the gummy men. It was freaking cold but I was too paranoid to turn on the heater in case the structure melted haha but yeah dip the gummy men in chocolate and place on the stands.

Colourful crowd!

Continue with your 3rd tier

The 4th tier is the ‘broken’ tier, so only do a tier halfway around.

Noods said I should’ve blitzed some biscuits for the dirt but I was worried the icing in the Tim Tams might clump together so chose the easy option and dumped in a can of Milo 😀

Of course what is a colosseum without an epic battle? Chuck in your gummy snakes and um dinosaurs. ‘Next time’ I’d use a giant python gummy instead. And of course chuck in some of your gummy men to fight!

AND YOU‘RE DONE!!!

From da back

Hello windows

Happy birthday Mig!

ATTTTACKKKKK!!!

Going…

Going…

Gone! Well, mostly. We barely made a dent so we demolished the colosseum and packed the tiers for work treats 😀

So like, I love donuts. Doughnuts or donuts, fried or baked, filled or holey, glazed or with cinnamon sugar, sweet or even savoury- I LOVE THEM ALL. Anywhos last weekend Helen, Richard and I met up for brekkie out in the hood and we got talking about donuts and before we knew it we had set a course for Berry to visit the famed Berry Donut Van.

But first a quick stop at Caffe Rosso (Cnr Station & Bowral Sts, Bowral) because a Googlemobile search for donuts in Bowral brought us to their website which said they had Panzerotti, a ricotta donut foldover. But unfortch there was no ricotta donut love to be had and worse, we find out that their products are actually baked at Buzy Bakehouse in Woollahra! FREAKING SYDNEY! GAHHHH!!! Ah wells there were still donuts to be had- a Vanilla filled donut which was satisfyingly creamy, a Chocolate filled donut that is rich and sweet aaaand an Italian donut which was our fave and covered in delicious sugar crystals.


We couldn’t resist stopping off at the Robertson Cheese Factory (107 Illawarra Hwy, Robertson) for a lil cheese tasting and I came away with a slab of Herb & Garlic Cheddar and a packet of my all time fav Crooked Creek cheese biscuits.


Of course while we were in Robertson we had to stop at the Robertson Pie Shop (4400 Illawarra Highway, Robertson) to ogle at the selection of pies and tarts and cute old skool candy section. Continuing with my theme of all things sweet I have chosen the Apple Turnover with cream ($4.10) and while I’m happy with the cream to pastry ratio I’m a little let down by the slightly bland apple pieces that taste like it’s come straight from a can. Helen and Richard have instead opted for something to wipe away the diabetes guilt and have gone for the Steak & Kidney pie ($4.60) and the Beef, Bacon & Cheese pie ($4.60).


I was THIS close to getting a custard tart because they were smiling at me. Oh c’mon now, how can you not smile back?


AND THEN. The moment we had been waiting for! The Famous Berry Donut Van (73 Queen St, Berry) at long last! 6 donuts set us back $7, we take a ticket and grab a seat and a short while later a bag of piping hot donuts fresh from the fryer arrive and await our eager stomaches.


They were glorious I tells ya! GLORIOUS! Fluffy innards so soft that they were almost cake-like and with a golden crust that had a liberal sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar ERMAHGERD bliss! Absolutely perfect for a cold winter’s day!


We couldn’t resist swinging by the Treat Factory (Old Creamery Lane, Berry) and stared in awe at packet upon packet of chocolates and candy of all shapes and sizes. I scored a salted caramel slice which was rich and gooey and perfect for a lil midnight snacking. Next door was the Treat Factory Warehouse which had everything a baker would dream of- fondants in all colours of the rainbow, sprinkles in all shapes of flowers and animals, different flours and sugars and even wholesale priced nuts and fancy salts. I could have easily spent all my $$ there if we had more time.


Oh but then look the Berry Woodfired Sourdough Bakery (23 Prince Alfred Street, Berry) was just around the corner too! Within walking distance it was! And well, it was just right there! We swoop upon the last remaining Macadamia Tart ($5.50) which had a flaky, buttery pastry and crunchilicious macadamia pieces.


And that, my friends, is the story of our completely random unplanned road trip. It was tasty, it was fun, and it was oh so sugary sweet haha I’m sure there will be many more donuts in my future!

EDIT: CLOSED

One thing that will get Noods to voluntarily suggest eating out? Steak tartare. He is absolutely fanatical about steak tartare which is how we found ourselves at Antoine’s Grill (112 Majors Bay Rd, Concord), a sexy looking French bistro in a suburb that I have not visited nearly enough. So did the Steak Tartare ($15) impress Noods? When I asked if he liked it all I got was: ‘heaps good’ and was grudgingly passed a toasted bread slice topped with fresh hand cut steak nubbins which yes, was heaps good and super morish.


The ‘Petite Terrine’ ($16) is a meatier and chunkier style of pork and chicken pate which isn’t my favourite compared to a super smooth parfait style however it is pretty damn tasty especially with the baguette and crunchy cabbage salad (and I totes chortled at the baby pickles naww).


A second visit and we try the House-made Lightly Smoked Salmon ($14.50). The curls of salmon are smooth and fatty and only just needs a teensy dab of crème fraîche to layer on toasted baguette slices.


An entree size of Crispy Pork Belly($18) is a sight to see, I mean look at it! It’s so purdy! Gorgeous tile of crispy crackling, fat ribboned porky flesh floating island style over an amazingly vibrant carrot puree which tastes like the lives of 100 pure carrot souls.


But the absolutely most deeeelicious thing ever? The 500 day grain fed 350g Signature Wagyu Rib Eye with a Marble score of 7+($48) oh baby oh baby that was one seriously sexy steak! The phrase ‘cooked to perfection’ doesn’t even come close to describing how freaking awesome that steak was! Tender, flavourful and bursting with meaty juices, it totally didn’t need any sauce to distract from it’s awesomeness.


Noods has opted for the cheaper 200 day grain fed Rib eye (Scotch fillet) 350g ($28) and while he enjoys his steak he suffers from food envy and it is now my turn to begrudgingly slice off steak pieces to share. We had also ordered a side of Mashed Potato ($6) and oh boy was it buttery and rich!


Visit number 1 we were too full to order any desserts so we were surprised when a deconstructed Lemon Meringue Tart was sent out to us on the house. Cheers Chef! Buttery shortbread pieces sit amongst dollops of slightly sour lemon curd with blobs of blow torched meringue and dabs of jam making this a light and refreshing dessert. Definitely a winner.


Visit number 2 and Noods has of course chosen the Vanilla Creme Brulee purely because he likes stabbing his way through a perfect sugary layer and into smooth vanilla bean flecked custard innards.


Unable to handle the thought of something super heavy I have chosen the Profiteroles ($12.50) which are stuffed full of sweet vanilla bean creme patissière and are placed delicately over a pool of rich chocolate sauce. Kaboom game over I’ve reached explodey point and we stumble away into the sunset promising to return for the glorious Wagyu steak.

“Ramen with friends” is a status that Noods and his mates use regularly on the Book of Faces and word on the street ie blogland meant I spotted a new ramen joint- Ramen Zundo (Shop 1030, Level UG, World Square Shopping Centre near the sushi train, 644 George St, Sydney). World Square is running a promo atm so print out this voucher and you can get any ramen or curry plus a side dish and Japanese ice cream for $15 anytime after 4pm till 12th of Aug.


The Crunchy Tiger and I have both chosen 3 pieces of Karaage (normally $4.50) for our sides. The juicy morsels of chicken are tasty even if the batter wasn’t as crispy and nubbly as I had hoped.


Noods has opted for the 3 pieces of Gyoza (normally $4.50) and before it occurs to me to try a piece he’s managed to snaffle the lot. He was quite descriptive too- “they were good”.


Aaaand what we’ve been waiting for- Tonkotsu Ramen Zundo White ($11.80)! Two fat slices of chashu roast pork belly sit atop a bowl filled with bouncy squiggles of noodles, 2 squares of crisp seaweed and 2 halves of runny soft boiled egg. There is a disturbingly large pile of bean sprouts and cabbage amidst my pile of goodness which I immediately fish out. The pork bone broth isn’t as super rich as Gumshara but woah. WOAH. The chashu? INSANE. I would return for the chashu alone. It is all kinds of amazeballs, incredibly tender with beeyootiful ribbons of fat. There’s also the Zundo Black which has garlic oil and the Zundo Red which is spicy chilli oil.


Choice of desserts is limited to ice creams (normally $2.80), so I’ve gone for the green tea which is creamy and the wafer oddly addictive.


Japanese curries are also available and I’m totes coming back and trying the Mount Chashu which looks to be loaded with porky goodness mmm