Ahhh my precious… Just look at that beauty! Doesn’t it make you want to lick the screen? It is the one and only Ginger Brulee Tart ($5) from where else?


Bourke Street Bakery (633 Bourke St, Surry Hills) of course! Land of delicious baked goods! It’s dangerously close to work and with everything under $12 but averaging around the $5 mark makes this bakery a hot spot with the office workers and ahem hipsters 😛 Beware the queues if you come too late though!


Lunchies! Every now and then some humans will join me in the partaking of sausage roll awesomeness. There’s a couple of tables outside or head across the street to the park and enjoy the last of the sunshine my friends!


The Pork and Fennel Sausage Roll ($4.50) gets the trophy for BEST SAUSAGE ROLL EVERRRR!!! A log of minced pork with a scattering of fennel seeds is lovingly cocooned inside incredibly flaky pastry which WILL shower you with pastry flakes everywhere no matter how carefully you try to eat it!


The Beef Brisket Pie ($5.30) is also pretty awesome, more of that glorious pastry holding chunks of tender and damn tasty beef bathed in a rich gravy.


The Vego in the group orders the Baba Ganoush, Cucumber, Parsley, Lemon and Fetta Sandwich ($9) and smashes it in record time.


And then there’s the Mushroom, Spinach and Fetta Quiche ($4.50) which is a bit on the small side but packs a punch of tastiness.


But wait, how can you visit BSB without scoring some desserts!?


LOOK AT HOW IT GLISTENS. Seriously guys, the brulee tarts are out of this world! I’ve had the strawberry tarts previously but the ginger tarts are by far the most delicious with creamy custardy innards, caramelised sweet ginger layer and a crisp buttery tart shell. Bloody awesome.


The Lemon tarts ($4.50) are also top notch with a ridiculously addictive sour lemon curd filling.


Definitely want to try more of BSB‘s menu but I just can’t ever go past that sausage roll…

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 😛


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

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 😛

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 😛

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.

The Resort has a mini shopping centre area with a post office, souvenir store, a couple of bars and cafe but best of all.. an IGA supermarket! Stocked up on bottles of precious water.

I very stupidly agreed to the Uluru Return Tour ($50 each) where a shuttle basically picks you up from the resort and drops you at Uluru where you can wander around the base of Uluru at your own pace.

Which sounds all fine and dandy and I start off all happy as Larry but oh the heat! The dry heat which sucks the moisture from your body! I love warm temperatures but when the thermostat pushes over 40C I shut down which is pretty much what happened about 1hour into our ‘walk’.
Noods doing the ‘thinking man’ pose. Hah! More like the ‘why is she walking so slow’ sulk.

Aaaand this is where I spent the rest of the day- submerged in lukewarm water in an attempt to not overheat.

Buffet dinner was at Ilkari Restaurant with a surprisingly large amount of desserts.

Noods took this photo at sunset. He was very proud of it.

The next day I may have agreed to the Explore Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) tour ($80 each) after a promise from Noods that it was shorter..

I may have attempted to strangle Noods around the halfway mark..

And then almost passed out when we finally made it through the rock domes haha

Back to the pool I went and stayed until my skin went wrinkly. A round of fish and chips was much needed.
Being awake at sunrise is something that required much effort but it was totally worth it on our last day for the Camel to Sunrise Tour ($119 each).

Hellooo camel congo line!

Best tour ever, especially before the crazy heat and the flies come out! The guides walked along side our camels, chatting to us about the random plants and animals.

Farewell Uluru!