Subsolo Cafe...?

My monthly Food Safari lunch got postponed a few times as either my friend was busy or I was busy. One day we were both free and decided to go to Subsolo for lunch. Since neither of us had much time, we thought we'd try the Subsolo Deli Cafe. Except when we got there, we were told they haven't built that part of the restaurant yet even though its advertised on their website.

Not a problem though, the waiter seated us at a huge long communal table and gave us the cafe menu. EXCEPT, they didn't have the paella the day we went! NoOoOoOooo!!! We were really looking forward to that. I guess I'll just have to go back another day! hehehe

We eyed the tapas box and wanted to pick 2 sandwich rolls to share since we were both starrrrrrrrving. But the kind waiter told us we were probably ordering too much food and convinced us to get 1 roll only.

Tapas "box"

Left to right: Lamb cutlet, croquette, Chorizo, Manchego Cheese, Jamon and a lovely artichoke salad.

Everything we got on the plate was delicious! My favourite would have to be the croquette and the salad. I really don't like artichoke, but these ones were lightly pickled and doesn't have the horrible pungent smell that turns me off artichokes.

Piquillo Pepper - Twice roasted mild red peppers, Spanish goats cheese, roasted pinenuts & rocket

Wow...if vegetarian food tasted like this every day I may just convert to be a vegetarian...for a day. hehehe But this was absolutely delicious! The creamy goats cheese, the smokey peppers constrasted so well with the pinenuts! This might be a bit more of a regular lunch thing I think.

Despite the delicious food, I think both of us could've done with the other sandwich. I guess maybe we were greedy, but we wanted more! Next time I won't be discouraged by the waiter to eat til I make a fool of myself! hehe

Subsolo
161 King St, Sydney NSW 2000
Corner Castlereagh St
(Ph) 02 9223 7000
http://www.subsolo.com.au/

Bento madness!

With all the family here during December and all the xmas preparations I had to do, there was basically no time to do any fancy bentos. Most of these are from late November to early December.


Left: Nam Yu (Fermented red beancurd) stewed potatoes, boiled rice topped with nuts and lentils marinated in chilli oil
Top right: King Prawn and scrambled egg stir fry
Bottom right: Carrot and cucumber salad


Impromptu Bibimbap - bugulgi beef, sauteed carrot, beansprouts, shitake mushrooms and lettuce (I didn't have any spinach)
Fresh mango

Left: Cold Somen (To be served with zaru soba sauce), bunny egg and ham rolls
Top right: Greek Salad
Bottom right: Beans, asaparagus, carrots, semi sundried tomato and ham rolls

Left: Leftover Valencia Paella from Encasa
Top right: Oranges and cherries
Bottom right: Cherry tomatoes, cucumber and sliced goats cheese. I dressed this with a little raspberry balsamic vinegar


Top left: Lamb Kofte
Bottom left: Raw baby corn, cucumber and cherry tomato salad
Right: Cha Soba, mandu, snowpeas and boiled cocktail potatoes

Top left: Cucumber, snow peas and cherry tomato salad
Bottom left: Pan fried chicken and wedges with bbq seasoning
Right: Chilli fried rice with baby corn, beans, peas and tofu fish


Top: Fake crab and omlette roll, home grown beans and cucumbers, snowpeas, cherry tomatoes and boiled cocktail potato
Bottom: Tomato fried rice with diced vegetables and grilled Toulouse sausages

Top left: Teriyaki chicken and mandu
Bottom left: Blanched home grown Choy Sum
Right: Sliced cheong fun (Rice noodle roll). I bought along a container of udon soup to eat this in. I love sliced cheong fun in soup to replace normal noodles


Left: Cut veggie box of home grown beans and cucumbers, carrots, beetroots and cherry tomato and bocconcini skewers
Right: Turkish style bulghur and paprika chicken

Left: Salami and lettuce roll (I figured it was the easiest way to pack lots of lettuce into my meal without making a salad). Cherry tomatoes and cucumber
Right: Turkish Bulghur and beef rissoles

Left: Not the most pretty looking, but definitely tasted fantastic. Lamb kofte on rice with pan fried garlic mushrooms and eggplants
Right: Garlic eggplants, cherry tomatoes, home grown cucumbers on a bed of home grown lettuce. (Definiately making the most of our garden!)

Despite my bento efforts dwindling to nothing, but I can tell you, its about to make a MAJOR comeback! A few months ago, I sent my sister in Singapore a VERY long email asking her to go to Daiso and help me stock up on everything that can possibly be used for bentos. And this is what she brought over:


MUhaUAhaUAha Bento heaven! The only thing was that she didn't buy me a bento box! Well, she bought me a tinyyyyyy little bento box which is barely enough for a snack (Considering I'm not good at packing the box tightly). But besies that, I've got every kind of sauce containers and bottles, countless types of rice moulds (star, heart, triangle, round etc), dividers and even a new thermal hankerchief like thing for the bento box.

I also cleared out all my food supplies in December to make room for my sister's cravings, so I'll be building all of that up again over the next few weeks. So hopefully there will be a few new variations to my bento repertoire.

Sarah's Birthday at Encasa

To celebrate Sarah's first birthday in Sydney, we organised to go Encasa for dinner. We ordered the tapas and pizza banquet, more than enough to stuff our face 3 times over.

Ensalada Mixta - Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, capsicum, olives

Ensalada con Queso - Lettuce, roasted red capsicum, goat’s cheese, olives

Patatas Bravas (fried potato with garlic mayonnaise and spicy tomato salsa)

Garlic bread

Gambas Sevillanas - Peeled king prawns in spicy tomato salsa

Chorizo a la Plancha - Grilled Spanish sausage

Champiñones al Ajillo - Sizzling garlic mushrooms

Happy Birthday!

The birthday girl got a slice of cinnamon cheesecake whilst we finished the rest of the pizzas off. No photos of those, I was too full to care by that stage.

Easter Island statue...I think?

Sharing the cake.....I think?

After dinner, we headed up to the Art House for cocktails, and on the way we saw this?

Ok...

Gus with his Gold Member.....

Close up of the Gold Member

A concubine and something else.....I can't remember. Too much sangria ;)

Michael Buble Concert with Naturally 7

Its been ages since the last Michael Buble concert. Last time we went, we had tickets to his outdoor concert on the Opera House steps. It was windy and raining, but we had a fantastic time! Sitting there in our ponchos, listening to Michael Buble serenading us with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House as the backdrop. It was perfect!

So when I saw the ads for the next Michael Buble concert, me and Cherry jumped at the opportunity to purchase tickets. So on the night of the concert, we decided to crash Encasa and hope we can grab a table without reservations. We did get a table for 2.....that seats 30 people! Luckily, other people sat at the two ends so we didn't look like complete nigels. The food at Encasa was fantastic as usual, and tasted even better after a jug of sangria ;)

Champiñones al Ajillo - Sizzling Garlic Mushrooms

This was so deliciously garlicky. The mushrooms were sauteed with loads of garlic that had caramelised and turned slightly crispy. Absolutely moreish when you dip your bread into the garlic oil or spoon some of the garlic onto the bread.

Patatas Bravas - Fried potatoes topped with salsa and aioli

Crispy fried potatoes that have been lightly salted (perfect on its own) was topped with a spicy salsa and creamy garlic mayo. I couldn't decide whether to eat the potatoes on its own, or smoosh it into the sauce to soak up all that spicy garlicky goodness.

Gambas Sevillanas - Peeled king prawns in spicy tomato salsa

Big bursty king prawns were cooked in a light spicy salsa. I was spooning the sauce onto my plate so I could enjoy every last drop of it with bread.

Pork, Chorizo and bean stew

I can't remember what this dish was called, it was the special of the day. It was a stew made from smoked pork, chorizos and big fat beans! So hearty and comforting! If only the beans were softer. I like my beans soft like baked beans, but the dish was really nice.

I don't know what I was thinking when I ordered dessert, because I was stuffed like a chicken kiev. But we had plenty of time so we both opted to get a creme caramel, EACH.


This was nice, not too sweet, but a bit too eggy for me. I actually really enjoyed the vanilla ice cream on top. I can't remember the last time I had vanilla ice cream.

We decided to slowly walk to the Entertainment Centre, which is less than 5 mins walk away. I was so full I swear I was waddling. But as we got closer, I had to try and walk like a normal person. Why? I had my DSLR shoved into the bottom of my bag and I was hoping cameras were allowed. Luckily the Entertainment Centre isn't as anal as the Superdome, so I walked right on in without problems.

We get seated and soon the concert is underway. We didn't know who the supporting act was until Naturally 7 walked onto the stage. And from the moment they opened their mouths, I was completely blown away!


They started off with an a capella which turned into a full blown song. We started debating as to whether there was any music, or was it all vocal play. It wasn't until they stopped and explain the concept of the band were we totally knocked off our feet. They were 100% vocal play. No instruments, no synthesizers, no special effects. All them. All Natural. And even then, I had my doubts. That was until they gave a one by one demo on how they layer the music! They were absolutely fantastic!

To be honest, of all the concerts I've been to in the last 5 years, I can't remember a single supporting act that I liked. Come to think of it, I barely remember seeing support acts as I usually walk out or just block them out. This time, I wanted to buy their album! I haven't stop raving about them since!

I was disappointed when they're performance ended, but then Michael Buble came out and everything was perfect. PERFECT. I can't describe what it was like watching him in concert again, but all I can say is that he is charming, witty and funny as hell! AND he could sing! Boy could he sing.

Busting some moves

He jumps off the stage to get photos taken with the audience!

Taken when the woman was in the middle of groping his butt

One of his many funny skits

The concert was PERFECT. I can't wait for the next one!

The unplanned long weekend

With the crazy week I had at work, I could barely remember that it was a long weekend. I had to keep reminding myself not to go to work on the Monday. I guess because I've been so busy, I didn't plan to have a huge long weekend like I usually do. And maybe thats why it didn't seem like a long weekend to me. Anyway, with the weather the way it was, all I wanted to do was go home and curl up. Alas, I had arranged to have a catchup dinner with the old CBA gang. (Not before a few drinks though!) We headed downstairs to Chicane before 5pm and started hitting the drinks with a few of my workamtes. After A LOT of drinks, we battled the rain and wind to make our way to Encasa a good 40mins late. I had to walk in the rain since my umbrella couldn't fight the wind.

We actually ordered less food than when I went with Cookies and MnMs the other week, but I was SO unbelievably full I couldn't even drink sangria! Me! Not being able to drink sangria! Anyway, we had an absolutely wonderful night. I even did it as a surprise birthday thing for one of the guys. We didn't do a cake or anything, but I did rock up with a birthday hat and a lei, which he walked around the city with afterwards. And by the way, if you're ever at Encasa and they have a fig creme brulee special, GET IT!!! YUMMMM!!!

Saturday I slept in until about 11 when the doorbell started going off every few minutes. I spent the afternoon entertaining relatives and family friends before I met up with Cookies and Karen at Broadway for a bit of retail therapy. Battling the rain and wind, I managed to get there in one piece. We ended up watching Shrek 3 using my free movie tickets. I really enjoyed Shrek 3. It wasn't as good as the first 2, but after a hard week at work, it was great to unwind with.

After the movie ended, we decided to wander up and down Glebe Point Rd to look for some food. Nothing really inspired us so we headed to Spanish Tapas, a restaurant I've been meaning to try for a long time:

How cute is that jug?

Clockwise: Stuffed Capsicum in salsa sauce, Fried chicken wings cooked in white wine and garlic, bread for sauce mopping, creamy garlic mushrooms, fried potatoes with spicy salsa sauce

The food was nice even though it was bland. We had to ask for salt to season every dish. It was much nicer after that. However, it still couldn't measure up to Encasa. And it makes it particularly hard to compare considering I only had Encasa the night before! Their sangria, however, was delicious! I'm tempted to keep going back just for the sangria! Although next time I'll order Paella instead of their tapas.

Pretty much all of Sunday involved sleeping in and watching Ugly Betty. I did have a volleyball spike training session at night that left me all achy and sore. Who knew you could grow muscles around your shoulders like that??

Monday morning was absolute agony for me. Everything hurt. And it made it worse that I had to get up at 5am to take my parents to the airport in the freezing cold!!! After dropping them off, I quickly drove up and hopped back into bed. I refused to get up until after 12. It was then I dragged my half beaten up body out of bed. And again, more Ugly Betty and then grocery shopping. The one thing I love about my parents being away is that I can cook what I want, when I want. And to start off, I decided on a nice healthy and hearty breakfast:

Seriously! It is healthy! No butter on toast, practically no oil when cooking the eggs. I used leftover bacon that was sitting in the fridge, and most of it had all the fat trimmed off (Except for that one evil tempting piece at the bottom)

Expect a lot more home cooking photos!

The start of the eating spree

After getting rudely woken up at 9am with a hangover, I managed to pack my bags for a night out with the girls and headed into the city. After dumping everything at the hotel, we caught a cab to my favourite Jap restaurant Don Dons. (I'm not giving the address as its crowded enough and I don't want the prices to go up!!) All of my friends who have been to Don Don's absolutely love their udon noodle soup. Whenever you order a meal, they generally give you a piece of sushi, or a small bowl of udon noodle soup. We always swap the sushi for their udon. ALWAYS.

Entree udon noodle soup - the best you will ever have. I guarantee it.

After their udon noodle soup, their seaweed udon salad will have to come a close second. This is a must have in Summer, and a must have most of winter as well.

Seaweed udon salad

After completely stuffing ourselves, MnMs had to meet up with some friends to go to the Human Body exhibition. As I knew I'd be nursing a hangover, I decided to skip that and go to the Paddington Markets with Cookies instead. After a lot of impulse buys, we decided it was time for some cookie ice cream sandwiches!

Mochaccino - Chocolate cookies with espresso ice cream

Chocolate cookies with strawberry ice cream

God these were so good! And such a great way to celebrate our impulse buys! We really wanted their strawberry shortcake version, but they were all sold out. Oh wells, we both had bags of chocolate coated coffee beans (Creme brulee and mint flavours) and that should tide us over til dinner time.

We caught a bus back to the city, and stopped by World Square to pick up some snacks and ice cream for the night. After we got back to the hotel, we freshed up and decided to take a nap whilst waiting for MnMs to show up again. It was this time, when the both of us were in bed together, that house keeping decided to burst in. God this looked really REALLY bad. I swear there were no wandering hands under the covers!!!

When MnMs finally showed up, we did some DVD shopping before going to our favourite Spanish Restaurant, Encasa. Ever since we took MnMs here, this has become a "must visit" place. We decided to forgo the paella, and focus on the tapas. I think we got a bit greedy...

Octopus marinated in Lime

Spinach and pine nut omelette

King prawns in a saffron tomato sauce

Bread rolls to mop up the sauce

Fried potatoes with spicy salsa and garlic mayo

Chorizo fried in a herb butter

Garlic mushrooms

We were soooooooo full by the end of the meal! I wanted a lot more bread rolls to mop up all the delicious sauce, but I felt like my stomach was going to split open! But the food was so good!! I think the jug of sangria really pushed us over the edge though.

Because we were so full, and MnMs was so trashed, we decided to take a walk around the city and ended up at Darling Harbour. It was inside the shopping centre that we spent an entire hour in the shoe store because some people can't decide what shoes to buy! We actually got locked into the store because someone also insisted on fixing the shoes and rearranging their shelves!!!

After walking off all the food, we headed back to the hotel room and thats when the snacks and shot glasses came out:

Cowboy shots!

Lets just say we had a very interesting night. Lots of gossiping, LOTS of laughing, and there was an incident that involved ice cream and a window. We finally crashed into bed after 1am.