Bicicletta

*UPDATE: Bicicletta is back in business!

Sorry for the lack of post, but i am currently overseas and not having much time to update my blog. Sorry guys! Here is a quick post of one of the cafes that i visited before i departed to Hong Kong. 

Bicicletta (Unit 1/15 Edingburgh Ave, Acton (02) 6262 8683) is one of the latest additions to the chic and modern NewActon precinct. I was there for an early Saturday breakfast and had good feelings about it after checking their website and knowing where they were located. Bicicletta is a nicely decorated Italian cafe with both indoor or outdoor options. We sat outdoors so that we could enjoy a nice view of the precinct while having our breakfast.

We ordered Big Bicicletta Breakfast which had a choice of fried or scrambled eggs (we chose the latter) served with Italian sausage, bacon, mushrooms, sauteed spinach, roast tomato and asparagus; we also ordered Salmone which had smoked salmon served with fresh goats’ cheese, avocado puree and homemade pan brioche. Ohn, and we got an affogato too!

The service was alright and we were served the affogato not long after we have ordered. I am no expert in coffee but i didn't really like the so-called Bicicletta blend. It tasted bitter and sour at the same time - not exactly what i was expecting.

The breakfast dishes, however, took a while to come to our table. Both dishes tasted alright but wasn't impressed by the fact that most elements were already cold by the time we got them - especially the eggs and sausages. Big bicicletta breakfast was alright (apart from being cold-ish) and the asparagus and the spinach were my favorites.

 

I liked the Salmone more than the big breakfast and it was alright to have it cold. Most elements blended quite well together; the subtle sweetness from the brioche with the saltiness from the smoked salmon and the sourness from the capers. For me, a hint of goat's cheese was enough to complement the other elements.

In general, Bicicletta is a nice and relaxing place to go for breakfast. The waiter had a cool (perhaps) Italian accent and he was quite friendly too. The only negatives for me were the taste of the affogato and the issue with the big breakfast being served cold. Apart from that, not a bad cafe.

Baby Elsie's Dedication Cake

A few weeks ago, J and I decided to make a baby dedication cake for one of our friend who had just had a baby girl recently. We started throwing some ideas around and we finally decided to make a chocolate mud cake covered with pink and white fondant topped with a few baby-related decorations. I was originally planning to make a fondant bear but since this year is the year of rabbit, i ended up making a pink rabbit.

Having had experience making a 21st fondant cake last year, we knew that this one would be a lot easier because we were just going to make a one-tier cake - so no spending countless hours ganaching gazillion of cupcakes and covering them one by one (don't get me wrong, it was fun but just time consuming).

J made the mud cake in the morning so that by the time I finished work we could ganache and decorate it. I made the pink rabbit the night before just to make sure it had enough time to dry and harden. The most fun part was making the decorations and putting them together on the cake. Believe it or not, the pacifier was the trickiest decoration to make despite it being the smallest of them all =P

We were quite satisfied with the final product (although there are plenty of areas to improve in) and glad that the parents liked it too. Enjoy the photos =)

Pelagic Bar & Dining

Decided to have lunch at Pelagic Bar & Dining (Shop 2, 131 London Circuit, Civic (02) 6162 0752) and try their special lunch menu for $15 which has options of pasta, risotto and fish. We both decided to get fish as seafood is their specialty and they get it fresh everyday. Pelagic Bar & Dining has a simple and contemporary ambience with a cool feature wall fully decorated with fish. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable which is always nice when you can't decide on what to order. 

I can't recall each dish's exact names but this is what we ordered: Crispy Snapper with salsa vinaigrette and Char-grilled salmon, asparagus and salsa verde. Both fish were cooked quite nicely but i particularly liked the crispy snapper as the salmon was a bit salty for my liking. Fortunately the salsa verde helped to neutralize the saltiness from the salmon and the arparagus were superb! Our mains were accompanied by Mixed leaves salad with balsamic dressing which was ordinary.

Crispy Snapper with Salsa Vinaigrette

Char-grilled salmon, asparagus and salsa verde

Mixed leaves with balsamic dressing

After having our mains we ordered a Strawberry Festival to share. It's a dessert that presents strawberries in seven different ways; the dish contained strawberry bavarois, strawberry sorbet, strawberry granita, fresh strawberries, dried strawberries, strawberry chips and a strawberry dust to finish off the presentation. Although it was all strawberries, there was a nice balance of sweetness and sourness in the dish. It not only looked pretty (in shades of pink and red) but it tasted delicious too, definitely the highlight of our lunch! *recommended

Lunch was satisfying and the lunch specials were quite good. The highlight was definitely the Strawberry Festival dessert which i don't mind going back for. Their a la carte menu looks nice too, so i might give it a go sometime! 

Debacle for breakfast

It was a nice and sunny day when we headed to Debacle (30 Lonsdale Street, Braddon (02) 6247 1314) for an early breakfast. Its decor is simple and rustic which makes the place quite cosy and laid back; the atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming which makes you want to come back. I guess it is also a very popular place amongst families with kids as i've never seen so many kids/toddlers in a cafe. They, too, seemed to be enjoying the food as much as the adults did.

On this particular occasion, we decided to order a Debacle Recovery Breakfast (Fried eggs on toasted sour dough, grilled tomato, baked beans, bacon, potato rosti, sausage, sauteed mushroom and a choice of coffee & tea) and Housemade Crepes with Braised Strawberry & Double Cream.

Debacle Recovery Breakfast was quite filling and the mushrooms in it were very juicy and delicious! I also liked the potato rosti which was quite different from what i expected; it looked more like an arancini and it went well with the saltiness from the bacon.



It's always nice to finish the breakfast on the sweet side and the crepes did not disappoint. The crepes were light and fluffy but not too sweet, which complemented well with the braised strawberries. The double cream, on the other hand, was a bit too heavy for my liking so i decided to not have it with the crepes.

The breakfast at Debacle's was good and satisfying and the crepes were my favourite. Their Smoked Salmon Rosti seemed to be a very popular dish and i might give that a try next time.

Dickson Asian Noodle House

Sorry guys for the lack of posts! I was busy finishing an article about Canberra for Tiger Airways! >.<"
Anyways, i am back!
**
I haven't been to Asian Noodle House (4/19-29 Woolley Street, Dickson (02) 6262 5903) for a long long time and as far as i remember, my last meal there wasn't that great. Past aside, i decided to give it another go after hearing a few good comments about it and seeing its high rating on Urbanspoon. 'Maybe they have really improved afterall' - i thought to myself. 

The restaurant hasn't changed much, the same dark square tables and plain walls with minimal decor. We went there for lunch and ordered a Duck Laksa and a Hainan Chicken Rice. I must say that the laksa was not bad. The soup was very tasty but i just wasn't really happy with the random artificial-looking chunks of duck inside of the soup. At least at Streets of Asia, you get a nice chopped up roast duck drumstick.

Then there was the Hainan Chicken Rice. At first sight i went 'Wow, the portion is quite generous". Second glance i thought to myself "O-kay, it looks dry". The disappointing thing with this Hainan Chicken was that it had no skin nor bones, it felt dry and they just looked like pieces of chicken that are put in noodle soups. I was quite disappointed with the dish and it was quite painful to finish the whole plate of dry chicken pieces, although the sauce did help in a way.

Overall, lunch was not all that satisfying. The laksa was okay but not the Hainan Chicken Rice. I gave it a second chance and sorry to say this, but i won't be coming back anytime soon.