Carob Bliss Ball

Another purchase from the Go Vita 'health' foods store, I had seen these many times before but never found it attracted me so had not bothered trying it. What got me to buy it this time round I do not know. Perhaps it was the envelopment of coconut, which I am quite a sucker for, or just simply because I have a thing for trying anything at least once. Whatever the reason, this golf-ball sized round of dates, carob, coconut and all sorts of other things was, like all other vegetarian sweets it appears to me these days, tooth-achingly sweet. It tasted rather nice, so I guess it's like baklava in a way - yummy but too sweet - one is enough thank you very much. I should probably just stop buying vegan/veggie/gluten-free products, but then kicks in the never-tried-must-try disease...

Pancakes revisited

Trip number two to Pancakes on the Rocks, except this one was actually at Darling Harbour. The shop was smaller than the one at the Rocks, yet emptier. The menu is exactly the same, but perhaps for the fact that they have less customers, or because the shop is still new, the waitresses are uncomparably friendlier than the original. A group of girls gathered for this trip, so we got to share a variety of flavours. Trying the chocolate pancakes for the first time, I must say that I much prefer the buttermilk ones. They're not bad, but just simply too heavy. A bite or two of it is quite enough I think. Yet to be tried are the savoury pancakes, so hopefully I shall get a chance to return for those.

rhubarb, orange and toffee-ed almond cake?

What is it with all these supposedly good-for-you companies selling overly sugar-laden food? This cake, bought from Macro Cafe, a cafe promoting macrobiotic eating and carefully labelling their food with symbols connoting gluten free etc., was, like the almond cake I had the other day, stupidly sweet. I mean, it's a cake, so it's supposed to be sweet I know, but not to this extent. For one there was hardly any rhubarb in it, and only once did I get a hint of citrus-ey taste. The generous topping of almonds which originally attracted me to this cake was not caramelized like the word 'toffee' suggests, but just coated in schtickey sugar. I was originally intending to return for their buckwheat and coconut hotcakes, but I'm not so sure anymore...

Blueberry Muffin

Not the most artistic of all food photography, but I just wanted to show how macho it was. Big, Solid, and Chunky, this muffin was bought from Corelli's Cafe in Newtown. They bake all their cakes themselves, a rarity it seems in most Newtown cafes. Containing blueberries, blackberries and strings of coconuts, this muffin was okay: not so macho in flavour as its looks. It's more like a blueberry bread baked in a deep muffin tray. Hence the muffin top is more chewy rather than the crumbly texture you get with an ideal muffin (or at least my idea of a muffin). As if I wasn't picky enough when it comes to sweet things, I am even more picky when it comes to muffins... and so my hunt shall continue.

almond cake

A purchase from a chain of Go Vita health stores, this is a vanilla and raspberry flavoured almond cake. The texture of the cake was very much to my liking; solid and biscuity. The flavour however, was not as impressive. For one it was way too sweet, even with the icing on top scraped off. For something sold in a store promoting health, the sugar level in this cake was waaay over the top. I guess they sell it soley for the reason that it's gluten-free. It would have been nice if the raspberry had added a bit of tart contrast to the sweetness but it didn't appear to add any flavour to the cake at all. Just a bit of pink colour. At least it looks cute?

Poppyseed Biscuit

And on with my nuts and seed obsession. This is yet another buy from Bondi Road, from another bakery which I cannot recall the name of. Something to do with bagels though, I think. Tastewise, it's rather unsophisticated, down-to-earth, almost cheap. But it's okay because that's sort of what I was hoping for. Like those random cravings for awful preservative packed childhood snacks that taste bad but bring you happiness, cookies like these make me feel somewhat nostalgic, regardless of the fact that I probably had not tried poppyseed until my teen years. You know what I mean.

walnut biscuit

Walnut Biscuit bought from Bella Ciao Cafe on Thomas street, and nothing to go crazy over. The filling did not taste enough or have enough of walnuts, and a citrusy flavour seemed more dominant. The biscuit bit wrapping the walnut filling was alright. Pleasantly crumbly and not overwhelmingly buttery. I do wonder what these sorts of biscuits are called though. It's definitely Italian as I found it among other Italian biscuits, but it's clearly not a biscotti, so what is it?