talk&spoon

Lindt Chocolate Creation Launch - Lindt Chocolate Cafe, Sydney

A few weeks ago MDY and I braved the wind and cold for a special evening at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place. The event was the launch of Lindt’s Creation Blocks - you may already be familiar with the Creation Dessert pralines but now they have turned four of the delicious flavours into blocks: Sumptuous Dark Orange, Heavenly Crème Brûlée, Divine Hazelnut and Velvety Vanilla Almond. Dangerously, they come in a rather manageable 100g size, easily devoured in one sitting (as pointed out by Master Chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler!).

The night was highly informative - Master Chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler explained the chocolate making process, with all of us curiously touching, poking, looking at and tasting the ‘chocolate’ at different stages of production (cocoa butter really doesn’t taste as nice as it sounds). He also let us in on a few secrets of the Lindt chocolate making process, what makes them different and what gives Lindt chocolate its signature silky texture. Did you know that the Lindt Chocolate headquarters in Lake Zurich, Switzerland have been in the same building ever since 1899?! Also found out that on average, Australians consume around 7kg of chocolate a year, while the Swiss (of course) consume a whopping 12kg a year. 

After a tasting of each of the four new flavours, we all crowded around to see a demonstration of how to make the Velvety Vanilla Almond chocolate block. Milk chocolate is poured into the moulds first, followed by the vanilla almond mixture, then topped with another layer of milk chocolate to make the base. Then freeze it for a bit, and voila! You have delicious chocolatey goodness. 

After the demonstration we were given free reign of the store - including unlimited samples from the milk and dark chocolate fountain…way too dangerous! I managed to pull myself away to grab a goodie bag, only to go home to enjoy more exquisite chocolate. 

Lindt Chocolate Cafe - Martin Place
53 Martin Place
Sydney 2000
http://www.lindt.com.au/swf/eng/cafe/

talk&spoon attended as a guest of Lindt Chocolate cafe, with thanks to The Trish Nicol Agency. 

Suspension Espresso - Newcastle, NSW

As we roadtripped up north we came across Baked Uprising’s instagram - how convenient, since we needed some good cafe and food recommendations in the area! Her instagram feed led us to Suspension Coffee, which turned out to be exactly the type of chilled place we needed post-music festival. We sat outside in the courtyard, surrounded by eclectic, mis-matched furniture and trees.

• What we ate:

Too tired to be adventurous with our food, we all settled for breakfast-staples. AKB and I both went for the Muesli with yogurt and poached pear (+ a side of milk!) and it was so tasty and satisfying that a miraculous thing happened: I managed to finish my meal! If you are also someone of small stature and small stomach size, I hope you can sympathise with me in my victory.

B made the right choice in choosing the Toasted bagel with whipped cinnamon butter - who can resist that combination! And G - ever hungry - went for the Big Breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, toast, ham, tomato and avocado.

I highly recommend Suspension Coffe for a slow morning breakfast with a chilled vibe. Will definitely be back when I’m in the area again!

Suspension Espresso
3 Beaumont Street,
Islington, NSW 2296
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suspension-Espresso/112655065447242?fref=ts

Favourite Chair Cafe - Maitland, NSW

Pre-festival breakfasts are necessarily large and hearty. So on a Saturday morning in the surprisingly quiet town of Maitland we headed to Favourite Chair cafe (also a book store!) and sat under dappled shade in the courtyard overlooking the river. What a beautiful, relaxing way to start the day!

• What we ate:

Coffees and chais all round to begin with, and to give us fuel while we waited for our meals. G went for the Homemade baked beans, which came with a side of avocado on toast. Very hearty to sustain him throughout the day (although copious amounts of gozleme were still consumed post-breakfast/throughout the day…). B went for the never-fail avocado on toast - notice the little condiments of olive oil, salt and lemon! How thoughtful. AKB couldn’t resist the French toast, which came beautifully presented with some maple syrup and berries. The tiny teacup for the berries is just too cute. I was intrigued by the Green Eggs and Ham - turns out they mix pesto into the eggs to get that green tinge! And who can say no to a croissant for breakfast. 

We enjoyed our time at Favourite Chair Cafe so much that another round of coffees and chais were ordered before we could pull ourselves away to the festival. This place is a must if you’re ever in Maitland!

Favourite Chair Cafe
344 High Street Heritage Mall
Maitland, NSW
http://www.facebook.com/favouritechaircafe

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The Boathouse - Palm Beach, NSW

What was meant to be a short weekend trip to a music festival turned into more of a culinary expedition and our first stop was The Boathouse at Palm Beach. We had all heard much about it but never been - so anticipation was high! It is beautifully located on the water, inside Governor Phillip Park, about an hour drive north of Sydney. As expected, there was a bit of a queue to order, but then it took even longer to get a nice table outside and for our food to actually arrive. There was a bit of h-anger happening by the end of it, so I do recommend going during the week if you can! (We went on a Friday). 

• What we ate:

The seafood is really the main attraction here - both Britton sisters made the excellent choice of having the Local beer battered flathead with house made tartare and fresh lemon ($28). Funnily enough it arrived in a dim sum basket! The portion was generous, and the fish and tartare impeccably fresh. G decided on the Steak sandwich with grilled haloumi, fresh tomato, mixed leaves and chips ($24) - give the guy some food! - which, I hear, was deeply satisfying. I had my heart set on the Salt & Pepper Squid but alas, they had run out by the time we ordered. Sad face, but definitely trying it next time. I had the kingfish, interestingly paired with dried chickpeas and watermelon, as well as some mint. Fresh, refreshing and enjoyable. 

I really recommend the Boathouse as a day-trip from Sydney or the Central Coast. It’s so beautiful, especially on a perfect blue sky day like the one we had. We could have sat there the entire afternoon, lapping up the view and listening to the gentle waves! 

[Oh and don’t forget to pick up some yummy ice blocks on your way out!]

The Boathouse
Barrenjoey Boathouse, Governor Phillip Park
Palm Beach, NSW 2108
http://www.theboathousepb.com.au/