Cassie Cakes Goes to Eat Street

On your marks, get set...EAT!

I must be the worst food blogger in the world because it took me a year and half to get to Eat Street. There's a market which is solely about food and it took me that long to get there? Fail, Cassie Cakes. FAIL. But don't worry. I made up for it. My favourite foodie friend and I made plans to go and for the week leading up, we stalked Eat Streets Facebook, drooling over the photos and planning our attack.

Best chips in the universe, hey...



Look at dem chips. Nice hand modelling too!

The day arrived and we excitedly made our way there, arriving at about 5pm. We paid the $2 entry fee and we were in. We had our game plan, check out every stall first then tactically buy. Every stall was one temptation after another so we decided to buy some chips from Phunky Dory first. We of course knew all about Phunky Dory and their claim that they have the best chips in the universe. And they were very, very good. We smashed them. The chips were $6 for a decent serve.

Mmmm potato.



That guy is not impressing with my photo taking.

Now we had something in our bellies, we made it a little further around before being snagged by the Potato Slinky. Which is basically just hot chips on a stick. What can I say, I'm a sucker for some fried potato. The slinky ($5) was crisp and hot and since we're pros at the old fried potato, we asked for extra chicken salt. It was delicious.

The awesomely named, Samurai Chicken.

Drool.

After we ate the delicious slinky on a stick, we needed something besides potato. We both have a love for the Japanese version of KFC: Karaage. So we couldn't go past a serve of karaage from Samurai Chicken, which was $8 for regular size. The chicken was plump and the batter crispy. With a drizzle of lemon on top and a touch of mayo, I was in heaven.


Lovely Phil and his dumplings. Wait...hmmmm.



Get a load of this laksa. Good work, Phil, you legend.

By now we'd have just about enough of deep fried delicousness. We were on the hunt for laksa. We'd seen Phil's Dumpling Envy on the Eat Street facebook and the duck laksa was on our must have list. I was so excited when we spotted Phil and his stall. We ordered regular size for $15. Phil himself made it and he was so kind, he gave us an extra container so we could split it along with a bit extra soup. That's great service. And it was great laksa. The duck wasn't fatty as it can be some times and the soup was flavourful and authentic tasting. I could have done with it being a bit hotter but there was plenty of chilli available for me to up to heat to my insane liking.

The live music created a great atmosphere. 

Then the worst happened. We hit a food wall. We had grand plans for the okonomiyaki from a stall across the way as we'd heard great things but we simply couldn't do it. But as everyone knows, there's a second stomach for dessert.


Filled churros OMG! Exactly.



Check out the size of these things! I totally understand the feelings of the cartoon girl behind the churros, too.

We backtracked and ordered two Mars Bar filled churros from Cheery Churros. Yes, you read that right...Mars Bar filled churros! They were two for $7 and huge. Hot, fresh and covered in delicious cinnamon sugar, what more could two delighted foodies want? Ice cream, that's what.

Oh ice cream. I always come back to you.

We hot footed it to Byron Bay Gelati and ordered two scoops for $6.50. I can't tell you hot good a hot churro dipped in cookies and cream ice cream tastes. My only suggestion to Eat Street is put these two guys next door to each other! They'll make a killing.


Shut. The. Front. Door.

We truly were in the third trimester of food babies then. We took a walk around the markets to let the food settle. The markets are really busy but there are staff walking around keeping it lovely and clean. And while I'm not sure all 35 kilos of Puppy Cakes would be welcome, I did see a few lovely doggies around.

The view from the viewing platform.

There was also musical acts dotted around, entertaining people as they ate, lots of bars as well as a viewing platform to take it all in from.


The nice, open green space.

Behind the viewing platform was a lovely open green space, bordered by twinkling fairy lights that made it really enchanting. A picnic blanket and some knee rugs for the cooler weather would make it the nicest area to have picnic and let the kids run around.

Cronut heaven.

Before we left, I had to get a treat for Mr. Cakes so we lined up and grabbed some cronuts to take home from Chocolate Komberry Co. I got him a Tim Tam cronut with a Nutella injection for $10. He said it was the best cronut he's had! This was only his second one but still!


The Nutella injection took it to the next level.

We had such a great time at Eat Street and I can't wait to take Mr. Cakes. Next time, I think we'll take public transport over - the ferry terminal is nice and close - and have a few drinks.
 

REVIEW: Wagaya

Up the stairs to Japanese food pleasuretown!

I remember when Wagaya first opened in Chinatown in the valley, about 4 years ago now, I must have visited about 5 or 6 times. I love Japanese food and Wagaya had me tickled pink with their touch screen ordering system. Since then though, I haven't been back for a year or two so it was high time I revisited.

The booths give a great feel of your own private dining space

Initially, I was going to bring Mr Cakes with me as Wagaya is all dark and fairly private, I thought we could have a little date but on further consideration, I uninvited him and bought my other favourite man with me instead. Don't worry, he was cool with it.


Tree in the restaurant like it's no big deal



As I said, Wagaya is dark and atmospheric with little booths that could hold up to 6 with private dining spaces at the back for larger groups, which are so cool with their sunken tables and authentic Japanese zataku low tables. They also have really fun karaoke rooms! Wagaya is private enough for a nice date but it's also lively enough for a group of friends to visit before a gig out in the valley. And it's BYO wine, so that's another awesome point.


The touch screens! So fun! So dangerous...



My friend had never been to Wagaya before so I was really excited for him to use the touch screens, they're so much fun to use but you do need to be careful as you can accidentally order a lot of food. It's so much fun to press those buttons!


The crunchy chicken cutlet roll. Man...I could eat those crispy bits by the bowlful.





Styled myself up a little plate. #Foodstylist



We started off with my favourite sushi roll, the Chicken Cutlet Crunch roll, which was $10 for 6 pieces. You can choose 3 or 6 pieces for all of the sushi rolls, we went with 6 cos we're awesome. I adore the chicken crunch roll, it is so delicious with a nice crumbed chicken cutlet and avocado, topped with deep fried panko breadcrumbs on top. We both really loved it.


Salty soybeans sitting in a saucer. Check those alliteration skillz.



Next up we ordered the classic Edamame ($5.80). The portion size was really good and kept us going through our entire visit. The first few on top weren't that salty, and for a salt fiend like me, that matters but I found the salty goodness a few beans in.


STAHP! You're killing me! Look at that crispiness!



I'm a sucker for karaage, which is deep fried bits of chicken thigh. The Spicy Chicken Karaage ($8.80) is a karaage lovers must. It came out and my eyes got wide. It was crispy and had a sweetness to it that is just so my kind of thing. Some people may find it a little fatty, but I actually love a bit of fat. I'll eat the fat right off your steak. So for me, this was heaven. Like...really good. I could go some now...


My friend, my confidant, my lover, my wings.



It will not come as a surprise to you then that my all time favourite dish from Wagaya is the Spicy Fried Chicken Wings ($7.10). I have not visited here once and not gotten these wings. They're crispy and juicy and delicious. I can't detect any heat in them though, but I eat my chilli very hot so I might be a bit immune. Either way, if you're a wing lover, get them. If you're not, get them. They'll convert you.


Oh little red things, what are you?



Food styling. #shouldhavegotacleanplate

Then we ordered the Tuna Avocado Roll, $12.50 for 6 pieces. This roll was so good, the tuna inside was just seared on the outside so it was nice, raw and plump on the inside. It was so fresh and good, that it might just knock my beloved crispy chicken wings off the No. 1 dish perch. I really liked the spring rolls on top too, they paired well with the tuna. There were some red things on top, which looked like saffron but couldn't have possibly been at that price so if you know what they are, please tell me. We were curious as what they were.

Go away, duck. Stop ruining the good food run. Oh I see you in the corner there, wing. Don't think I'm not coming back for you.

Things were getting to the pointy end now...or the fat belly end, as we both were pretty full. But we soldiered on because as I said before, we're awesome. And we did it for you. We both love duck so we decided to try the Seared Roast Duck ($10.50). Unfortunately, we found the chink in Wagayas amazing food armour that we weren't looking for. Given the name, we thought it would be a hot dish and in fact, I think we found it in the Grilled Dishes section of the menu but what came out was cold duck with a lot of ginger on it. Neither of us was a fan. Would give it a miss next time.


The desserts. Alright.



We rounded off the night with two desserts, the Green Tea Cheesecake with Green Tea Ice Cream and Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, both $7.50 each. The chocolate cake was okay, it wasn't amazing. It would have benefitted from being served hot, I think but as it was, it was still okay. I thought the green tea cheesecake was the better of the two desserts but it still didn't blow me away. It wasn't very cheesecakey , it reminded us both of a shortbread biscuit. I liked it, but maybe they should call it something else - Green Tea Shortbread Cheesecake Kinda Thing.


The smoky hot grill.



We were both really impressed with how quickly food came out and the service we received. The wait staff were friendly and efficient. It makes it the perfect venue for a quick lunch or before a show as everything comes out quickly and as it's ready.


Hey tree.



Overall, we had a fabulous time at Wagaya. I'd recommend sticking to their strengths, which was almost everything. I would recommend skipping dessert and just getting more delicious sushi or chicken wings. It's a really fun place and I'm glad I had the chance to revisit, I won't be leaving it too long til next time!

Disclaimer: Cassie Cakes was an invited guest of Wagaya. Opinions are my own and the above review is an honest account of my experience.

REVIEW: Brown Dog Cafe



You go get that salted caramel milkshake, Max.

When plans to exercise fall through, it is always best to console yourself with a delicious breakfast. The mid-morning breakfast club, formally known as the early morning yoga club, met at Brown Dog Café in Woolloongabba. Brown Dog Café had been on my list for a little while as I had heard it was a dog friendly place and planned to bring Puppy Cakes, once the weather was cool. But I was happy to go their for a preview.

Nice selection of baked goods.

Brown Dog Café sits on a sun drenched corner, just outside the main café drag of the Logan Road cul-de-sac. It's popular with bicyclers, who come resplendent in their too tight lycra, sharing more about their downstairs mix-ups than I care to see. But don't let that put you off, it's easy to escape the bait shop inside.


Stay cool, indeed. I see you up there, Bud.

Inside is small and very warm, a fact which I'm sure the staff would agree with but stick with me here cos Brown Dog is about to blow my mind. The menu is small as is the kitchen but it's better to do a few things well than a lot of things sucky. Also there are a selection of sandwiches and slices in the cabinet. For drinks, we ordered a Pineapple and Mint Frappe ($7.50) and a Salted Caramel Milkshake ($7.50).

Max! Leave that dog alone!

The pineapple and mint frappe with tangy and fresh, perfect for a warm morning cool down. But here's where things get interesting. Remember 5 sentences ago when I said Brown Dog Café was about to blow my mind? Well here's what they, specifically the milkshake master named Jay, did...

He made me...


See all that ice cream, visible and delicious? Take note, milkshake makers!

...the BEST milkshake EVER. Since starting this blog, I have ordered a milkshake wherever I can and you know, they're always pretty good, cos milk and ice cream is pretty good but Brown Dog Café took it to the next level. Thick? Tick! Ice cream-y? Tick! Sweet but not cloying? Tick! Flavourful? Tick! The best milkshake this side of Pashen Street? Ti-freaking-ck! In fact, I have decided to start a ranking of the best milkshakes I've had and Brown Dog is going right on top. Check out my ranking here.

The Dogs Breakfast...lucky dog.

From there my hopes were pretty high for the meals. First up, we ordered the Dog's Breakfast ($13)which comes with haloumi, avocado, lemon, spinach, tomato and toast, but my dining companion swapped out the toast and tomato for ham instead. The modified meal looked incredibly appealing and would make any haloumi lover happy. There was a good amount of avocado. Personally, I would have wanted some toast but no carbs before marbs and all that. The diner did say it was a little salty but given the combo of both ham and haloumi, she accepted that might be expected. Am I rhyming?

Scrambled eggs. Dang that buttery toast looks good.

Next up was the Free Range Scrambled Eggs on Toast ($9) which did exactly what it said on the box. The eggs were fluffy and the toast was toast! This was a straight up, simple dish and for $9, I think it looked pretty good. When pushed, the consumer said she thought it would have been nice to have some "green stuff" on the plate but we all agreed that it didn't say that on the menu so there wasn't anything to complain about.

Yummy avo on toast!

I ordered the Avocado and Lemon on Turkish Toast for $9. Again, it was straight forward and simple. And delicious! I would like to know where they got their avocados from as the were so creamy and unblemished by any dark spots. The toast was nice, crisp and buttery. It was a nice size too and I was very satisfied.


Will you look at that sky! Gorgeous, Brisbane!

For the quality, simple fare, I'm a big fan of Brown Dog Café. The endearing Jay and his milkshake prowess are reason enough to visit. Puppy Cakes and I will have to come and visit together soon!

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5

Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia IceCream

 

Seriously, YAY for Christmas!

I love Christmas. It's my favourite time of the year. I think I can thank my mum for that. I love the building anticipation of the season, the parties, the gifts - both giving and receiving - and of course...the food! I have a little tradition in my house which I call 'Four Weeks of Christmas Baking'. Which is just what it sounds like, four Christmas bakes for each week of December. I've done it every year for the past few years but this is the first year I'll be able to share it on my blog! Cos this is the first year I've had a blog...that's how time works.

Perfection.

I'm really proud of this one, I drew inspiration from the Australian summer and decided to use one of my favourite fruits - the magnificent cherry! Who doesn't like cherries? Crazy people, that's who. You know I'm talking to you. You crazy. But for the rest of us sane people, summer and Christmas in Australia is big, shiny bowls of cherries. They're so festive and look just like Christmas tree ornaments. I bet you actually could decorate a Christmas tree with just cherries! It would look beautiful!
 

The star of the show, front and centre.

This Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream is the perfect dessert to take to a family get together. It may be a little time consuming, what with needing to pit 750g of cherries but it's not difficult to bring together.
 

The wonderful task of rubbing in the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the cool butter into the flour.

 

This is what they mean when they say it should look like breadcrumbs. Doesn't really look like breadcrumbs in my opinion, but I suppose you can see it at a stretch.

For the shell, I used the old reliable shortcrust pastry I use for all my pies and tarts. I also added a generous dash of cinnamon. Because we all know, cinnamon = Christmas! On a side note, I've spent the last few months looking for a really good Christmas candle and I have to tell you, the cinnamon Christmas Bliss candle from Sunny and Fair is amazing! Anyway, the pastry is a wonderfully short pasty, meaning its very buttery and crumbly. The cinnamon is subtle but really goes well with the filling and gives it a festive lift.
 

Fancy photo collage. I've gone all pro.

I love the feeling of rubbing the butter into the flour. It's fun to use your hands and get a bit messy! This is a rich shortcrust so there are also egg yolks in this pastry.

It's always fun to use cookie cutters!

With the leftover pastry, I made little stars to sit atop the cherries. Because I wanted to keep the cherries plump and fresh, to really take advantage of the season, I baked them separately then placed them on top.

Before the cherries go on...

And after! This is with the glaze too. It's really pretty just like this!

With a lot of cherry tarts, it seems to be the done thing to put an almond filling underneath the cherries but I wanted to give this a modern twist so I decided to put a layer of slightly sweetened mascarpone underneath. The tartness of the cherries matches perfectly with the creamy mascarpone.
 

Roughly chopping the yummy roasted macadamias...make sure you roast a few extra to eat on their own!

Such a good way to tart up some store bought ice cream! See what I did there? Tart it up? And we're making a tart? Ahhh classic.

Another trick I gave the tart was a layer of jam on the bottom of the pastry case. I didn't quite know if it would add anything to it or if it would in fact take away from the fresh cherries but I'm really glad I tried it as it does add another dimension to the flavours.

Ta da! So pretty.

In my mind when I was dreaming this tart up, I was thinking of the wonderfully shiny fruit tarts you see in the windows of bakeries. A glaze made of the aforementioned jam with a little hot water and lemon juice will give the tart a lovely shine. With this shine, this tart is ready to be your table centrepiece.
 

See the jam on the bottom there?

The ice cream sends the cherry tart to another level. It's like going from the week before Christmas to smack bang right in the middle of the big day with Santa Claus scooping big mounds of this amazing ice cream right on top of your slice of cherry tart.
 

Perfect combo.

Altogether these elements make the perfect cherry tart for Christmas day or any other day when you can get your hands on some lovely cherries! Please join me in my Four Weeks of Baking, I'd love to see what you come up with or if you give one my recipe a go, make sure you share it with me on Instagram or Facebook!

And now the photos...

Delicious!

Delightful Tart!

Like my styling? Yeah boi!

Yummy.

Have a look at the weeks of Christmas Baking:

Week 2 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Rum Ball Trifle
Week 4 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Eggnog Cake

Christmas Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream

Prep time: 40 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Total time:  1 hr 15 mins plus freezing time for ice cream

 

Servings: 12

 
Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
1 litre good quality vanilla ice cream
150g raw macadamias
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup honey
60g butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
120g butter, cold and chopped roughly

2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons caster sugar, plus extra
2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus extra
Cold water to mix
Filling
4 tablespoons strawberry jam
375g mascarpone
3 tablespoons icing sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons hot water
 
Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Take ice cream out of freezer and put in fridge to soften.
3. Place the macadamias in a single layer on a lined tray and place in preheated oven.
4. Bake until golden, 5 - 10 mins. Keep a close eye on the macadamias as they have a high fat content and they will brown very quickly.
5. Remove from oven to cool.
6. Combine the caster sugar, honey, butter and cinnamon in a small saucepan and gently simmer on low to medium heat for 5 mins
7. Pour the honey mix over the nuts and stir to combine.
8. Keep turning nuts over in mix as they cool. Glaze will stick better to nuts as it cools.
9. Allow to completely cool then chop roughly.
10. Place into a large bowl then add ice cream and combine well.
11. Return to freezer to re-set.

 Pastry and Stars

1. Sift flour into a bowl then add butter and use your fingertips to 'rub' the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon then make a well in the centre.
3. Add the egg yolks into the well and pull the flour in. Once the egg yolks are mixed, knead gently. Add cold water as required to get the pastry to bond, around 2-3 tablespoons.
4. The pastry is done when it will roll into a ball and hold. It will be crumbly and stiff.
5. Roll into a ball and place into the fridge for 10 minutes to rest.
6. Roll the pastry out with a rolling pin to fit a 25cm loose bottom tart tin.
7. Using the rolling pin to lift the pasty, place over the tin and use off cuts to cover the bottom and sides.
8. Blind bake the pastry (place a piece of baking paper onto the pastry and weigh down with baking beans or dried split peas or rice) for 20 mins or until lightly golden then allow to cool slightly.
9. Meanwhile, re-roll out the rest of pastry and cut out stars using a cookie cutter, around 13 - 15 and place on a lined tray.
10. Sprinkle  generously with extra caster sugar and cinnamon then refrigerate until the case has baked.
11. Bake stars for 10 mins or until edges are lightly golden.

 Cherry filling

1. While pastry case is still warm, spread 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam onto the base of the case.
2. Combine the mascarpone and icing sugar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and mix until combined then set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining jam with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the hot water and gently simmer until it forms a liquid glaze.
4. Once the pastry shell has completely cooled, spread the mascarpone mix on top of the jam.
5. Place the pitted cherries onto the mascarpone in a circle, starting from the outside in.
6. Use a pastry brush to generously glaze the cherries, then place the cinnamon stars on top. Serve with ice cream.