Yay for Pancake Day! What better reason than to stuff ourselves silly with pancakes other than charitable reasons? So go eat pancakes and help out someone in need. There is also another reason why today is Pancake day and that is because it is the last Tuesday before Lent period. Pancakes are the perfect way to use up all the diary products that may go bad over the 40 days (Ok, I shamelessly stole this from fellow foodbloggers Onebitemore and ChocolateSuze but the thought is still there… Go check out their awesome creations btw). I know I am cheating a bit and not actually making pancakes today but this is close enough hopefully haha.

Here Comes the Food

Lime Ice Cream Soda ($3.25)

Perfect bubbly, refreshing and sugary beverage for even more sugary and sweet pancakes ^^!

Cappuccino ($2.95)

Not my sorta pancaking beverage but can’t go wrong with another stimulant hee hee.

Margherita – tomato & Mozzarella ($4.95)

I know what you guys are thinking… “this is not a pancake! What a poser!” but it does hit the spot when you are in for a savory fix.

Devil’s Delight ($13.95) – to die for… our chocolate pancakes with strawberries, cream, chocolate ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce

Now this is what I’m talking abouuuutttttt ^^! Chocolate loaded chocolate with chocolate and drizzled in chocolate… chocolate. Absolute heaven especially their pancakes taste very airy and fluffy like cake.

Long Stack with 1 extra pancakes ($8.95 + $1.95) – with maple syrup and ice cream

This was one awesome stack mmmm ^^! Definitely worth going for again but maybe 2 extra pancakes next time hee hee. To be honest I actually prefer the buttermilk pancakes than the chocolate ones especially since there maple syrup! Also apparantly the record for the biggest stack by one person is only 8 or 9 pancakes so I have to work my way there hee hee.

Now I know that was not enough pancaking for you guys so give awesome Billy at A Table for Two a visit and help raise money for UnitedCare charity. He has a special post going on right now that is updated regularly to keep us informed about his special Pancake day pancake! I don’t want to give too much away but if you are like me, you will love it ^^!

Other Pancakey visits:

Pancakes on the Rocks – The Rocks, Sydney

Pancakes on the Rocks

229/230 Harbourside Shopping Centre

Darling Harbour

Ph: (02) 9280 3791

Trading Hours: Sunday to Thursday 7am-11pm, Friday and Saturday 7am-Midnight

FFichiban

After staring and drooling avidly over multiple posts about this chocolate heaven, I had finally been able to get myself down to Boon the chocolate experience. NQN first reviewed this place back in January and then ChocolateSuze and Grab Your Fork came last week and all of their posts had me jealous but giddy at the thought of my visit. Without much convincing at all, I was able to drag Pupu away from her busy schedule to come gorge on some delicious chocolate with me. It is close to the Mardi Gras and so they have decorated the place with some pretty colourful and glittery ornaments.

This photo was particularly amusing

Mmmmm pralines

The others have already done too good a job at reviewing the place so I will just add some minor details here and there. Hopefully I can make you guys jealous as well hee hee mmm chocolate ^^!

Shelf full of goodies

Alex Chan

A very friendly and helpful Alex showed us around the place and the chocolate they had on offer. I was a little bit surprised when he informed me they have been open for about 4 months now as it meant that we should have come here much sooner!

Fanny Chan

We did  not get to chat much with the delightful Fanny as she was busy working her magic and so we didn’t want to disturb her too much hee hee.

They still had the chocolate bag left on display

Open Letter ($75)

This was my favourite novelty chocolate item and would have got it if I had been here for V-day Alex also showed us one that was left over, a man had pre-ordered and paid for it but did not come to pick it up… not a good sign :S

Tres Corazones

I love the deep lush red of these hearts and since they are Moet & Chandon Champange flavoured, there are even more reasons to get them.

Boon Terrace Lounge – some fine photography art hanging on the wall

This wallpaper really help create the perfect chocolate mood mmmm love it!

I absolutely adore this terrace lounge although the lighting can be a bit dim for photography but it creates the ultimate mood for couples haha. The seating arrangements are also suited for that of a small party. They also have a brilliant selection of classical jazz which made the atmosphere of this place impeccable. Pupu and I had a look at their menu and although they are more focused on drinks and pralines there were a few other selections possible (like the Belgian waffles!) so Here Comes the Food.

It is quite obvious that we had Chocolatesuze and GYFs’ visit in mind as we ended up ordering the same as them -___- call us sheep but their descriptions were too seductive hee hee.

Milk Hot Chocolate ($7.50) – served with chocolate mousse and a Boon praline (Mira)

The hot chocolate was not too sweet which is good but oozed that creamy milk chocolate flavour. The mousse tasted like a chocolate cloud and sent us immediately into a state of euphoria. The Mira is a blend of white chocolate, mountain pepperberries and strawberries. The strawberry was stronger flavour but a subtle flavour of the pepperberry was present as well.

Dark Hot Chocolate ($7.50) - served with chocolate mousse and a Boon praline (Jasmin)

I prefer dark chocolate and this definitely was the drink for me! The silky smooth texture of the hot chocolate mixed with a rich  and deep cacao flavour without being too bitter. The Jasmin praline was also one of our favourite pralines as the jasmine tea flavour works surprisingly well with dark chocolate. The inital chocolate created a nice platform for the jasmine tea flavour to spread and fill the mouth as the praline melted.

Me being me ^^! Mousse in hot chocolate = melted goodness mmm!

Chocolate Teaser Plate ($7.50) – clockwise from bottom left: Kaneel, El Corazon, Kurobiko, Orient and Balsamico

Only having one praline each was not enough, naturally, so we decided on this teaser plate. Firstly the Kaneel, an almond ganache with cinnamon and orange peel, had a lovely balance of cinnamon and little specks of orange peel. I love the warm feeling you get with cinnamon mmm. The El Corazon, a miniature version of the giant heart, were a V-day special but we were lucky they still had some left over (If you go very soon and ask hopefully they will still have some!) had a beautiful infusion of rose and the champagne. It seemed to taste a bit of lychee when we first tried and definitely another favourite. The Kurobiko, hazelnut praline with black sesame and rice crispies, gave off pleasant little crunches with each bite but I do not remember tasting much black sesame. There was a woody taste from the hazelnut which tasted a bit like the skin of the hazelnut which was quite interesting. The Orient, dark chocolate ganache with ginger pieces, soft specks of ginger added a nice dimension of flavour. Finally the Balsamico, strawberry-milk chocolate ganache accented with balsamic vinegar, had a rich strawberry flavour but also small grains of salt and the slightest tinge of balsamic vinegar.

Belgian Waffle with fresh strawberries, almonds, vanilla bean ice cream and Boon chocolate sauce ($14.50) (aka plate of awesomeness)

A must have to compare with the waffles of other chocolatiers. The waffle here is very enjoyable as it is not too sweet but I found that it could have been warmer. The strawberries were a bit sour but that just eccentuated the sweetness of the velvety vanilla ice cream and the chocolate sauce. The addition of almond flakes were genius, as they added a delightful crunch with some of the bites. The others already did an unbeatable pouring shot so I decided to venture into the 4th dimension with some continuous shots.

MMmm awesomeness tastes… awesome!

They are also quite generous with the amount of pouring chocolate you get in the waffle, good times ^^!

Our scraping efforts – cut short due to time constraints!

Pralines before being coated

The hypnotic chocolate wheel… need to get me one of those!

Boon is definitely worth the visit even though it is in Darlinghurst which means horrible parking especially before 6pm. A re-visit is also in order to try all the other drinks like the cold ones!

Boon the chocolate experience

251 Victoria St

Darlinghurst 2010

Ph: (02) 9356 8876

FFichiban

To the few North Shorerians out there, who are up for a good and tasty Malaysian hit should really consider checking out To’s (pronounced: Toe’s) at North Sydney. The food is tasty and reasonably priced but the problem is this is no secret among the businessmen and businesswomen who work around this area, so expect to fight for a table at lunchtime. Even on those terribly hot blazing days, there is just something about a laksa that draws you into its’ warm and spicy embrace until you soak through you shirt from sweat (refer to man in photo above) and dig into your pockets for coins to purchase another cold drink. One day a small group of us decided on an impromptu Malaysian gathering which consisted of En.elle, Seph, Cuaza and E.

Here Comes the Food

Fresh Soya Drink

Refreshing and healthy too, as this brand does not add too much sugar like some other asian brands tend to.The coolness is very welcomed to extinguish the flames on the tongue after a spoonful of burn.

Chicken Laksa

Each bite or slurp from this dish leaves a nice warm and fuzzy feeling inside. This is mainly due to the wonderful addition of chilli paste to a smooth and creamy laksa soup. The tender pieces of chicken were well balanced with some breast and some thigh pieces and the firmer outer cover of tofu skin trapped a soft and fluffy innard, all plump from soaking up the silky laksa soup, gave off a delectable spurt with each bite. Although the laksa here was very good and could tell that its’ authenticity was genuine, I was still left with slight craving feeling that can only be satisfied, so far, by the laksa at Malay-Chinese in the city.

Satay Chicken (L)

A really decently sized portion of fried rice and 3 chicken skewers smothered and re-smothered in oozy peanut satay sauce. The sight of this dish gave me tremblings of excitement, as I anticipated the peanut satay high I was about to embark on. The fried rice by itself was nothing spectacular but the peanut satay sauce had it covered and mixed with juicy and tender chicken pieces, this dish was a perfect lunchtime feast mmm ^^!

To’s Malaysian Gourmet

Shop 3, 181 Miller St

North Sydney 2060

Ph:  (02) 9955 2088

FFichiban