Alfalfa House, Enmore

Back to blogging!

It's been an insane few weeks, obviously the reason why I haven't been around.

Anyway, me and my friends were out and about sourcing things for our project. 

Then we got off on the wrong stop, and stumbled upon this charming food coop.

Absolutely love how the paint is faded and looking really rustic.

Inside the tiny coop shop.
The sign out the back looks really hippie.

They've got locally sourced organic veg.
They were LOCAL, SEASONAL produce which is what we really should be eating.

The Good Stuff.

That's one weird looking gourd.

Do you like the good stuff? 

Cherry Tomatoes

By stuff I mean food, and by good, I mean organic. 

Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio, AGAIN :)

My mom and I went to Baguio last weekend to attend a close family friend's engagement. We also had to fulfill some very important business: eat at Cafe by the Ruins!!!

Since I only had my sad Cybershot camera with me the last time I was at Cafe by the Ruins, this time, I fully took advantage of my new s95. Which is like, only the BEST, most value-for-money camera the world has ever seen. Ever. It's portable, light, easy to use (virtually idiot-proof), takes great photos, and has a long camera life. I am in love with it.

Enjoy the photos! :)

So this is the entrance....

Bills, Surry Hills, Australia

This is BILL.
He's the King of Breakfasts.
I think he's brilliant!

This is one of the places that you ABSOLUTELY MUST GO when you're in Australia. They are famous for their all-day breakfasts! Especially their heavenly eggs and fluffy ricotta pancakes.

Daryl and her hot chocolate!:)

Merchelle and her Chai Latte & Honey!

My hot mug of coffee <3

First off, for drinks, Daryl had the Hot Chocolate with Callebaut. It was a rather different take on the traditional hot chocolate! If I remember correctly, she loved it to bits! Our epic friend Merchelle had the Chai Latte! May I just say that it was oh so good!:) As for me, I had the Bills Own Organic Coffee by Single Origin Roasters! I used to be such a coffee freak! I just had to have one, a skinny one!:) I LOVED IT!:)

Cafe Sopra, Waterloo

Obviously there hasn't been any posting action on the blog recently, and trust me, it's been a busy few weeks. For starters, there were stressful final projects that needed to be handed in, and let's just say we got reunited in Australia. Those twelve crazy days were some of the most memorable I've had. Eating out meal after meal, and consuming mounds of Greek Yogurt, that's paradise, dear! And from here on now, it will be like exploring our epic food journey.

One of the best restaurants we went to was Cafe Sopra in Waterloo. It's located a floor up from Fratelli Fresh on Danks Street. Once you walk into the market per se, interesting things are all around. I just couldn't stop looking at all the goodies on the shelves, they really piqued my interest. After all, Italian is my cuisine of choice cause it has a lot of robust flavors that I adore.

Champagne

When we got to Cafe Sopra, it took them quite some time to sit us down. It was around 2pm, but there was still a fair crowd of people dining there- definitely a good sign. The look of the place I'd say is very rustic, it wasn't at all pretentious which is one of the things that I really liked about the venue. We took a good look at the menu cause there were just far too many amusing things that we just couldn't seem to decide. We settled splitting a salad and pasta. Oh, and we had a glass of champagne each just for the sake of being indulgent.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Cavalo Nero, Parmesan, Poached Eggs, and Crisp Pancetta

The salad was nothing short of fantastic. It hit all the right spots, and yes, it's definitely worth trying. Wait, I shall correct, it's TO DIE FOR. You'd never think that a salad could actually be this tasty. For one, I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of brussels sprouts just cause I couldn't cook them right. They turn out really bitter and off. But the brussels sprouts and cavalo nero in this dish provided sweetness and freshness. It was then contrasted by the saltiness of the parmesan and the crunchiness of the pancetta. Finally, it was topped with two perfectly poached eggs. This salad made my best friend a poached egg believer- what a life changer.

Ze Pasta

The pasta on the other hand was good but not as exceptional as the salad. It had al dente fusili, compared to the fusili that they serve in restaurants, the so-called rings on this one were tightly coiled together. They caught the sauce flawlessly. The sauce was pretty much a standard red, with a tinge of spiciness toward the end. Tasty, but it didn't jump off the plate. 

It was really pretty <3

I'd definitely go back to Cafe Sopra, they had a stunning selection of food that's mostly organic. And what they served really suited my taste- job well done! I couldn't resist posting a lovely picture of this overwhelmingly huge bougainvillea shrub that was spewing flowers left and right. 

Cafe Sopra

7 Dank Street

Waterloo

Marrickville Organic Farmer's Market

Marrickville Farmer's Market

This was definitely one of those unexpected trips for me. Me and my friends headed to Marrickville to visit Reverse Garbage. It's basically a huge warehouse where you could find all sorts of weird and neat stuff! Some of the things are defective and some are second hand. We went there so that we could gather materials for the next spiffy project in design studio.

As we entered the complex of Reverse Garbage, apparently there was a market going on. Markets get me so excited- MORE THAN ANYTHING! So anyway, to make the story short, after we bought materials for the project, we wandered around the farmer's market. There was Gozleme, Mexican Wraps, fruit and veg vendors, a Chai Tent, a coffee stall, an olive stall, and plenty others! And then we bought food and beverages then spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting on the curb talking and munching away.

Mexican Wraps for the late lunch!

My lunch- Mexican Veg Wrap with a Chili Cola

I reckon this could possibly be the best mex food I've had in Sydney! There just aren't any epic authentic places- SADLY. The wrap really packed a punch. It was refreshing cause of the fresh veggies, mainly tomato and lettuce. The veggie sort of stew I would call it was packed with flavor, the whole thing was oozing out the wrap, I'm not kidding! TWO THUMBS UP!:) The chlli cola on the other hand was outrageously different! I never liked chili in the past, but these days, I'm just becoming more and more of a chili freak. The cola had that hint and tang of caramel- it's lovely! The chili factor comes in after you've gulped the drink, the heat races down your throat. After a whole bottle, the chili was racing up my nose- not a good thing, sniff.

Cute cupcakes that my friend baked

As for desert, my friend baked some cupcakes and she was generous enough to share them! It's a chocolate chunk cupcake with strawberry icing!:)

Lemon Pepper Macadamia Nuts

I have come to like my nuts- don't take that the wrong way. Walking through more of the stalls in the market, I came across one that was selling nuts and dried fruit! There was heaps and heaps to choose from, probably around 5 varieties for macadamia alone! I'm too much of a sucker to let it pass, I just had to have some! I really liked these. They were acidic and peppery which cut the butteriness of the macadamia really well! I wish I bought more, I really do.

And that pretty much sums up my Sunday afternoon!:) Oh, pardon the bad photography, I used my phone to take the pictures!:)