Making Banoffee Pie with My Little Monkey

I've been so hooked on Jack Johnson lately. Like really really hooked. He's not gorgeous, but he has such a fantastic kinda husky but soothing voice. Think a sweeter sort of lazier version of John Mayer.

You better listen to that song. It's lazy, it's sweet- it's a sweet lazy afternoon song.

..And I'd totally be listening to it again if I was making another pie.

Let's get rocking.

Easy Peasy Banana Bread.

Nanas are cool.

You know what ridiculous?

The price of bananas in Australia.

They run for $12/kg.

That's around P550 pesos for a kilo.

I like love bananas and I've been craving them crazy.

Now that I'm in Manila, I've been eating a lot of bananas, yes, like a monkey.

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. 

Bar Italia, Leichhardt

Bar Italia on Norton St.

I have a soft spot for Italian food. There's just something about it that's genuine and true. It never fails to feel homemade and hearty. I've got to admit, it's my favorite cuisine out of everything that's out there. Different regions in Italy have their very own specialties, which makes Italian cuisine so diverse, not to mention interesting.

In Sydney, there's no place better to go for Italian food other than Leichhardt.* I've been there at least five times. I mean I would be there more often if it was closer to home. Anyway, that means I've been to a couple of restaurants. Notable ones include Cafe Moretti and Bar Italia.

I first read about Bar Italia in Time Out. Apparently, they have gelato that is to die for. After a late night of doing schoolwork in uni, my friends and I head over to Leichhardt for dinner, and of course, there's always room for dessert. So I suggested Bar Italia. The gelato was good, I emphasize gooooood. 


So then after a week or two, I went back there for both dinner and dessert with some other friends. We were heading there for dinner as well cause I've been hearing about the scrumptious pastas that more or less fall in the $15 range- they're supposedly spectacular especially considering the price tag.

So, that's the wide range of pasta.

They've got other mains too!

There was a whole board filled with the varieties of pasta. It made choosing nearly impossible. But then, I narrowed down the things that I usually like- red sauce, olives, capers, basil, etc. You sort of get the picture. After running my eyes down the menu for the- I guess 5th time, I've finally decided.

There's Always A First Time.

My masterpiece.

So anyway, it's my hands shaking first time to make a... PAVLOVA. It's an all-time favorite Aussie dessert and yet in the many years that I've been there, on & off, I haven't been able to make one. As they say, there's always a first time for everything.


My mom claims she's a Pavlova genius cause she used to make them all the time. But when I asked her for the recipe, she couldn't remember her proportions, RIGHT MUM. Like any other person would do, I googled some recipes and compared them to one another to find the proportions, and so on.