Sunday 20 September 2015

Goodbye Money



Had one of the best weeks ever and possibly one of the most unforgettable weekends. Not only did I get to meet up with a few of my favourites and watch an amazing play, I went to my first music festival and it was amazing, to say the least! The week was spent acting cultured and refined, from baking cakes to watching Shakespeare to buying an unnecessarily large amounts of makeup. 

To celebrate my sister's return from her holiday in Europe and to apologise for not being able to be home for when she is, I baked two sets of matcha green tea cakes. One was a matcha green tea bunny cake and the other was a giant matcha green tea tower kitkat cake. It is safe to say that both have been demolished completely and thank god I got to eat some before I left. 
https://instagram.com/p/7pzvv2sUrY/?taken-by=janes_tales

 Is it bad to say I abandoned my sister for a date? Though mind you, it wasn't really a date but a lovely day between two of my favourites. My morning was spent having breakfast and catching up a faraway friend from Canberra, in, of course, Social-Laneway Espresso (it was a Wednesday, afterall). As it turns out, they have amazing breakfast food and no, this time I didn't order a lemon-meringue pie. 
https://instagram.com/p/7q6frPsUuX/?taken-by=janes_tales

 Following breakfast and a less-fun shift at Pacific Magazine, I met up with one of my favourite all-time girls and spent an amazing night with her. It was probably one of the best non-dates I have ever been on and she is one of the only girls who will go with me to watch Shakespeare and act cultured and fancy. A wonderful date at the Sydney Opera House where we were blown way by the Bell Shakepeare's production of The Tempest is the best way to pick yourself up mid-week.
https://instagram.com/p/7sOxTbMUhx/?taken-by=janes_tales

 As for the weekend ... I am honestly speechless. I had one of the best days ever at Defqon. 1 2015 and being paid to go there for work was honestly the icing to the cake. Not only did I get to meet amazing artists and talk to them for hours and hours before and after their performances, I massaged them. They were some of the nicest and sweetest people on earth and I am honestly so lucky to have been able to meet them. Not to mention touch them. For a first time at a music festival, I would think that's pretty unbeatable.
https://instagram.com/p/713bX7MUoD/?taken-by=janes_tales

 All in all, this week was by far the most amazing. Almost makes me want to do it all again, but now I'm slightly exhausted and poor. Maybe next year. 
Food Highlights

Wednesday:
https://instagram.com/p/7q6frPsUuX/?taken-by=janes_tales
ROB's  Special Breakfast S.L scrambled eggs, shallot, crispy bacon, avocado and toast and Social-Laneway never fails to impress and satisfy my cravings, whether it be sweet or savoury. Their food is immensely satisfying and just enough to fill someone up. Their eggs are cooked to perfection and it's always a delight to feast there.

Selfie of the week

https://instagram.com/p/7ogYkRsUht/?taken-by=janes_tales

Sunday 13 September 2015

Food, Food and More Food


You have those people who will attempt to lose that extra Winter blub they put on and try to look beach ready and confident when Summer swings by with a tray of piña coladas. On the other hand, you have someone who decides to spend the majority of their paycheck eating, eating a lot and eating both an almost comical amount of both healthy and artery clogging foods. I would be that of the latter.

Two words. Chocolate Festival. Need I say more? Someone might say that anyone who wakes up at 7am on a Sunday to go eat chocolate is borderline crazy and I am inclined to agree. Though it was crazy and exhausting, it was beyond worth it. Upon arrival you were flooded with the beautiful scent of chocolate and sweets, enough to make your stomach growl and your mouth water. Granted, even though it was a chocolate festival, they had an abundance of savoury deliciousness as well and there was a total of 7 streets that was dedicated to stalls alone.

So. Much. Glorious. Food.



 Tents and tents of favourites were lined up next to each other and eager patrons spent 10minutes and sometimes more waiting to get even a small crumb in their mouths. Adriano Zumbo, Black Star Pastry, N2, Vogue Cafe and Messina, just to name a few popular names. Smoothfm, you have really outdone yourself this time by giving everyone both extreme happiness and possibly diabetes, but hey. I'm not one to complain. 

After a day of stuffing my face with chocolate and possibly driving everyone around me insane from my sugar high, what I did next only made sense. Going to stuff my face some more with burgers and fries for dinner at the Burger Project. Obviously, I am a leading example of healthy eating (note the sarcasm). Did I also mention I had a delicious vanilla milkshake with that? No regrets. 

Though my weekday wasn't too memorable, apart from once again stopping to indulge in lemon-meringue pie and coffee, and torturing myself with fake lashes for the first time (someone please teach me how to not stab myself in the eye), my Sunday made up for the lack of activities and laziness that surrounded me. I could care more about how I'm going to look in the Summer, but then again, I could also be eating and actually enjoying myself. Afterall, "anything is good if it's made of chocolate" (Jo Brand).

Food Highlights

Lemon meringue pie and a latte
Once again, I stopped for the lemon meringue pie and latte because together they work superbly well. Rich and creamy coffee with just the right amount of bitterness and a tarty lemon curd to cut through the cream and add a bit of natural, zesty sugar to the bitter coffee.

 Sunday:
https://instagram.com/p/7kLBfGsUjh/?taken-by=janes_tales
Afternoon tea at the Chocolate Festival
Vegan Chocolate Popcorn Cake from Black Star Pastry
This smooth yet rich chocolate cake topped with caramelised popcorn and freeze-dried raspberries is probably one of the best vegan cakes I have ever encountered. You could definitely fool me and tell me it wasn't!

https://instagram.com/p/7kP0nvsUq3/?taken-by=janes_tales
Dinner at Burger Project 
Bacon and cheese burger, cheese burger, fries and vanilla milkshake
Though I dislike my minced meat in burgers being cooked to medium and would much prefer my patties well-done, you could taste bacon and cheese in the bacon and cheese burger, which is a huge winner for me. Not too much of a fan of the "special sauce" as I think it was a bit too tomato-y (and I'm a huge fan of tomatoes). The fries were golden and crunch on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside and the milkshake was creamy and a little bit on the sweet side, which helped balance out and slice through the savouriness and heaviness of the burgers.

 Selfie of the week
https://instagram.com/p/7U23hKsUn9/?taken-by=janes_tales

Sunday 6 September 2015

Caffeine Infused Week of Stress and Madness



With the start of Spring also comes the start of successfully going into my second week of being 19. Having survived the torturous journey of 18, I was expecting adulthood to be easier, or more tolerable in the very least. Why I ever thought that was going to be the case, I have no idea, but surely enough, it proved to be quite the opposite. As a first year university student who spent the previous week going out and celebrating by eating masses and masses of cake (no regrets), this week proved to be flooded with pools of tears and a sinking feeling of regret, mixed with traumatic stress.

Firstly, which genius thought it was a good idea to make three assessments due on the same day? Moreover, on a Monday? Whoever you are and wherever you are, I wish upon you great suffering and a plague of man-eating corn. My normal week is spent juggling work, studying, friends, family, food, food and some more food. This week, however, it was honestly nothing more than a slow, painful descent to hell. 

However, I still had an amazing time at work and got to go to Pacific Magazine, work with smoothfm 95.3 and worked alongside Jake Rich (2014 Big Brother Australia) and Samantha Jakubiak (2011 My Kitchen Rules Winner). 

https://instagram.com/p/7Kl95jMUuf/?taken-by=janes_tales

And of course I would never neglect my food duties to find and eat exquisite food. However, although this week has been hard, the weekend is always good and somehow forgiving, even if I did go to work on a Saturday (advice, don't go to work on two hours of sleep and many many cups of caffeinated drinks). 

 All in all, I got my work done before the deadline and am still living, even though I had enough coffee and RedBull to probably last me a year. And of course, Happy Fathers' Day (because us Australians like to be funky and celebrate it on the first Sunday of September) to all the Fathers, Grandfathers and Carers who spend everyday of their life looking after an caring for us as fatherly figures. We don't say this enough, but we love you and are so grateful for eveything that you do for us because "one of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad" (Jim Demint). 

 Food Highlights

Tuesday:
https://instagram.com/p/7EVYPPMUq_/?taken-by=janes_tales
Breakfast at Decco Cafe
Eggs Florentine atop of spinach and toasted sourdough
The spinach to bread and egg ratio was a bit too much for my liking, however, the egg was poached to perfection.

Wednesday:
https://instagram.com/p/7G-caSMUrM/?taken-by=janes_tales
Lemon meringue pie and a latte
Their lemon meringue pie is a bit sweet but honestly to die for. Their coffee is smooth and extremely well-made. Probably one of the best coffees I have ever had.
Selfie of the week

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Springing Into Action!



Robin William once said, "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'" and what better what to start a party than with food and a new blog about food?

And so, I welcome you to Jane's Tales - a creation for food, about food and a weekly rundown of what's happening in life to curb those stalker-ish sense you may or may not have (don't deny it. Embrace the creep!). 

Brace yourself for reviews on cafes and restaurants, based on their food, atmosphere and service, with the occasional recipe of desserts I make and a pinch of insight into what kind of life I have.
Copyright © 2014 Jane's Tales