Tag Archives: cupcakes

Philippine edition: The sweet stuff

Posted in Coffee & Desserts, Food by

Hello everyone! The past 2 months have been such a whirlwind experience. I have been to and fro the Philippines and Hong Kong and now I’m back in Perth and things do not seem to be slowing down. In an ideal world I would’ve been updating this blog with lots of food experiences in the said countries soon after I’ve experienced them but let’s face it when I’m on holidays I start my day early and I don’t come back home to rest until I’m squeezed out of my last drop of energy.

But fear not! My iPhone is full of photos of, what else, food waiting to be posted. So bear with me please for the next few posts…I’m still figuring out what the best ways are to show you what it was like dining in Manila and Hong Kong.

I’ll kick it off with a few sweet things.

Cupcakes by Sonja

I think Cupcakes by Sonja started the whole cupcake craze in Manila when it first opened. “Legend” has it that Sonja, the owner of  the cupcake shop, used to work at the Magnolia Bakery in NYC. Yes, that right; that’s the bakery featured in Sex and the City. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on some Sonja’s cupcakes a few years back when I visited Manila but I’ve been forwarned by a few people that the cupcakes are not really worth trying. I think I’m experiencing a deja vu. The same thing happened to me when I was in NYC and lining up to get some Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.

But alas I made it to Serendra at The Fort and found what I was looking for. The shop looked pretty from the outside but the inside was disappointing. It was dark and it did not feel clean. There is some sort of sticky feeling when I walked in (and no it wasn’t the humidity). Lily came along to the Philippines as well and her first reaction was “my god this place stinks”. I chuckled but I agree 100%! Think of it as like a sugary musty smell. While Lily waited outside because she could no longer stand the smell I waited semi-patiently in line holding my breath from time to time.

It was finally my turn and I got myself a Mocha cupcake.

The cupcake base is delicious. Moist chocolate cupcake that is not too sweet. What makes it mocha though is the coffee flavoured icing and that was not good. The icing was too grainy and it was too much blob on a perfectly good cupcake based.

My cupcake experience here was exactly like how it was at Magnolia Bakery; although if I were to choose between the lesser of 2 evils it would have to be Sonja’s.

Chez Karine

Sitting next to Cupcakes by Sonja is Chez Karine, a fairly new establishment in the dessert scene at The Fort. Chez Karine serves up French sweets and the whole place screams cute. The shop is cute. The packaging is cute. The pudding containers are cute. The menu is cute. And for what it’s worth the shop has a sweet smelling waft that is inviting.

I wanted to buy one of each of everything they had to offer. Out of everything that was there only the macaron were subpar in appearance. I ended up getting 1 each of the macarons that were available and a jar of royal vanilla pudding. The macarons were so-so; nothing special about them and the texture is not all that great. It was too soft. The intriguing flavour I had though was maple bacon. It was not as strange as I thought it was going to be – a hint of maple taste with the tiniest amount of bacon bits – but something I probably will not have again.

What did save the day was the royal pudding (pictured above). I couldn’t resist buying one of those because the tiny jars looked too cute. I’m pretty happy too that the stuff inside the jars were delicious! Royal pudding is like a firmer type of custard and there is a caramel syrup sitting at the bottom. The syrup had the faintest hint of bitterness which completely makes the pudding an enjoyable experience.

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June’12 in a nutshell

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I popped by an organic farmers market in the heart of the city. Can’t say it was the best farmers market but the cafe at the markets was good.

Some time later in the month our state was struck with what can only be described as freak weather. Rain is not something we see that often so even stranger are tornadoes and strong winds. It was cold, cloudy, and gloomy for about 7 days straight.

But, on the brighter side of things…staying indoors gave me time to finally make test batches of mini cupcakes for the wedding. The big day’s getting closer!

Little Miss Cupcake @ Kalamunda

Posted in Coffee & Desserts, Food by

Cupcakes! Who doesn’t like cupcakes? Honestly, I’ve moved on to loving cupcakes instead of just liking them; so much so that I found it very frustrating to find a decent cupcake here in Perth because I can’t find any! My philosophy with cupcakes is that it should first tantalise the eyes and then entice the tongue. After all, cupcakes are supposed to be fancy. Fancy little treats. Fancy but not over-the-top fancy. Mind you, I don’t like sinking my teeth in neon coloured icings.

I have been searching and searching for cupcake places in Perth and it just so happens that I stumbled onto one that has a shopfront that I can access. Some cupcake makers I found are either home-based, delivery only or markets only or shops that are too far away. Little Miss Cupcake came up on my Google search and, since it had good review and was not too far from my office, I decided to give it a shot. I hopped onto my car during my lunch break and drove up to Perth Hills, Kalamunda Village, to be exact. I walked along the village’s main strip searching for this cupcake shop and I was overjoyed when I stepped into the shop. It was not only a cupcake shop but also a baker’s heaven. Plastered in pink, Little Miss Cupcake also sells bakingware, cookbooks, utensils, aprons and other fancy kitchen stuff. It was like I stepped into marshmallow land.

Okay, let’s dive into the cupcakes…

Sticky date cupcake. The cupcake was very moist (and a little sticky) and you can definitely taste the date. But you can also definitely taste the sodium bicarbonate. There are only a few places where they can mask the taste of baking soda in sticky date pudding/cupcakes and Little Miss Cupcake is definitely not one of them. I’ll let it go though because the butterscotchy icing was divine. It was a very good surprise to start my day.

Apple custard cupcake.  I was a little hesitant to get this flavour at first because I found apples rather strange to be put in cupcakes. But I was curious so I bought it anyways. And it turned out to be a wonderful surprise. The flavours worked really well – chunky apples for texture and custard for moisture. This one here is Auntie C and Auntie J‘s top pick.

Cookies and cream cupcake. Judging from the first look I knew the cupcake was going to be dry. And I was right. The outer perimeter of the cupcake was on the drier and crumblier side but it’s quite moist in the middle. My theory is that the towering size of the cupcake needed a longer baking time leaving the edges more well done than the middle bit. It was quite a dense cupcake too filled with chocolate chips and Oreo bits. You definitely get that Oreo taste and that icing magically turns it into an enjoyable little (and filling) treat.

Carrot and walnut cupcake. I was very pleased to find out that this carrot cupcake is not all too greasy like the ones you get in most places. Definitely very moist and not overpowered by cinnamon. The only deal breaker? Sultanas. Not to worry; it wasn’t loaded with sultanas. I am just biased against sultanas because the only time I would eat a rehydrated and baked dried grape is never. Well I could always pick out those little dried grapes and munch on the cream cheese frosting instead.

Choc overload cupcake. Is anyone else getting a sugar high just by looking at that cupcake. I think it’s really called Chocolate Mud Cake but I just call it choc overload because it is overloaded with chocolates. Moist chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and malteasers and snickers. I’d very much love to say yum because I love chocolates. But there is a line that I draw and this cupcake has just got way too much chocolates.

Vanilla butterfly cupcake.  I saved the best for last. Who would’ve thought that this simple cupcake is the one I loved best? Light and moist cupcake with mock cream in the middle all the way to the top and top crust cut off then stuck back into the cream for that butterfly effect. It is simple yet it hits all the right craving spots.

There are other flavours such as raspberry and coconut, chocolate butterfly, sprinkle with sprinkles…but I restrained myself in getting only 6 big ones and a mini one for the road. Be warned that these are very pricey cupcakes. A bigger cupcake costs somewhere between  $4.25 to $5.50 and a mini one costs $2.00 (and they are literally one bite). Also be warned that if you intend to buy a lot of these little cakes bring cash. There is no eftpos facility in the shop which I found very inconvenient since they are charging top prices for the cupcakes. I had to ask the staff to ring up the prices on the till before bagging them just to ensure I had enough money to pay for them.

Little Miss Cupcake is one that I consider to be one of the better cupcake makers in Perth. Definitely better than Magnolia Bakery in New York (if you must know I was very disappointed with Magnolia). The only thing holding them back is the price. Their cupcakes are expensive little treats so, personally, they are to be consumed sparingly.

My rating: 7/10
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www.littlemisscupcake.net.au

I love you New York. Will you marry me? Part 2

Posted in Adventures, Travel by

Despite continuous rain and thunderstorm weather forecasts New York has been really good to us. It wasn’t exactly always sunny with blue and cloudless skies; rather it was cloudy with imminent rain. But, hey, I’d take cloudy over rain any time when I am travelling. What better way to spend this non raining day than to pay Miss Liberty a visit. The whole gang (me, K, MP and V) have decided the day before to do something else but, given the sunny day, I convinced them that today was the perfect day to go to Liberty Island. It’s bad enough that I get seasick but what’s worse is riding in a ferry when it’s raining. I just always have this vision that the ferry will capsize at any stage during the trip due to roaring waves and the ferry filling up with rainwater. This really is an irrational fear of mine.

Anyway back to our journey to Liberty Island.

We always hear people warning us that the line for the ferry to the island is super long and in order to avoid this you should get there earlier than everybody else. Of course that didn’t happen. We have been sleeping later and waking up even later so we arrived at Battery Park around 11am-ish. Yes the line was indeed long but not as crazy long as I expected. And then, as luck would have it, a new line opened up and we were able to jump the queue. We got into the security screening area in no time and boarded the ferry onto Liberty Island. Once there I scuffled hurrily to get a good spot for taking photos. It was quite a challenge to take a photo of us and the whole Misss Liberty all in one frame but we managed. Hurrah! Aside from this there wasn’t much else to do in Liberty Island. You could go to the other side, though, for a view of NYC from the other side.

After much shopping at the gift shop where I ended up buying a replica of the Statue of Liberty (which I later had to jam into my suitcase), we took the next ferry out of the island and back into Manhattan but not before getting off at Ellis Island by mistake. You should’ve seen the confused look on our faces because Ellis Island certainly did not look anything like the port where we originally boarded the ferry.

Between the heat, hunger and indecisiveness of where to go in the afternoon, we landed in Greenwich Village somehow.  And let me tell you I sure don’t mind spending the whole day in this part of Manhattan. First up was a late lunch at A Salt and Battery for some fish and chips. M, our friend from Toronto, has recommended this place and he was right. Almost everything is deep fried to perfection – very crispy on the outside and steaming hot and soft fish on the inside – except of course those sides like mashed peas and coleslaw. The onion rings were pretty good too.

MP claims that she knows this area better than other parts of Manhattan because she comes here frequently. She then took us to her favourite bookstore by Marc Jacobs called Bookmarc. It is a quaint little shop that is overcorwded. Bookwise there isn’t a lot of variety so I guess it’s for a selected clientele only. I also found the Marc Jacobs trinkets to be too expensive. While the rest of the gang were inside the store, obviously getting tricked by marketing into buying stuff, I waited outside perplexed by the massive crowd going in and out of Magnolia Bakery just across the bookstore. That bakery is way overrated in my opinion. What’s so good about a tasteless cupcake and sugar whipped frosting? The cupcakes don’t even look that appetising, to be honest. I was already forewarned by 2 people that this bakery is not worth a try but, given the hype, I thought why not? It’s either I prove my friends wrong or I prove them right. Turns out they were right. Not worth my $3.50.

I did find better cupcakes though inside the Chelsea Markets. Those belong to Elenis. Elenis specialises in cookies but they also make cupcakes. They were not superb but are far better than Magnolia’s. And what’s even better is that those cupcakes go on sale during the last trading hour of the day. Half price cupcakes baby. Needless to say I ate more than I should have. I love markets and this market here just takes it to a new level. Unlike the ones I go to in Perth, Chelsea Markets is in an actual building with more stores and more variety other than just fresh produce and quirky things. We stayed there until we got our cupcake fix.

Later that night I met up with a friend from Uni all the way from 2004. She suggested we go to Sake Bar Hagi near my hotel so I knew exactly where it was. Not a bad choice. In fact, a great choice. I don’t usually like Japanese food but I’m starting to rethink this after eating at Hagi. It’s a tapas style Japanese restaurant and everything we had was simply divine.

I went home earlier than usual that night in preparation for something that I had planned for the next day.

Frisk Espresso @ Northbridge

Posted in Coffee & Desserts, Perth by
A retro style coffee shop in the outskirts of Francis Street in Northbridge, “Frisk Espresso” brings about a different and uber relaxed coffee experience. I came here with the family one lazy Sunday afternoon after our very heavy dim sum lunch. But being the coffee lover that he is and the ‘searching-for-new-places-to-eat’ person that she is, it wasn’t hard at all to convince my uncle and auntie to go to the little cafe with me just down the street.

It wasn’t overly crowded when we went it. Only about 3-4 tables were occupied. They have all sorts of chairs and tables there – cafe style, couch, kids, playground style – giving it a very retro look. There are also various random things displayed there - very old cash register, mini tv box - keeping in tune with the cafe’s theme and a variety of board games to keep the kids, as well as the older generation, entertained. You will be greeted by an orange haired lady on the graffiti wall when you walk in.

I wouldn’t exactly say the staff, who later turned out to be the owners as I have found out, were friendly. It was a bit awkward because they were busy running around but also wanted to smile and talk to you. Weird. They do not seem to be very knowledgeable about their limited menu either; or perhaps they just came across to me as not knowledgeable? So anyway, we placed our orders on the counter and they do not use dockets nor give you any table numbers. Instead, they write the orders on the counter with a white board marker and just remember your face. We had a flat white and a latte, for $3.90 each, made from 5 senses coffee. Coffee was beautifully made although the milk could’ve have been smoother.

To the left of the shop is a section devoted entirely to “Kustom Cupcakes”. I have no idea who owns Kustom Cupcakes but when we asked the owner/barista if they also supply cupcakes to other shops he said yes. I don’t even think he fully understood what we were asking. When asked what the flavours of the cupcakes were he just mumbled some flavours. Strange.

After reading rave reviews about how marvelous these little cupcakes are, they are, in fact, quite a disappointment. These are not the best cupcakes. Icing was way too sweet and the cupcakes were VERY dry. Perhaps they have been sitting out for quite a while?  We had the Raffaelo one and a cookie dough one. Nothing special at all with these cupcakes. I scraped off the icing and when I divided the cake in half it just crumbled. Not worth the $3.50, I’d say. There are some cookies on the counter and just 2 other cakes to choose from, one of which looked like Cookies and Cream cheesecake. Perhaps their supply has not yet been delivered? For me, I’d just go for the coffee and the ambiance and forget about the sweets.

Frisk Espresso: coffee and cupcakes

My rating: 7/10

www.friskespresso.com.au

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