The Pastry Monthly!

By now, I'm sure my regular readers would have figured that I have a sweet tooth. Some may have even noticed my particular weakness for pastries. I have them once or twice a week, usually as a treat during the weekends. 

I have them so regularly that I've decided to have monthly posts on my pastry indulgence - a post dedicated to all the yummy pastries I have throughout the month. Just 'cause I feel like it ;).

Soooo:

Chocolate Pistachio from Simply Paris which is based at Dixon Street, with stalls set up at the Harbourside Market, Chaffers Docks Market on Sundays and the Farmers' Market up at Thorndon on Saturday mornings

My review: Yummy! Chocolatey with a hint of pistachio - more pistachio would be nicer :)

Some sort of custard pastry (the name escapes my mind at the moment!) from Brezelmania based on Jackson Street, Petone and a stall set up at Chaffer Docks Market

My review: Slightly disappointing -  the pastry was not as soft as I would have liked it be :(
I've tried Brezelmania's berry pastry before, and that was pretty good. Maybe I just picked out the wrong one that day? Regardless of this rather disappointing experience,  I'll definitely be trying Brezelmania's other danishes the next time!

Pain au chocolat with custard and meringue from Moore Wilson's delivered from Bordeaux Bakery.
Bordeaux bakeries are at Thorndon Quay, Featherson St (Lambton Quay) and The Terrace (Lambton Quay).

My review: I know I can never go wrong with Bordeaux Bakery - everything there is top notch, including this beautiful pain au chocolat.

Almond croissant with custard and meringue - a variation of the pain au chocolat above, and also baked at Bordeaux Bakery.

When my sister visited me at Wellington a month ago, she bought this while I was at work. I was taken aback by the price of one croissant ($5.50), but once I tried it, I could not tear myself away!
My review: Money worth spent on Bordeaux's indulgent pastries and danishes!

Delicious!

Pancakes!

I have a great weakness for pancakes (and anything sweet for that matter).

Eating out can be pricey, and a plate of pancakes can cost about $13 - $18. Adding bacon to the pancakes sometimes costs and additional $4.00! This always leaves me grimacing a little. So I thought of actually making some of myself, and started browsing for some good recipes.

I'm not a great cook, but these yummy recipes sure are tempting!

Almond milk pancakes, topped with blackberries compote

Chocolate pancakes

Cappuccino pancakes with mocha syrup
This is one which I would really love to try (but will my lack of ability in baking / cooking disappoint me?)

Brown sugar walnut pancakes

Banana bread pancakes with walnuts

Do you love pancakes too? :)

Whoopie

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

I remember my mum buying a book from Book Depository about a year ago. I can't remember the name of the book, but it was a recipe book on how to bake different types of Whoopie Pies. I had to Wiki "Whoopie Pies" as I had no idea what they were. Till this day, I haven't had the opportunity to try one yet, but I assume that they are similar in texture and taste to cakes.

They come in all kinds of flavours, and they all look heavenly to me. Can you tell that I have a super sweet tooth?

Peppermint Whoopie Pie

If you would like to try bake some, click on the any of the caption to the images on this post. The links will take you to different blogs and websites that have generously provided great recipes for all to try!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Matcha Chocolate Whoopie Pies

If you can't bake or are too lazy to bake (I fall into both categories) and live within the Auckland area (unfortunately, I'm not within this group), you can consider visiting or ordering online from Whoopie. I haven't tried their whoopie pies before, and if you ever do, please share a review!

Orla Kiely

So my sister actually went out to Uniqlo to get for me an Orla Kiely top!

It wasn't the one I wanted (I think she made a mistake), but it's still an awesome top! And it was half priced, so it was only NZD 15!
Yay!

Top from Uniqlo!

After the excitement of seeing the top that is awaiting for me at Kuala Lumpur, I decided to find more Orla Kiely items I'm coveting for.

These are some of my favourites:

Giant Wallflower Scarf

Apple Multi Stem Shoulder Bag

Striped Petal Flask

Evoke Mio Radio

Dancing Girl Sundress

I really (REALLY)  love the sundress. But it's unfortunately quite pricey :(.

Iko Iko

I love Iko Iko, a really cute store selling really cute things.

I always pass by the store when I return from work, and I try to stop by as frequent as possible without the salesperson recognising me ;).

Some things I'm coveting from the store:

Silicone Heart Baking Mould, NZD 24.90

Citta Niwa Mug, NZD 16.90

Fred's Letter Pressed Cookie Cutter Set, NZD 34.90
- Write a message on your baked cookies!

Flora Waycott 'I Love Wellington' Tea Towel, NZD 24.90
- Since I'm now a Wellingtonian, I should have a tea towel that goes with my new life!

Let's Have a Party Bunting, NZD 32.90

Iko Iko stores are located on K Road at Auckland and Cuba Street in Wellington. They also operate an online store on their website.

Uniqlo

I was over at Hello Sandwiches' blog, reading about Ebony's MT tees that she bought from Uniqlo. I love MT tapes and Uniqlo, so the combination of both of them made me swoon a little.

I charged over to Uniqlo Malaysia's website, although I knew that:

1. Uniqlo Malaysia may not necessarily stock up on the same tees

2. There may be a lag between what is available for sale at Japan, and what is available for sale at Malaysia

3. Uniqlo's clothes can get a little pricey for little ole' me :(

Unfortunately, there were no MT clothes available, but there were Laura Ashley and Orla Kiely ones on sale!

Some of my favourites are:

Laura Ashley's line at Uniqlo (all of which can be viewed here):

Orla Kiely's line at Uniqlo (all of which can be viewed here):

I really love this one, and I'm thinking of getting my sister to pop by the store to get me one soon!

So if you are a fan of Laura Ashley or Orla Kiely, and currently live in a city where there is a Uniqlo, you should really get there fast before they all run out! And if there are MT tees as well, it is even more urgent that you do so quickly!

Birthday packages

A dear friend's birthday is coming up and her boyfriend has set up a birthday fund to buy a Samsung Galaxy phone for her. I think it is an excellent idea especially since she is still rocking a Nokia brick phone. It is also difficult to buy the "perfect" gift when my own piggy bank is depleting. It is best to pool money to buy what the birthday girl really wants. 

 So I chipped in, but decided that I still wanted to send a little surprise of my own.

The surprise is made up of a birthday card, a Typo pink journal, a sticky memo pad, two adhesive tapes and a bookmark which I have stitched up.

I love sending little surprise packages to friends!

Do you do that too?

Crafty Wellington

Hey bloggy friends :). If you are a Wellingtonian and like all things crafty, you may find the following upcoming events happening in Wellington worth visiting:

1. Fabric-a-brac happening on the 19th, which is this Saturday

2.  As usual, the Wellington Underground Market at Frank Kitts Park will be held on Saturday.



3. Handmade 2012 will be held from the 2nd - 3rd June

4. Pop Up Design Shop which is currently set up at 105 Customhouse Quay till the 10th of June. The store stocks up with work of emerging designers and artists. Sounds like a pretty cool store which I must visit soon!

I'll probably be spending the whole of the coming Saturday, visiting Fabric-a-brac and exploring Newtown generally. It would be my third trip out of the city since I've arrived in Wellington, and I'm looking forward for a taste of suburban life again! Hopefully there are nice stores to visits and a cosy cafe to have a good brunch. We'll have to see!

A graduation gift

I received a couple of gifts from friends and family during graduation. Mum bought a beautiful bouquet of gerberas and friends gave me more flowers and a stuffed monkey in a regalia.

A friend of mine also gave me a not-so-traditional graduation gift:

It is a "Wellbeing" journal from Kikki K. It is an amazing book that allows you to plan and organise your life in a manner that enhances the body and mind. It is so inspiring and motivational.

More details on the journal can be found here.

I just love inspirational gifts, and this one tops the list.

There are also more journals from the same line including the 101 Dreams Book and Gratitude Book. In my opinion, these are quite expensive, so if you are planning to gift it to someone else, it would be worth to take a moment to think if the recipient will appreciate a book like this.

Cafe L'Affare

My sister visited me in Wellington, and we went on an eating spree. She loves cafe food, so we decided to try out Cafe L'Affare on an early Monday morning.

Eggs Benedict with my usual mug of mocha

Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup

Yummy pancakes again - so good, two photos had to be taken!

Cafe L'Affare is a very beautiful cafe. My sister, who works as an interior designer, went a little too wild with my camera in the cafe, taking snapshots of the lights, the counter, the tables etc etc. These are some of the photos she took:

Interior of Cafe L'affare

Interior of Cafe L'Affare - coffee beans are sold here too

Interior of Cafe L'Affare

The food was absolutely delicious, and I would love to go back to Cafe L'Affare again soon!

Restaurant information:
Address: 27 College Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Opening hours: Mon - Fri (7am - 4.30pm); Sat & Sun (8am - 4pm)
Price: Spendy, usual cafe prices

Musashi Japanese restaurant

My family and I love Japanese food. I particularly love bentos, where I can sample a little of each yummy portion! There are excellent and reasonably priced Japanese food in Auckland, and when my sister visited us from Kuala Lumpur, we just had to take her to our favourite Japanese restaurant.

As you can see from the photos above, each set meal comes with appetisers, salad, miso soup, sushi, a main dish and dessert. Depending on the main dish ordered, you get to cook it yourself!

As usual, our meal was really delicious and satisfying. I wouldn't hesitate recommending this restaurant to anyone visiting Auckland!

Restaurant information:
Address: 212 Kitchener Road, Milford, Northshore City
Days opened: Tues - Sun
Price: $15 for a set lunch; more spendy for dinner