Mom's 50th Birthday Cake

My mom doesn't usually eat cake and most of the time she wouldn't even bother with a birthday cake. This year for her 50th I've decided to make her birthday a lil bit special by getting her a designer cake. I've booked the talented cake boss from Gataeuxlicious  aka

Asma'

 a long time ago for this special day. The only thing that wasn't finalised was the design of her cake.

A week before I decided to sketch it for Asma' but my sketches are horrible so I got my brother to do a few sketches and he came up with the below sketch using just paint! I was quite impressed cause I can't even draw a stick man properly, what more a cake. My mom has always wanted this Chanel bag but obviously I can't afford it just yet, so I decided to make her a miniature sugar version of it for her. Hehe, it looks so much like the real thing and check out the detailing and real chain on the bag.  I love Asma's attention to detail when it comes to her cake. It's always perfect!

The cake was supposed to be purple but because of the silver glitter, we thought the peach/pink would suit it better and it certainly did! Hope you like this cake as much as we do :)

What do you think of the cake?

Food {Melbourne}: Macarons By Josephine 2

The title says 2 because this is not my first post on them. Click here to read my previous post on By Josephine.

I just can't get enough of their macarons. It's so chewy and full of flavour! :) It doesn't help that it's right behind my house in Melbourne. I can literally crawl and reach there within minutes. 

One fine Sunday, I took some of my closest friends with me to this cafe to share their awesome macarons. Needless to say, they enjoyed it! 

That's my 'very-satisfied-with-my-macarons' face.

Have a great day everyone.

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed my macarons. 

Hehe

Food {Melbourne}: Macarons By Josephine

There are only a few macarons places that I frequent. First is

LuxBite

, second is La Belle Miette and lastly Brunetti's. All the other macarons have this strong almond taste in them which I don't quite fancy. To be honest, I've tried Laduree's macarons before and I think it's a little bit over rated. Just an honest opinion, don't hate on me Laduree fans out there. :)

By Josephine

is a new macarons place located on Sydney Road, which is just nearby my house in Melbourne. *yeay!* Their macarons are smaller than usual but just the right size for macarons I reckon.   Usually you get overwhelmed by all the sweetness of the macaroon, you can only have 1 or two. But this one, I can have 5 all to myself! #omnomnom

Lucky me, the owner and baker of By Josephine was there that day. I had a brief chat with her and found out that she used to supply to other major dessert places. She only recently decided to open her cafe and cater directly to the public. Bless her soul for doing so, if not I wouldn't have discovered this amazing place. Not only does her macarons taste good, it's cheaper compared to all the macarons places I mentioned. A box of 12 macarons would cost you around AUD28. :) I hope her prices wouldn't increase in the near future though. Yummy and affordable macarons is the way to go!

Looking at all these pictures makes me wanna go back for more now!

My favourite flavour would be the salted caramel and black sesame. They just melt in your mouth, oh my. Remember to eat them fresh, they taste much better than leaving it in the fridge over night. Her specialty are those infused with flower flavour like Jasmine and such. The baker used to be a florist hence the floral influence in her macarons.  Also, do try their French Kumi tea. I had their Earl Grey tea and it went very well with the macarons. 

Let me know if you've been there and what was your experience like. :)

Travel {Melbourne}: Salford Lads Club

At a corner of the industrial district of Port Melbourne, you will find this quaint little loft like cafe called Salford Lads Club. The last time I wanted to visit this cafe, it was closed cause I went during the weekends. They only open from Monday to Friday so if you're not working nearby, you wouldn't be able to dine here. I heard raves about their breakfast and I just had to give this cafe a go. Too bad we were half an hour late, they were serving their lunch menu already. We tried their mushroom soup, two Italian sausages and their slow cooked pork belly. The food was scrumptious, the coffee was divine and I had great company! It was a lovely day today during brunch. 

It's so nice to catch up with old friends again! In Melbourne, your close friends are sort of like your family away from home. Both my friends needed new profile pictures so we had an impromptu photo shoot! I think I did a not bad job considering the time frame I took to get these shots.

What do you think?

You, Me & High Tea

The Tea Room at National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

Level 1, NGV International

180 St Kilda Road

Melbourne Vic 3004

Open 10am–4:30pm

Closed Tuesdays

+61 3 8620 2431

tearoom@ngv.vic.gov.au

During my last 2 weeks in Melbourne, it was all about catching up with friends and saying goodbyes. I had the opportunity to try this lovely little tea place at the NGV recommended by Irina. Tucked in a corner of the NGV, lies a quaint little tea spot. I've heard raving reviews about this place and I couldn't wait to try it.

The table service was great (though one of the waiters was a tad too flirty) and the food was scrumptious too. Even though it was a little, just a little bit pricey but I think it's all worth it. All in all, I would recommend this place for the ambience, food and service.

We had the 'Afternoon Tea' set, which was $35 per person. It comes with a selection of cakes and pastries, savouries, sandwiches, scones & preserves, tea or coffee.

Our view from our table:

Some pictures we took that day after  our tea session:

What I wore: Azorias Cape Jacket, Gmarket sequin top, Lovisa necklace, Rachel by Rachel Roy shorts and Charles & Keith wedges.

My date for the day, Ireeree! :)

Accessories galore:

Have you tried 'The Tea Room' before?

Coffee Is Not Just Black

If you've read this blog long enough, you'll know that I love everything coffee! :)
Melbourne is one of the cities with amazing coffee. Ever since I came back to KL, I have yet to find a good coffee place. Even if I had found one, it's too far or too expensive.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the launch of Nescafe Dolce Gusto - Genio at The Bee, Publika.

Genio is the latest addition to join the Dolce Gusto family.

"Designed and engineered exclusively for NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™, Genio is great news for coffee lovers who crave for that cup of perfect café-style beverage at home. It comes with the new Play & Select technology that allows automated flow-stop as well as customization of every cup. Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Mocha or any of the newly launched varieties, Grande Intenso, Chococino or Cappuccino Ice are now even easier to be prepared, each cup exactly as you like it."


I was treated to a cup of latte and it was perfect. All you have to do is put a little capsule into the slot of the coffee machine and voila! A perfectly foamed & delicious coffee.

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio

Look how cute this little coffee machine looks! For RM 399 you can bring this baby home and you will have a great cup of coffee, every single day. :)

 We were also treated to yummy finger food courtesy of The Bee by Nescafe. There was also a presentation from the Senior Brand Manager and also the Business Executive Manager of Nescafe.

True to the theme of their launch, Coffee is Not Just Black, they have also invited local artists to create an artwork based on Nescafe Dolce Gusto theme. 

Everyone who participated in creating a coffee themed artwork was rewarded with a Genio coffee machine. There was also a competition for all guests to stand a chance to win a Genio coffee machine home. I really wanted to win one for myself but too bad my photo wasn't creative enough.

Above is my really boring picture and door gift (fridge magnets) from Nescafe. I think I could've done better to be honest but I was too shy to go OTT with poses. 

Oh well. 

I met a really fashionable girl from Mina magazine named Yvonne at the event. Yup, you guessed it right, she won a coffee machine home with her creatively posed picture. I didn't manage to take a picture of it though. 

Check out her leopard print wedges and those moustache nail tips! 

Too cute to boot!

Writing this post reminds me of how awesome the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio coffee machine is. I might just go out and get myself one! :)

Have a great week everyone!