Jasmyne Tea

The Beautiful Bounty of Berrima

I'm SO SO lucky to have such a great relationship with my almost-in-laws Rosie and George. I often hear horror stories about mothers-in-law constantly criticising, and fathers-in-law being crude and awkward and inappropriate, and am so relieved that Stephen's parents are nothing like that when it comes to me. I was especially nervous when Stephen first introduced me to them, thinking that they would probably find me too odd or loud or young (I had just turned 17), but they took all that into their stride and accepted me straight away, and now we have an awesome rapport.

[Mind you, it took a whole lot longer for my parents to accept Stephen, and I'm pretty sure Stephen was way more nervous when my dad rocked up the driveway first time they met, blasting this song at full volume - my dad is evil!]

Stephen's parents took me to Berrima a couple of weeks ago because I've been wanting to go for ages, and Stephen would never get off his arse and take me (I don't drive, k?). It's halfway between Sydney and the black hole that is Canberra, and about an hour and a half from where I live. When we coast into this sleepy little town, we find parking just off the Old Hume Highway, strap on the boots that are made for walking, and start exploring this village.

The Little Hand Stirred Jam Shop was our first stop, and when I entered, a very uncouth "Holy S**t!" escaped me, much to the delight of the shop owners.

This place is AMAZING. The decor sort of reminds me of an apothacry, except instead of eye of newt and tongue of dog, there are jars of delicious jams, honeys and chutneys lining the walls.

There were other stores to explore, and we were still trying to get through all the jam that we bought at Bilpin, so I only bought some Tasmanian Prickly Box honey (insert inappropriate joke here), a honey and ginger spread, truffle infused evo oil, and a couple of varieties of Fernleigh Australian Gourmet Coffee that Stephen and I have been searching for since trying it a couple of years ago. Score!

Our next stop was to Mrs. Oldbuck's Pantry, a store that boasts over 100 types of tea and 200 types of preserves (and I'm starting to feel like all people do here is eat jam and scones and drink tea and coffee...).

As I eyed the various teapots with rabid covetousness, Rosie bought a few samples of their chai tea mixes for Stephen, including Dheli, Punjabi and Marsala. Instead of buying more tea, I visited the other section of the shop that sells preserves, honey, and other products that come in jars:

I hadn't planned on buying anything for the afore-mentioned reason, but something extraordinary caught my eye: Watermelon Jam. Seriously! Of course I had to own a jar.

With all the walking we had done so far we were ravenous, so we stopped at The Gumnut Patisserie for some of their famous pies.

The inside of the cafe was a bit dark and gloomy, but then again the weather wasn't too crash hot. We found a table right up the front, but it hadn't been cleared from the previous diners (and wasn't cleared until our orders came later). We looked over the menu board and chose a pie and coffee each, then waited for them to be brought to us.

Agreed!

Steak and Kidney Pie

George had the steak and kidney pie. Although the pie looked a tad burned on the top, the crust was flaky and messy, and there was just the right amount of peppery gravy. The beef was succulent and tender, and the flavour was made bolder and richer with the addition of kidney.

Roast Vegetable Pie

Rosie gave the Roast Vegetable Pie a go, and whilst it looks a bit dry and wilted on the top, the inside was chock-full of tasty roasted pumpkin and potato. The pastry wasn't quite as good as George's, but then it didn't have a lovely pastry top.

Chicken and Leek Pie

My Chicken and Leek pie was a winner, the flaky, crunchy pastry concealing tender, juicy chicken pieces and a creamy sauce flavoured with leek and onion.

Cappuccino

Flat White

The coffees came out after our pies, accompanied by little Easter-themed meringues. The coffee was made quite strong, and gave us the boost we needed to continue our adventure.

[There were no prices listed in the patisserie, and no receipts, but the entire order was $27.50]

Our last stop was what I had been waiting for the entire day, simply because of the name of the establishment - Lolly Swagman.

George making friends

Here was a veritable treasure trove of any lolly, sweet, or candy you could imagine. They had jars full of musk sticks, lolly pop trees, stacks of home made fudge, and even some sweets from America.

My first instinct was to grab a basket and start filling it, but then my adult side won out with the argument "could you at least wait until you get health cover to start destroying your teeth?". I bought a demure Zombie Chew (who remembers those?!) because I haven't had one since high school, then walked out of the shop, looking back with a longing sigh.

Berrima contains not only these wonderful foodie destinations, but also a fair few stores selling clothes and beautiful antiques. There's a little something for everyone, and the drive is definitely worth it.

The Little Hand Stirred Jam Shop

1/9 Old Hume Highway
Berrima, NSW
2577

Phone: (02) 4877 1404
Fax: (02) 4877 1086

Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Oldbuck's Pantry

Shop 4 Oldbucks Corner,
Old Hume Highway,
Berrima, NSW
2577

Phone: 1800 440 144, (02) 4877 1489
Fax: (02) 4877 2630

www.mrsoldbucks.com.au

Gumnut Patisserie

Post Office Corner
Berrima, NSW
2577

Phone: (02) 4877 2177

Lolly Swagman

Old Hume Highway
Berrima, NSW
2577

Phone: (02) 4877 1137

Nut 'n' Fancy, Parramatta

I just had one of those weekends where you feel REALLY guilty about what you've eaten, so I've been trying to eat healthily to offset my gluttony. I think I've done pretty well so far, but just have a look at the source(s) of my shame:

Passion de Pierre - $7.00

Opera - $8.00

It was my mum's birthday last week, so I took her for Yum Cha at Emperor's Garden and then birthday cake at La Renaissance Patisserie. I think the walk up from Chinatown to The Rocks burned most of the calories from Yum Cha, but we piled them all back on with the cake.

The Passion de Pierre was a faithful ode to the humble passion fruit. Passion fruit mousse was paired with raspberry jelly, and was encased in joconde sponge. Topped with sweet passion fruit glaze and a delicious, juicy strawberry, the entire concoction really worked well as a whole.

The Opera had a base of joconde sponge, then layers of coffee butter cream and chocolate ganache and was very rich, but simple in its flavours, which I really liked.

Dessert Platter - $50.00

On the same day, Stephen took me to Angelo's On The Bay, and we feasted upon this sweet platter like we were at Bacchus' table. For an in depth review, click here.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon after dinner, Mary and I ventured to Nut 'n' Fancy for dessert. We were shown to a table outside and given our menus, then left for 10 minutes until our orders were taken. The waitress we had seemed very tired and uninterested, which in turn made us feel unwelcome, but we soldiered on and ordered.

Chai Latte - $4.00

Latte - $4.00

Our drinks came out after about 5 minutes. The latte was good, strong, creamy and a little sweet before the sugar, but the chai latte was a tad disappointing - basically it was cinnamon flavoured milk, comforting, familiar and dull.

Flat Stack Pancakes - $10.00

The pancake, which Mary ordered out of nostalgia, was impressive: it was the thickest pancake I've ever seen, about 3 - 4 cm, and was really light and fluffy. The vanilla ice cream and maple syrup were classic accompaniments, and I found the icing sugar to be redundant.

Deep Fried Snickers - $9.00

I've heard tales of the deep fried Mars Bar, so when I saw this on the menu I knew I had to take it on. When the dish came out, all I saw was a large brick of dough on a plate.

Cutting into it, the inside was gooey, nutty and chocolatey:

However, the outside was a let down. The dough was too thick, overpowering the Snickers, and the dough had been fried for too long, making it very hard to cut into. I would have loved to see some thinner, lighter pastry.

So, I promise to be good this week! :)

 

Nut 'n' Fancy

316 Church St
Parramatta, NSW
2150

Phone: 9891 1421

La Renaissance Cafe Patisserie, The Rocks

Sorry about the lack of recipes here lately, but the Croquembouche was literally the last thing we cooked in our kitchen - things have been hectic with Stephen's visitors from America!

La Renaissance is a place that Stephen (and Roxy!) and I have been wanting to go for a long time. When Stephen and I happened to find ourselves in the vicinity of the rocks, and craving some caffeine, we decided to venture into the little french cafe.

 

Upon entry, we were confronted with rows of delicious-looking cakes and macarons, and a very friendly and knowledgeable lady with a wonderful French accent, who helped us pronounce our selections and told us what was in them. It was very hard to choose, but eventually we decided on one cake and beverage each to eat in the courtyard, and one of each macaron to to take home.

After our cakes were served on plates, we take them outside with us while we wait for our drinks to come. The courtyard is surrounded by brick buildings and trees on all sides, encapsulating the diners in a world away from the hustle and bustle of Argyle St.

Larme De Gaugin - $7.00 (eat-in)

The first cake we tried, the tear drop-shaped Larme De Gaugin, was a light-as-air berry mousse encased in soft almond sponge, with a berry compote in the middle, and topped with glazed berries. A berry lover's delight, and I am a berry lover ;). It was fresh, it was light, and best of all it actually tasted of real berry, and not that sickly, over-sweet imitation one sometimes finds.

Tranche au Chocolat - $6.50 (eat-in)

A delicious concoction of rich chocolate ganache, chocolate sponge and pistachio nuts, the Tranche au Chocolat was Stephen's favourite. It was thick in the mouth, and the smoothness of the ganache and sponge was balanced with the unexpected crunch of pistachio, which also lent the cake a more complex flavour.

Iced Coffee - $6.00 and Iced Mocha - $5.50

The iced coffee and iced mocha were cool, refreshing and delicious, but not anything different to other cafes. Good quality coffee was used, and they were both perfectly sweet, not overly so.

Macarons - $2.50 each

When we got home, we decimated those macarons! The flavours they had that day were (clockwise from top left) Raspberry, Blackcurrent, Milk Chocolate Passionfruit, Rose, Violet, Jasmine Tea, Chocolate Coconut and Pistachio. They were all fantastic, crisp shells encasing delicious, flavoured ganaches or compotes, and I have to say, they could quite possibly be in the running for the best macarons I've had so far.

La Renaissance Patisserie is a great little place in the heart of the city, with really good quality cakes, pastries, macarons and coffee. If you happen to be in The Rocks, be sure to visit!

La Renaissance Patisserie

47 Argyle St
The Rocks
Sydney, NSW
2000

Phone: 9241 4870

http://www.larenaissance.com.au/

Greetings and Salutations! Also, Restaurant Review: Adriano Zumbo

Jasmyne here! I'm so glad you've joined us :)

If you've read our 'about me' section, you'll know our mission is all about proving that good restaurants can be anywhere, and that it's not that hard to cook something more than 3 meat and veg.

So without further ado, I'd like to bring you the first review of a certain patisserie belonging to Adriano Zumbo.

 

After an hours' train ride and a 15 minute ferry ride, my friend Roxy and I see Balmain East in all its rustic, upper-class glory.

We then begin the uphill journey up Darling St, stopping for a quick coffee at Trojan's Cafe. Here I had the best Chai Latte of my LIFE, $3.50, but the service was poor. Took 5 minutes just for the menus, then when I went to pay they kept glancing at the tip jar.

 

Finally, we reach Adriano Zumbo's patisserie, when we're confronted with a line of about 40 people down the street. Turns out the man himself has been receiving a lot of publicity lately with MasterChef.

We came out over $60 lighter, but that's not because of steep prices, but rather how much we bought:

 
You can see why we now refer to this park as "The Place of Our Shame". Words cannot describe the deliciousness of each cake, or how slowly it was eaten, just to savor the taste.

That was just the cake (each one costs between $7 - $9) - We got cracking on the macarons when we got home!

Each one is $2, and trust me, it's worth it! The flavours here are burnt vanilla, raspberry and beetroot, rice pudding, and raspberry, and each is perfect; there's just enough filling, and the outside is chewy yet crunchy.

Thus ends our first adventure, although I definitely plan on returning - so much awaits exploration in this lovely suburb.

Until the next time,

Sayonara! <3

Adriano Zumbo

296 Darling Street

Balmain

NSW 2040

Phone: (02) 9810 7318