Share a Churros Week support Beyond Blue – San Churros

Today’s post is a little different, of course it’s all about churros those delectable fried Spanish Donuts that San Churros specialising in making but more importantly it’s about their campaign to support beyondblue – an independent non-profit organisation working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety disorders and related mental illnesses.

San Churros has launched ‘Share A Churros Week’ and from the 15th-21st of June (this week) every churros sold $1 will be donated to beyondblue. When I was asked if I would like to help promote this campaign I couldn’t have said any quicker. Unfortunately, a few people very close to me suffer from depression and anxiety, I have seen first hand how it affects them. Therefore, if there’s anything I can do to support and help the charity I will definitely do it.

I wanted to share with some facts about depression and anxiety:
– 45 per cent of people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime
– On average, 1 in 6 people will experience depression at some stage of their lives
– Anxiety is the most common mental condition in Australia
– On average, 1 in 4 people will experience anxiety
– At least six Australians take their own lives every day

For more information please visit the beyondblue website 🙂

I know it’s very important for people who suffer depression and anxiety to have the support from family and friends. Therefore, it’s a great concept of ‘Share A Churros’ because I honestly believe food can bring people together and because there’s endorphins in chocolate hehe that’s why I asked a dear friend of mine Catherine from Sweet Empire to go to San Churros and have a churros feast with me.

The are quite a few San Churros outlets in Melbourne, we found the one in Westfield Knox in Wantirna to be the closest to us both. We met at the newly renovated store it is much bigger and spacious compared to the kiosk they use to have inside the shopping centre.

With plenty of seating inside and sunlight shining through it is a great place for business meeting, afternoon tea and dessert after dinner. They also have comfy black leather sofas which is where to settled down and ordered our drinks.

Azteca Chilli Spanish Hot Chocolate $5.95

I can never leave without ordering the Azteca Spanish Hot chocolate which is chilli flavoured. If you haven’t had a Spanish hot chocolate before, I am warning you now it is VERY VERY thick haha and not everyone will like it! I personally love it! It is so thick it’s more like a pudding especially when it’s a little colder and thickens up. The subtle chilli taste gives it some more heat and perfect for a cold winter night. They have other flavours for the hot chocolate which I like too such as the peanut butter!

Churros For Two $14.95

We then ordered a Churros For Two because it’s the perfect amount churros for us. Instead of milk and dark chocolate we decided to try something different and order the white chocolate which tasted a little like condense milk and dulce de leche (which is cooked condense milk to make a caramel).

Thanks Catherine for being the hand model 🙂 Just look at that creamy dulce de leche! I’ve had the churros so many times haha my old office use to be walking distance to San Churros so yes I was a regular. They are made to order and freshly baked, never too oily and always crispy on the outside and soft inside with cinnamon sugar sprinkled over.

Fondue for Two $24.95

I would’ve loved to invite more people, but they were all working and hey who said two can’t be a party 😛 We didn’t have breakfast so this made up for it, we ordered the Fondue For Two which had a great range of condiments. Firstly a big pot of melted dark chocolate that is a must for a fondue. Then for dipping you had churros (of course!), fresh strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, brownies, macarons (pistachio & NY Cheesecake), pretzels and chocolate truffles! WOW!

 

Just looking at this platter makes me smile and want to share it with all my friends. I swear I have collected at least 3 fondue sets over the years, but I’ve never gotten around to using them. When I really should because it is such a great idea for dinner parties and so fun to eat using these little skewers.

Catherine as the hand model again ~ why is it always so hard to pick up the strawberries hurry up I want to eat you 😛

There we go the money shot! Fresh strawberries dipped in melted chocolate my favourite! What’s your favourite? We had such a great time chatting and fully indulging ourselves in churros and chocolate.

San Churros will be donating an extra $1 if you share your photos on Instagram and tag #shareachurros

So please do me a favour and visit San Churros if you can this week, order some churros, share with your friends and help raise money for beyondblue!

San Churros Knox
Number 3110a
Knox City Shopping Centre
425 Burward Hwy
Please visit the San Churros website for the closest outlet near you.

Daisy@Nevertoosweet and Catherine dined at San Churros as their guest and Haystac all opinions are true and honest. 

 

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Flavours of Asia Market – Caulfield Racecourse + GIVEAWAY *Winner Announced*

Dearest Readers, did you know the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is on from the 27th of February to 15th of March 🙂 As a foodie it’s always an exciting time look at the events calendar and pick a couple to go to, food is always good and generally so much fun. Talking about events, I have one you might be interested in going this weekend and that is the Flavours of Asia Market Festival on the 28th of February (Saturday) at Caulfield Racecourse.

 

This Saturday it’s not only going to be the Blue Diamond Stakes Day at Caulfield, but they are also going to host a Flavours of Asia market with a range of Asian food stalls which include, Wonderbao, Hammer & Tong and Hoy Pinoy 🙂 Mr Bao and I were lucky enough to be invited to the preview even last week and we were very impressed with everything.

The night started with the lovely bartender making us the market’s featured cocktail named ‘Market Mule with a Kick’ cocktail which is a combination of vodka, ginger ale, lime & chilli.

‘Market Mule with a Kick’ cocktail

I quite enjoyed the cocktail and found it to be quite sweet (the way I like things) and the hint of chilli made it even more refreshing. It probably could have had a little more vodka in it to give it that extra kick, but given my low tolerance in alcohol this was good for me.

Lechon Kwali – fried pork belly

We were then offered some canapés from Hoy Pinoy which is a Filipino BBQ and Street Food stall, I’ve had some of their skewers at the Queen Victoria Night Market, before so I knew this would also be amazing. This is the Lechon Kwali slow braised & crispy fried pork belly with buck, chilli and yemma sauce. It had one of the best crusts on pork belly I’ve had, but the meat itself remained soft and tender! Highly recommended dish!

Red and Black Rice Salad

Moving onto a palate cleanser, this is the Red and Black Rice salad from Hammer & Tong, which had green peaches and also pomegranates. It was probably a little too green for Mr Bao’s liking but haha I quite enjoyed it and think this would be perfect to take to work for lunch.

BBQ Pork Bao

You should always except to see Bao (Buns) at an Asia food market haha so there was definitely Pork Bao’s from Wonderbao. It’s been a while since I’ve visited Wonderbao the dough was still just as fluffy and filling was equally tasty.

Pork Bao

Mr Bao was the photographer that night and he wanted to take a photo of the filling to show you ~ As you can see has generous juicy BBQ Pork filling.

While we were enjoying the canapés and cocktails, we started smelling charcoal and saw on the far left corner of the racetrack was a lovely lady from Hoy Pinoy making their famous skewers. Can’t wait to devour these!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a skewer grill at home?

I’m not sure I would use this skewer grill much at home…but just the look and smell of it made nudge Mr Bao and tell him we should buy one and have a skewer party hehe 🙂

Inihaw na Baboy – Pork Belly Skewers

We started with the Inihaw na Baboy – Pork Belly Skewers with a banana ketchup glaze, it can get messy eating these skewers but it’s worth it. I’m slightly addicted to that sweet sticky banana ketchup glaze and those crispy bits.

Inihaw na Manok – Chicken Skewers

Even though we enjoyed the pork belly skewers, the Inihaw na Manok chicken skewers in traditional soy glaze I think it’s very similar to chicken adobo and was the clear winner for me. Not sure if it was the succulent chicken or simply the soy glaze but it was fantastic.

Braised Pork Belly Gua Bao

I have to admit I was already getting a little full by this stand, but there was more food coming, next we moved inside and were each given a Braised Pork Belly Gua Bao and another bao with fried tofu. It also came with picked mustard, coriander, cucumber, picked carrots and crushed peanuts. The gua bao’s already had hoisin sauce and all we had to do was add the condiments ourselves. I really liked this idea as I don’t like it when there’s too much picked mustard.

Andrew from Hammer & Tong

We then met Andrew Ward from Hammer & Tong, we weren’t allowed to just sit and wait for our next course 😛 we were asked to get up and learn from the Master how to make their ever popular Soft Shell Crab burger!

 

I have always enjoyed the soft shell crab burgers at Hammer & Tong, the crab was always crispy with a very light batter and not covered in heavy dough. I found out that night the secret was actually tapioca flour as opposed to wheat flour! Andrew said they can make up to 10 burgers in 3 minutes at the night markets!

Soft Shell Crab Burger

End result is this delicious brioche burger with freshly fried soft shell crab, salad and some mayo delicious! Another highly recommended dish you must try at the Flavours of Asia market or at their cafe in Fitzroy.

 

Ice-cream Gua Bao by Creame Supreme

Creme Supreme is the new bao venture by Wonderbao where they’ve decided to come ice-cream and baos together to make dessert buns. I didn’t expect the gua bao (buns) to be deep fried to a nice golden colour, sandwiched in-between is black sesame ice-cream, crushed peanuts and drizzle of syrup. It reminded me of a fried donut which essentially is fried bread dough 🙂

I really enjoyed the preview event and wished we didn’t have other commitments so we could go again! To enter Caulfield Racecourse it will be $20 admission fee for adults, $10 for Concession and free entry for kids 13 for more information check out their website here. I’ve recommended my manager and colleague and they’re both going so hopefully they’ll enjoy the food as much as we did!

UPDATE UPDATE! I’ve just been notified I can offer 1 Reader two VIP Tickets to the Flavours of Asia Market with your own Picnic Suite!

To enter this giveaway
– Leave a comment and tell me have you tried Ice-cream Gua Bao (buns) before? 
– For more entries please ‘Like’ me on Facebook and Follow me on Twitter ~ If you’ve already done that please let me now! Thank you!
– Giveaway ends on the 27th February (Friday 5pm) 
– You may reenter daily, one entry per day
– Winners will be chosen by me personally and announced on this blog and notified via email on the 27th February and tickets emailed to winner.
– Open only to all Melbourne residents (Sorry International Readers!)

WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Congratulations Gary James, I have emailed the VIP Tickets to you!

Daisy@Nevertoosweet and Mr Bao attended Flavours of Asia as guests of Melbourne Racing Club and Haystacc PR

Crown Golden Ale – Caulfield Cup Carnival Preview

 

Can you believe it? It’s already October and for those who liked horse racing you will know it’s time for Caulfield Cup Carnival 🙂 If you want to go, best to get tickets early! A few weeks ago, I was invited to a preview dinner to try some of the excellent dishes that will be served during Caulfield Cup.

NV Pommery Brut Royal

 

The event was very casual, we all arrived, grabbed a glass of champagne and forgot about the days trouble and relaxed into the night.

Soft goats curd with edible soils and heirloom carrots

As we’re sipping on our drinks, we are handed a canapé, soft goats curd with edible soil which is made out of dehydrated mushrooms and olives garnished with pickled heirloom carrots. I’m not usually a fan of goats curd for the gamey taste, however, this was very subtle and the edible soil had such intense mushroom flavour.

Sashimi grade tuna with textured green apple and sevruga Caviar

It was quickly followed by the Sashimi grade tuna with green apple salad, green apple caviar, apple and wasabi sorbet finished with sevruga caviar. Such an exquisite canapé using some luxurious items such as the sevruga caviar. I know Mr Bao was so jealous when he saw the photo on Instagram, as he loves raw fish and tuna is one of his favourite. The apple and wasabi sorbet really impressed me as it helped bring out of the flavour of the tuna without being too overpowering.

Crown Golden Ale

We then moved into the kitchen were our main meal was going to be served. As this is the Crown Golden Ale preview we were given a range of lagers and ale to try 🙂 Tully Hadley CUB Master Brewer, gave us a brief explanation about Crown Golden Ale the history and production method, I also learnt a few interesting facts. For starters, Australians drink their beer very cold compared to the rest of the world, in some places, they even drink it at room temperature up to 10-12 degrees (celsius).

 

He taught us how to pour the beer and that it doesn’t really matter if its on an angle or not as it’s a myth it will create too much foam. I’m not generally a Ale sort of girl, however, I found the Crown Golden Ale quite easy to drink, malt flavour wasn’t too strong.

Ian Curley

We were then introduced to Ian Curley (Head Chef of Black Caviar Restaurant) and Julian Robertshaw (Melbourne Racing Club’s Executive Chef). You may recognise Ian from a previous blog post of mine, where I met him last year 🙂 He is one of the most candid and nicest chefs I have met. It was also very nice to meet Julian who has recently relocated back to Melbourne, he spent 10 ears working in China, which I found very interesting where he had to learn Chinese simply to communicate with his staff members.

 

I swear John Dory is Ian’s most favourite fish, he used the same fish at the previous event ~ well can’t blame him the texture of the fish is outstanding when cooked well. On the menu was a Friscassee of John Dory with Oyster and Musseel escabeche. As you can see Ian is stirring the pot with the oyster and mussels, I was getting pretty hungry by then!

Ian and Julian weren’t going to make it easy for us, we were all asked to help including Chris and for those who don’t know he’s a jockey and it was so intriguing to know about what they do to keep themselves so slim which obviously helps with riding 🙂

Julian Robertshaw

After a dollop of mash potato, Julian spreads a generous amount of the oyster and mussel escabeche, wish I could quenelle mash like that!

 

Even without the John Dory this dish, I think this dish was ready to be eaten 🙂 But then that wouldn’t be fair because Ian had spent so much time filleting the fish and cooking it hehe

Fricassee of John Dory with Oyster and Mussel escabeche

And the finished product looks, smells and tastes stunning! The John Dory skins as crispy but the flesh was still delicate, while the escabeche had such lovely flavours especially with the oysters and mussels. We were given the recipe, but don’t think I will be able to replicate this at home anytime soon!

Crown Ambassador 2012 Reserve Lager

The main was paired with two Crown Ambassodor Reserver Lager, Tally told us that the Crown Ambassador is only made once a year and there is only once chance to make it, hence, they need to make sure the collect the hops on the right day and produce the lager.

We were lucky enough to try both the 2009 and 2012 reserve Lager. I thought I liked the 2012 lager more at first, as the malt flavour was strong but still smooth on the tongue, however, after trying the 2009 that was definitely more suited to my palate much sweeter like a dark burnt caramel.

Rhubarb and ginger pudding with mint caramel ice-cream

The last course was a Melbourne racing club signature dessert rhubarb and ginger pudding with mint caramel ice-cream. The ice-cream is made in house and I was a little wary of the mint caramel combination at first, however, it turned out to be quite nice!

Look at that luscious rhubarb layer on the bottom! It was probably a little tart for me, however, after a large meal and drinks you would probably want something not as rich to end the meal 🙂

I had a delightful evening at the Caulfield Racecourse and it was good to finally go as a guest and not go for exams! Hahaha yes Dear Readers, my University was right next to the racecourse and they would rent out the space for us to do our exams there! I enjoyed all the dishes presented and even though I won’t be going to Caulfield Cup Carnival, I am looking forward to seeing everyone all dressed and having a great time!

Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended this event as guest of Melbourne Racing Club and Haystac

 

Bring Back Tea Time – Bakers Delight

Happy Long Weekend for all my Dearest Readers who are lucky enough to get Monday off 🙂 I’ve had a wonderful long weekend with Mr Bao and Cupcake on our first family trip to Mildura, can’t wait to share with you everything we did ~ But let’s just back track a little, a few weeks ago, I invited to Bakers Delight ‘Bring Back Tea Time’ event at Cristina Re ‘Where A Girl Goes’ tea salon in Collingwood.

I’ve visited Cristina Re before so I knew it was the perfect place to hold this event for Baker’s Delight. They are introducing the two new scone flavours and also trying to promote the motto ‘Bring Back Tea Time’ to get people to take a couple minutes of out their busy work days and enjoy a scone and a cup of tea with friends.

We were so spoilt with the abundance of scones to choose from, I’ve walked past Baker’s Delight so many times and sure I see the scones on display, but I never knew there were so many favours to choose from!

Beautiful setting with an abundance of scones 🙂

There were towers of both sweet and savoury scones, I was really lost for choice. The morning tea was sort of like my brunch because I didn’t have much to eat for breakfast, so should I go for a savoury? The spinach, feta and parsley or the cheese and chive both sound like perfect breakfast scones to me ~

On the other hand, I could jump straight into the sweet scones, I mean when was the last time you had a savoury scone don’t the Americans call them biscuits? 🙂

I definitely had my eyes and heart fixed on the chocolate mud scone! Great idea must try making at home ~

For those who don’t like their scones plain, there was a good variety of jams, lemon curd, butter and clotted cream to serve. Personally, I’m a fan of the traditional cream and strawberry jam, yet I also get caught up in the cream first or jam first argument 😛 Either way scones, cream and jam are a match made in heaven in my opinion!

And for those who weren’t driving or simply wanted to indulge there was champagne to go with the delectable scones, unfortunately, I was driving and had errands to run after the event so decided to skip the bubbles that day.

Blueberry and White Chocolate Scone with tea

I declined the champagne but definitely wanted tea, got my usual English Breakfast and sat down with Jenny (Ichigo Shortcake) and Joyce (Mel Hot or Not) for some Blueberry and White Chocolate scone. I was really impressed at how moist the scones were and had enough flavour that I didn’t need any jam or cream.

Chocolate Mud Scone

And don’t forget that Chocolate Mud scone I had my eyes on before, finally got to try it. Wasn’t as chocolatey as I expected but with the chocolate chips it still had enough flavour, having said that I do have a crazy idea and think these scones would have improved with a huge dollop of Nutella *GRIN*

We then got to try the new limited edition flavours and they are the Orange Poppy Seed with cream cheese frosting and Orange Chocolate scone with chocolate chips folded through with chocolate frosting.

Orange Poppy Seed and Orange Chocolate Scone

Both scones had wonderful flavours and would have pleased all those orange lovers out there, I did find the Orange Poppy seed scone a little more moist. However, I did like the flavours from the Orange Chocolate scone more and one of the bakers told us that each scone over 100 chocolate ships, so it’s definitely packed full of chocolate ~ These scones are available for 3 weeks and if demand is high enough it will stay for a long longer so don’t miss out 🙂

I really enjoyed this event having time to sit down, enjoy a scone, have some tea and chat with some friends. I think we should all this more often.

Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended this even as a guest of Bakers Delight, KeepLeft PR and Cristina Re 

My Perfect Weekend – In Perth

Australia is a big country, and even though I’ve lived here all my life, there are still so many places I have yet to visit. One of these places is Perth 🙂 I’ve visited along the coast such Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Brisbane. But somehow I’ve never made it to Western Australia. But now I may have a chance! I was recently contacted by Digitaslbi to participate in a competition to write my perfect weekend in Perth staying at the Pan Pacific Perth hotel. If my post is interesting enough and I win the competition, I will win a free trip for two to go to Perth!!!

Photo Credit: Colliers

There are no rules or limitations and I can be as extravagant as I want so I’m really trying to make it as interesting as possible! So a weekend isn’t a very long time, so I’m going to pack as much as I can into 2 days! First we would arrive in Perth and because we’re travelling in style, I would love to picked up by a limousine 😛

Photo Credit: Limohire

We would then be taken to the Pan Pacific Perth hotel and check into our River Suite with complimentary breakfast, access to the lounge, free WIFI and most importantly a massive room with our own ensuite bathroom and amazing view.

Photo Credit: Pan Pacific  Perth Hotel

After checking in, I’d like probably to get a drink and just relax in our hotel room for a while. Before we head out to check out what Perth has to offer ~ I would like to pick up a rental car because I like the freedom of being able to drive and explore an area as I please.

Photo Credit: Hertz

 

I’m really into culture and history so I’d like to visit the Pensioner Guard to see the cottages there and be transported back in time to see how people use to live. Next would be to visit the Rail Heritage Museum because Mr Bao likes trains and will appreciate learning about the history of them.

Photo Credit: Railway Heritage

After some sight seeing you know I’ll be hungry so it’s time for dinner and I’d love to visit Restaurant Amuse one of the top fine dining restaurants in Perth. I have done my research and it looks and sounds amazing! All the dishes look so intricate and interesting 🙂 But will need to book in advance because I’ve heard it can get quite busy.

Photo Credit: Restaurant Amuse

I think after a degustation menu at Restaurant Amuse we will be too full to eat anything else. So we will head back to our hotel and relax and have an early night in. And prepare for the next day of more eating 😀

Photo Credit: Pan Pacific Perth 

With the River Suite will get complimentary breakfast, so we will head down to the Monterey’s Restaurant for a buffet breakfast. After that I’d like to head over to the Crown Casino in Perth to check it out to see how it differs from the one in Melbourne 🙂

Photo Credit: Crown Perth

I will gamble a little and hopefully win some money and have enough to pay for lunch, next stop will be Jamie’s Italian. I know they’ve opened up in Sydney for a couple of years now, I still haven’t tried so I think it will be a great opportunity to try them out in Perth.

Photo Credit: Jamie’s Italian

Taking into account that we are only staying for the weekend, we will probably have to leave at around 7pm so after lunch, I will visit Mary Street Bakery and get a range of cakes and pastries to try. It all looks so delicious but I particularly want to try the lemon merengue tart!

We would then head back to the hotel, pick up our luggage and be sent to the airport and make our way back home to Melbourne. That will concludes my perfect weekend to Perth! I have really enjoyed writing this post, because it feels like I have already gone to these places hahaha This is only a rough itinerary because I’m sure when I get there or have more time to plan, I will be able to squeeze a few catch up with friends in Perth and also find more DESSERT cafes 🙂

Photo Credit: Visit Perth City

I hope my perfect weekend is interesting enough to win the competition and we will have the chance to visit Perth sometime this year!

Daisy@Nevertoosweet was not sponsored to write this post, however, is part of a competition run by Digitaslbi and Pan Pacific Perth Hotel.