Papa's Pasticceria in Haberfield is famous for its light, fluffy and unique Ricotta Cheesecake, a cake no sweet tooth (or anyone, for that matter) could ever resist. The cheesecake is not heavy or 'cheesy', per se, but is wonderfully spongey, creamy and airy. Unlike traditional cheesecakes, Papa's cheesecakes is encased all around in a layer of spongey pastry, inside of which reveals a sweet, white ricotta cheese filling. Cinnamon and icing sugar is dusted on top in a criss-cross pattern, a sweet and delicate finish.

I've loved this cake from the moment I had my first mouthful, and have had it on numerous occasions since, one of which was on my birthday. It is one of my all time favourite cakes to eat, so when I stumbled upon this recipe post on Wholesome Cook by blogger Martyna Angell, I knew I just had to try making one for myself.

Step into the grand, glass-fronted building of Westfield Sydney off Pitt Street Mall and it becomes clear that this shopping centre boasts the allure of retail therapy on a whole new level. From the concierge with its exquisitely marbled counter to the array of plush, lily-pad-shaped couches dotted around the 6 levels of tempting designer and franchised stores, this is far from the local shopping plazas of my childhood.

A food lovers dream, Food on Five is located within the complex that is an upmarket, slightly more sophisticated food court that is a far cry from plastic cutlery and fast food chains that we are used to. Food ordered from the eateries is served on real white crockery (when eaten in, not taken away) and is of top-notch quality, even if it means that prices are a little higher than at a typical food court. But take the escalator up to the sixth level and you'll be greeted with a quieter atmosphere and a handful of tempting restaurants, with food that would suit those with a longer lunch break.


Chat Thai stands among these restaurants, its front kitchen - where chefs make salads and prepare a plethora of authentic Thai sweets - encased behind a glass window where passers-by can stop and take a little peek. I'd come with a good friend for lunch on a weekday, and arriving just after 12pm it was almost already half full. The good thing about this being a restaurant within another complex (ie. Westfield) is that it caters for both those who want a fast, cheaper lunch and those who'd like to enjoy a slightly more sophisticated, lazy lunch. I'd come with a friend, and we ordered a couple of yummy dishes to share and talk over.


The red curry of roasted duck comes out first, glistening in an exotic blue serving bowl that holds bite-sized pieces of roast duck, holy basil, capsicum, snow peas, tiny red and green cherry tomatoes, lychee and pineapple. The addition of tropical fruit gave the curry a sweet burst and complemented the spiciness nicely. The holy basil was something I hadn't experienced much of before, which added a slight anise flavour.


Pad Si-Ew is a popular Thai stir-fried noodle dish that appeals to both young and old as it's not spicy at all. Char Thai's Pad Si-Ew comes as a jumble of wide, slippery rice noodles, chicken and Chinese kale and is deliciously addictive. The slick noodles are wider than most versions and are hard to pick up if you aren't too skilled with chopsticks, but possess a smoky, charred flavour that is yummy and not too salty.

Some diners beside us share Pad Thai, King Prawns and Satay, and others have an individual bowl of soup noodles all to themselves. The variety of the menu is excellent. This is one of those crowd-pleaser restaurants that manages to offer popular dishes and authentic cuisine without compromising quality, and if we'd had more people we'd would have loved to order from all corners of the expansive menu, especially the amazing sweets and Thai desserts. Lunch for the two of us cost just over $15 a head, which isn't too bad considering the generous serving sizes and quality of the food.


This was just a quick pic I just had to share with you of the dessert we sought out a couple of hours after our yummy, satisfying meal - a Tiramisu Gelato from Meno Diciotto in Darling Quarter. What better way is there to end a meal?

Website:
http://www.chatthai.com.au/

Sometimes all you feel like eating is a burger. Or ribs, Dad's case. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try to stay on your healthy/veggie-based/wholegrain/low-calorie/no-sweets diet, you just have to order the premium wagyu beef, cheese-and-onion ring burger with the lot. Topped with smotherings of BBQ sauce and a side of chunky fried chips. This is the kind of diet where dude food rules.

Unbeknown to some, Sydney's The Star Casino houses an upmarket, family friendly food court on its ground level, aptly named Cafe Court. Walk inside past the dazzling lights of Adriano Zumbo and moody furnishings of Momofuku Seibo and you'll come to an attractive set-up of plush booth seating, sparkling feature lights and trays laden with non-plastic cutlery and white crockery. Dining options at this classy food court include dumpling hero Din Tai Fung, Wooloomooloo's Flying Fish inspired little sister Flying Fish and Chips, a hip cafe, a Malaysian hawker style eatery, Turkish Grill and further down, the infamous Gelato Messina among many other joints. On this particular meat-craving day, what we were craving was Ribs & Burgers.

There comes a time during the day when I get so ravenous that a piece of fruit or handful of nuts won't satisfy my stomach. The aching feeling of hunger creeps up on me slowly, a hollow chasm that grows larger and larger until I have to eat something. You know that feeling of a persistent, begrudging hunger? The one that won't disappear unless you eat a big meal? I get that at around 11am on a weekday, and it's a feeling I often feel guilty fulfilling, wanting to wait until lunchtime to eat my proper lunch. I get scared that I'll get myself full before I'm meant to, at a time in the day that you're not meant to get hungry. Some may say you should have a bigger breakfast, but what if I've had one that has made me stuffed but am still hungry when it comes to the mid-morning munchies?
I've read about these healthy date snacks everywhere under the guise of a range of different names - Larabars, Energy Bars, Protein Balls - but essentially they're all made up of the same base of processed dates and nuts, just flavoured and shaped in different ways. They're raw, gluten free and good for you in all different ways, and only require a small amount of ingredients and effort to make. They make a perfect portable snack that will fill you up when you're feeling hungry, and are jam-packed full of good nutrients that nourish and replenish you when snacking time arrives.

Bulgogi is widely known in the culinary world as a  Korean dish of grilled, marinated thin slices of beef. But, contrary to popular belief, it may also refer to something else. The direct translation of this term from Korean means 'fire' (bul) and 'meat' (gogi), hence the other meaning of this famous beef dish, which points right back to its origins - the barbeque, or process of cooking meat on fire.


The Bulgogi sits on the main Chatswood shopping strip of Victoria Street, amongst many other Asian eateries and not too far away from the busy Chatswood Westfield and Mandarin Centre. On weekdays you'll walk by to see a lunch special menu beckoning you from the restaurant's window, which is what brought us here on this fine Thursday for lunch. These tempting specials are listed on a rotation from the hours of 12pm and 2pm, and each day has 3 different specials that feature a range of meats to suit almost every diet.

On a bright, sunny Saturday when we had nothing to do we decided to go out to Newtown for a wander and to have lunch. Being the hipster suburb that it is, there's no shortage of good eateries in the area, lined up side by side along King Street.Twelve is nestled among them, occupying almost two shopfront lengths with its open-air seating and dark, subtle decor. The signage oozes the air of a funky, seaside cafe.

The hustle and bustle of fast cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur mirror the busy lifestyles the people who live in them lead, a hustle and bustle that can overwhelm and confuse you if you get caught up in it. But take a step out of that picture and look at it from the outside, and you come to gradually appreciate the uniqueness and adversity of those cities, an atmosphere that is much different to that of Sydney or any other Australian city.