The Cheesecake Factory.

It may be the weather but as I spend my afternoon researching exemplary damages I have found myself craving sweet potato fries. Not just any sweet potato fries, but specifically those from The Cheesecake Factory.

The Cheesecake Factory is a chain of "dining restaurants" found throughout the US. We stopped by the one at The Grove shopping complex (one of my favourite places in LA!!) on our most recent trip, and it was definitely an interesting experience. The portions of food, as tends to be the case in the US are HUGE! When I looked up The Cheesecake Factory online, reviewers (who I'm assuming to be US residents) complained that the service was bad and the food incredibly overpriced. While I understand that Americans may find food in their own country expensive, I beg to differ. By Australian standards to food is so cheap! Mains were not more than $25!!

The food was absolute deliciousness. We had The Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich, which contains a large chunk of grilled Japanes Eggplant, Roasted Red Peppers, Red Onion, Melted Mozzarella (yum!) and Garlic Aioli on a Toasted Bun - it's really more of a burger than a sandwich. The best part (which we didn't pay much attention to when ordering) is it comes with a generous side of crispy, delicious French Fries AND a salad.

The other dish we had was the Grilled Salmon. Like the Sandwich we weren't sure what to expect when ordering, and the dish came out with a generous piece of Salmon and a pile of spaghetti. It was served with a basic butter sauce and some mushrooms.

(Apologies for the blurriness of the photo, can you tell I was in a hurry to eat?)

Not realising how much food we would be getting, we decided to order a side of sweet potato fries (just to be safe and make sure we wouldn't leave hungry lol). I seriously could have skipped the rest and just had the entire serve of fries to myself - they were so incredibly delicious (no joke, yum x 1000000!!).

The piece de resistance!

Needless to say, we couldn't finish the food (and there was no way I was leaving the sweet potato fries behind) so our lovely server packed them up for us. Sadly, we didn't try any of the iconic Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes. Next time, I guess.

NYC Fashion Week + Food = Fun Times!

So having been in NYC for two fashion weeks, I cannot stress how much fun and alive the city becomes (well, admittedly the city is pretty awesome and bustling anyway but there is a certain air about it when all the fashionistas come out to play). Whilst it may at times be a trip down struggle street trying to find a cab during fashion week (not ideal when you are weighed down with bags from a shopping spree) there are a lot of fun things that you can do to partake in the fashion week festivities.

This year my sister managed to score a reservation at a Fashion Week Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental's Lobby Lounge - needless to say it was a lot of fun and once again an absolutely incredible experience (and I know I keep saying that about everything NYC related, so I apologise and will try to think of another way to describe it).

The Mandarin Oriental is so plush and nice, that by the end of the afternoon I was tempted to max out my credit cards just so I could stay.

The Lobby Lounge is located on the 35th floor and has AMAZING views of South-West Central Park and Columbus Circle.

Food-wise this is the BEST afternoon tea I have ever been to, ever! Sydney High Teas do not even compare. The service was brilliant, the waitstaff were super friendly and accomodating - and like many restuarants throughout the USA they actually ask you if you have dietary requirements/allergies upon your arrival, which is music to the ears of a vegetarian (me) and a sufferer of an insane amount of allergies (my sister).

Then as if the service isn't enough to make you feel all VIP-like, the food is simply amazing. To start as with all high/afternoon teas there were a selection of savory sandwiches. They were good but I can't say I remember all that much about them as I got distracted by the arrival of the Lobby Lounge's signature ginger scones.

The scones are infused with a hint of ginger and then accompanied by the kitchen's signature ginger marmalade. I was worried that it may be too overpowering but the two combined to create a very delicate flavour.

And then the sweets arrived...

I have only one word to describe it all...YUM!! Unfortunately, as is the case with afternoon teas you tend to get full really quickly. The portions are all deceptively small and you think you'll be able to eat it all but alas that is not the case. Thankfully, in the US of A, restaurants around the country pack up your left over food so that you can take it home with you (hurrah!). I only wish they still did that here in Australia.

The sweets were so adorable and were all fashion themed...

Diane von Furstenberg Biscuits.

Hot Coco Chanel - a delectable chocolate mousse.

This was a plain old strawberry and vanilla cake. I don't recall it being fashion house inspired.

Jimmy Choo Caramel Tart.

Apple Brown Betsey Johnson - an apple crumble/tart of sorts.

Donna Karat Cake (aka Carrot Cake).

My only regret about the afternoon tea was not selecting a black tea to accompany and counteract all the sugar being consumed. Instead I decided to be adventurous and try a herbal tea (herbal teas are generally outside of my comfort zone so I don't know what possessed me).

I selected a Mountain Berry tea which was a beautiful, rich, berry red colour and tasted like bubblegum. The tea itself was nice but because it had a mild sweetness to it, it wasn't the best accompaniment to such sweet food. Even so, the fashion week afternoon tea was by far the best food experience I had in NYC and was a nice way to be a part of a NYC Fashion Week festivities.

Farewell 2010.

The last week of every year is always an insanely busy time in my life. This might have something to do with the fact that there is Christmas, followed by my sister's birthday (which always leads to lots of celebrating) and then of course more celebrating to ring in the new year.

Christmas was a super quiet affair this year, in fact if it didn't really feel like Christmas time at all. My sister and I have a tradition of watching 'Meet Me in St Louis' and baking Christmas cookies together every year - sadly this year I baked by myself, and we simply never got around to watching the movie. I did however hang out with some of my favourite people on the day AND I went to the movies. I don't know why I've never thought to go to the movies on Christmas before, it's fantastic! You get to see new releases without the accompanying first-week crowds. Think I know what my new Christmas tradition is going to be :P

The rest of the week has pretty much been spent helping my sister celebrate reaching the quarter century milestone in her life - and it has been lots of fun! I don't like to get too sentimental when blogging but I have to say I am so lucky to have such a great sister and am so proud of all her achievements this past year.

I must admit the highlight of my sister's birthday (aside from spending it with her, of course) was the cake. I absolutely love chocolate, so by default I absolutely love Lindt's cake collection. The birthday cake selected was the Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau. It is three layers of vanilla bean cake soaked in frangelico, layered with roasted nuts and gianduja (a hazelnut and chocolate paste). I highly recommend it...so delicious!

The day after my sister's actual birthday, the celebrating continued with a day of shopping, and this is where we finally tried this American-style diner that I've wandered past countless times over the past year but have never had the time to stop in and eat. The decor screams American diner with booths lined all along the walls, and the menu has typical diner fare with extensive burger and fries options, as well as all-day breakfast (featuring a dozen or so pancake options). We opted for pancakes, which were absolutely delicious and completely transported me back to my time in the States where I consumed insane amounts of pancakes (though the portion size was considerably smaller than American standards).

While I would definitely return, I have to say Melbourne has much better options when it comes to American-style diners. Guess I'll just have to get my year's worth of diner food fix when I return to the States.

***

Well, I can't believe 2010 is about to come to an end. While it hasn't always been great, I have had some of the most wonderful times of my life this year. Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life that have made it a pretty awesome year, I'm so lucky and grateful to know you all. I hope 2011 brings good health and happiness to all!

Happy New Year!!

Good Food and Graduations.

Today has been absolutely wonderful. My sister graduated with her law degree after what feels like an eternity at university (for her) and many days and nights filled with stress and tears, as well as great achievements. I am so proud of her. Seeing her glide across that stage and accept her degree has filled me with much inspiration and determination to get through the next year so that I too can experience the tremendous relief and excitement of being a graduate.

The day has been filled with many lovely things. There have been flowers...

Giving my sister flowers on her graduation (although common practice at graduation ceremonies) was actually the product of a personal joke that my sister and I have shared for a couple of years now. My dad was the one who ended up organising the flowers, and I must give credit where credit is due and say that he made an awesome selection. Unknowingly, by picking the arrangement that struck him as the nicest, he managed to select my sister's favourite flowers - pink roses and gerberas.

This second bunch of flowers was a surprise from a relative who happened to be at the ceremony attending as a guest of another graduate.

Then there was the celebratory dinner and OH-MY-GOSH it was absolutely fabulous!! The highlight of the day (well, second highlight, after the actual graduation ceremony of course). My sister requested that we dine at Sepia, and I'll be forever grateful for her decision.

Sepia recently received 2 Hats in the SMH Good Food Guide Awards 2011, and Head Chef Martin Benn was named 'Chef of the Year 2011'. So, as you can imagine we were incredibly excited to see what Sepia had in store for us - and let me just say the experience did not disappoint!

As we approached the restuarant the doors swung open and one of the lovely owners greeted us (by name, might I add). This set the tone for what seemed to be a promising evening and dining experience ahead. The menu is full of wonderful and delicious sounding options, so we opted to go for the set Spring Menu, which consists of 4 courses. It seemed like a good way to sample the various offerings without having to go with the degustation - which required a leisurely several hours that we simply did not have.

We began with an amuse bouche (which I can't recall entirely but was a seafood emulsion of sorts). This was followed by the first course, which featured poached Ocean Trout and was soooo good. Probably my favourite course (aside from dessert). Next was a Spanner Crab and Buckwheat Risotto with a Mustard Butter and Shellfish Essence - which my dad and sister argue was the best course (again, aside from dessert). The third course consisted of Poached Coral Trout, Marron, Onion Cream, White Asparagus and Beetroot-infused Trout Roe - and I'll admit I couldn't bring myself to eat the roe. Just the idea of caviar makes me feel a bit queasy.

Undoubtedly, the best part of the dinner was dessert (well, for me dessert is ALWAYS the best part of any dinner). First we had THE MOST delicious pre-dessert, which was a creme brulee of sorts with corn and other tasty elements (at this point I had stopped paying attention to the waiter who explained exactly but I was too distracted, excitedly waiting to dig into it). Then there was dessert...

I had this 'Chocolate Forest' which consisted of soft chocolate, lavender cream, a sour cherry sorbet and licorice...and it was DIVINE!

This was the other dessert on offer, which was something to do with a Mandarin or something. Once again, I wasn't paying attention because as soon as I saw my 'Chocolate Forest' everything else seemed unimportant.

What made the experience so great was the fact that everyone at Sepia is so incredibly nice, knowledgeable and accommodating. My sister with her 101 allergies was so at home here, they made her special meals including this absolutely delicious dessert (it was sooo good! Possibly the best out of the three desserts at our table.)

It was a wonderful Strawberry concoction of some sort. Can't remember the specifics (again, distracted by the chocolate) but it sure looked and tasted great.

These were the delectable Petit Fours that accompanied our tea and coffee. The Pistachio Macaroons were to die for!!

All in all, Sepia lives up to the hype and more than deserves all the accolades and awards it has received. Definitely one of the best fine-dining experiences I've had - making it the perfect way to end a pretty perfect day :)