Take the path untaken, travel an unexpected journey. Feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your face…and have a picnic!
OK. I realise that may have been a somewhat abrupt anticlimax. But I’m running on lack of sleep. While I am aware the weather is getting colder, an autumn picnic is the perfect date idea. Why? Well it’s still warm enough that you can dress cute, but it’s also just that right amount of chilly that warrants a cosy snuggle under a blanket without it being too cold.
For this look, I matched my gorgeous Railway Girl Top from Miss Patina, with my denim shorts to add an essence of femininity to my casual denim shorts. I paired this with my favourite sandals (don’t you just love the stitching on these shoes!?) and completed the look with an off-white cardigan with elbow patch details.
Anyway, enough about fashion, there’s food to be had! Mmmmmm
Located in the heart of Sydney’s south, Golden Sands offers a tantalising mix of Eastern and Western cuisine. With a traditional, yet modern and sophisticated interior, dine in style for lunch time Yum Cha, or enjoy the full menu available for dinner. Oh, and did I mention exclusive karaoke rooms available for events? That’s right: Exclusive. Karaoke Rooms. Sold? Yes? Good.
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
Maybe I haven’t been to enough Yum Cha restaurants, but the setting and atmosphere at Golden Sands is extremely classy, a step above any other Yum Cha restaurant I’ve been to. The bar alone is chic and sophisticated and the tables have the most comfortable, luxurious chairs I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in. Seriously, it’s like you’re sitting on a throne.
The brassy tones with green highlights play on the mix of traditional and modern, creating an interesting atmosphere for a Chinese restaurant. While most Chinese restaurants play upon themes of China’s ancient past (red, black, dragon murals etc), the vibe here plays with an ‘oriental set in the 1920s – 1950s’ kind of vibe, where that little bit of Western influence is mixed into things. This perfectly suits Golden Sands’ positioning as a restaurant with a tantalising mix of the East and West and it’s great to see this theme also being lived out through the decor.
FOOD
Now, one thing that’s certain is that I’ve always enjoyed my Yum Cha, and I have to say that I was really impressed with the flavours here. In saying this, the best thing about the Yum Cha at Golden Sands was that it has all your typical favourites – siu mai, har gao, etc – PLUS new dishes I hadn’t seen, heard or tried before. Talk about exciting!
Starting with my favourite, the prawn and garlic chive dumplings were delicious. These are always my go-to dumplings, but the amount of flavour Golden Sands managed to pack into the filling was amazing. Yum!
Next, go for the Deep Fried Seafood Pie – a definite must try unique to Golden Sands. Underneath a thin layer of pastry covered in crispy, golden bread crumbs, was a delicious filling of fish, prawn and scallop mixed in a sweet sauce.
Craving something a little bit sweet after your meal? Don’t worry, we were too. If desert is something you don’t want to mess around with, the mango pancake is a good staple you can rely on.
If you’re a little bit adventurous with your desert, you’ll want to try Golden Sands’ Baked Durian Pie – a crispy, deep fried vermicelli exterior filled with a soft puréed durian. This dish was particularly satisfying on the palate.
Steamed Prawns & Garlic Chives Dumplings | $8.80
Steamed King Prawn Dumplings | $8.80Pork Dim Sim with Prawn (Siu Mai) | $8.80Ham Sui Gok Baked BBQ Pork Buns | $6.90Stir Fried Rice Vermicelli with Shredded Duck Meat and Chinese Pickles | $18.80Deep Fried Seafood Pie | $9.80Steamed Chicken Feet In Black Bean Sauce | $8.80Steamed Beef Tripe With Satay Sauce | $9.80Golden Sands Baked Durian Pie | $9.80Mango Pancakes | $9.80
SERVICE
The service at Golden Sands was fantastic. Simon, the manager was extremely welcoming to every guest and made sure our every need was attended to, which was much appreciated. Staff can speak English and are able to describe each dish – which I always find a relief at a Chinese restaurant as my Chinese ability is zero!
PRICING AND VALUE FOR MONEY
The value for money is very reasonable. Looking at the menu, the only item I found a little expensive were the noodles, but when we received the dish, the portion size was literally gigantic that it was well worth the price.
If there’s one fashion item I always, always get compliments on it’s this one. No matter if it’s from people at work or randoms at a cafe. I actually purchased this top quite a while ago, but I still love wearing it – and I still get the compliments. Why you ask?
I think it has a lot to do with rockin’ your own personal style. I guess Siree and I have always branded ourselves as “fashion” bloggers, but I believe the correct term is that we’re style bloggers. We love to share our personal style with you guys, regardless of whether it’s the latest thing in fashion and we hope you guys enjoy it too.
The great thing about having your own style is that it never goes out of fashion. And at the same time we never have to be on top of the latest “fashion” or adopt trends we don’t like just for the sake of staying relevant and timely on our blog.
For an oasis of good food, coffee and vibes you’ve come to the right place. Located in Pyrmont, Social Brew cafe brings a stylish cafe spot accompanied by great service.
Setting and Atmosphere
Social Brew’s dark interior really stands out amongst the burst of greenery from the trees that frame the verandah to the bright red chairs that line the street front. With an open air feel, you’ll be able to enjoy the summer breeze through the large windows at the front of the cafe, or if you prefer, pull up a picnic rug – provided by the cafe of course – and enjoy brunch outside on the grass.
If sitting inside is your vibe, industrial decor awaits with low hanging vintage light bulbs, posies of wild flowers and even a vintage bicycle.
Food
Breakfast goers and brunch fanatics, you should definitely include Social Brew on your list, the dining experience was really pleasant.
Overall the food at Social Brew was tasty and well presented.
The Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board was a great choice for brunch and we happily smashed into smooth avocado, creamy buratta cheese, tomatoes, prosciutto and mushrooms a la grecque in Social Brew’s delectable Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board, served with a soft boiled zatar egg to add some well deserved spice. A great dish for sharing; pick, choose, mix and match flavours as you like.
The only miss on this dish for me was the mushrooms a la grecque which tasted a bit too much like it was just mixed with pasta sauce – mushrooms are so aromatic and flavoursome when cooked and it would have been a great opportunity to really get some some special flavours in those mushrooms, particularly with that gorgeous Buratta cheese served on top!
Next on the menu was the Apple Cider Eggs Benedict, which I was really excited to try. Overall, a good Eggs Benedict, but I was really looking forward to tasting the apple cider flavours.
To lighten the palette the muesli of burnt fig works a treat. The poached pear, nectarines and peaches were delicious. Thirsty? Wash it all down with some freshly squeezed juices!
The Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board: Buratta Cheese, smooth avocado, organic truss baby tomatoes, prosciutto, mushrooms a la grecque and soft boiled zatar egg served with olive and rosemary sourdough | $20
Apple cider Egg Benedict with wilted spinach and choice of crispy bacon or black forest ham on brioche | $16
Muesli of burnt fig, cinnamon & almond, natural yoghurt, and seasonal fruit | $11
Service
Very friendly and helpful staff, food was a little slow (only a tiny bit!) but it was a very busy morning so it’s to be expected – we’re not all superheroes!
Pricing and Value for Money
Overall, I think the value for money is quite good. I was happy with the price with 2 out of 3 of my meals. I found the breakfast board a little pricey for $20.
What’s better than cakes and colour to kick off your Saturday morning? Cakes by Cliff and wearing colour to support a good cause! In October, I had the pleasure of attending Loud Shirt Day in support of deaf and hearing impaired children across Australia.
Held in the iconic Sydney Tower, the morning kicked off with drinks, delicious treats and was topped off with a one of a kind cake demonstration from cake master Clifford Luu.
Just one look at Clifford’s Instagram page, and it’s easy to see that his creations ooze talent. Filled with geometric shapes, patterns and an elegant flair, Cakes by Cliff offers a sensory experience for your eyes and your mouth!
Being diagnosed with a hearing impairment at birth, Loud Shirt Day is especially close to Cliff’s heart and because of this we were able to witness a VIP step-by-step demonstration on how he makes his awesome cakes.
Lucky for you, I’m here to share with you some of those secrets!
1. Cliff’s secret icing is….DUN DUN DUUUUUN~ buttercream. Yep it’s just buttercream.
2. After cutting the cake bases into 3 even sized layers using a cake slicer, Cliff stacked the layers on top of one another, separating them with a layer of buttercream between each (you will want to make sure your cake is stacked on a turntable). After, generously spread a layer of buttercream roughly around the cake.
3. Using a cake smoother at a 90 degree angle, gently turn the turntable and scrape off the excess buttercream icing. This will ensure all gaps are filled and that the icing is spread across the surface evenly
4. Cover up any areas where cake is still visible by piping another layer of buttercream and smoothing down with the cake smoother.
5. To get the watercolour look, Cliff pre-prepared 3 different servings of buttercream icing – blue, pink and yellow. He then dashed splotches of each colour around the cake and used the cake smoother to slowly smoothed out the splotches, blending the colours all together.
6. When the cake’s icing is completely smooth, heat up some chocolate and pipe along the edge of the cake so that it drips off the edge. TIP: pool the chocolate a little bit away from the direct edge of the cake, so you get a nicer dripping effect.
7. To recreate the abstract decorations that often adorn Cliff’s cakes, add food colouring to gelatine plastic and let it harden for a couple of minutes. While the gelatine is still malleable, sculpt it into abstract shapes to use to decorate your cake. Don’t forget to also add some fresh fruit and edible flowers as decoration!
The final product? Well, I’m so glad you asked!
Seeing Cliff demonstrate his talent showed just how important role models like Cliff and organisations like The Shepherd Centre are in shaping the perception hearing impaired children have of themselves and their opportunities. Cliff’s creativity and achievements is testament to these children that hearing loss is no barrier to success.
Please note that this was an invited event I attended on behalf of ningjaeats.
While the South of France has many beautiful destinations, one of the more lesser known ones – at least amongst Aussies – is Èze. If you’re staying in Nice, I recommend you reserve one day to explore this charming, little medieval town.
I knew I would love Èze as soon as I found out it was a Walt Disney destination of choice and there’s nothing that I’ve loved more throughout my life than Disney – so clearly, this was fate. Èze is like a fairytale village, with its cobbled stone pathways and architecture overgrown with unruly flowers and vines. It really felt like the kingdom of Corona from the movie Tangled. Not only was the town positioned on the top of a hill, it was also framed by the ocean!
Knowing that my future wedding is going to be Tangled themed, I even took the time to consider having my wedding here. Whilst being the perfect location for my Tangled themed wedding, would my friends travel all this way just to attend a wedding? I found a church, a reception spot, and numerous places to take the perfect wedding photos. All that was left was to find someone of husband potential. Haha. Eugene Fitzherbert where are you? I’m ready to find you!!
I was pretty damn lucky to be on this part of my France trip with 4 of my highschool friends. Okay, it was only 3, but I included GoogleMaps as my 4th friend because we’ve been going strong since highschool and I don’t think any of us would have been able to survive navigating through the south of France without it.
Anyway, enough waffle, let the adventure begin…
View from the top
How to get there:
First and foremost, get a French sim card with data on it so you can use GoogleMaps. GoogleMaps was able to plan a full transport itinerary for us from our current location and also direct us to all of our bus stops.
There are a few different ways to get to Èze, but this is the route we took:
Catch bus #84 from Nice to Beaulieu-sur-mer (this places is gorgeous, so take a wander). From here we walked to the bus stop “Plage-beaulieu” and caught bus #83 to Èze, Village. Make sure you take a bus that goes to Èze village and not Èze train station!
Plage-beaulieu bus stop where you can catch bus #83 to Eze. Here’s a link to the Google Map location so you can have a good look at the area.
Get a seat next to the window so you can take in the gorgeous scenery as you travel. The entire journey will take approximately half an hour and you’ll know you’ve reached Èze village when you see a town square with a perfumery and some open markets. Get off here.
With our stomachs rumbling as soon as we got off the bus, our first goal was to eat. Of all the restaurants within the town square vicinity, the menu at Mets Vins Chics caught our eye.
The restaurant itself is a little bit hidden away and it didn’t offer the ocean views some other restaurant did, but the food here was well worth the sacrifice. For my main, I had the duck in ginger and honey sauce served with a side of mashed potato. This meal was the best meal of my entire France trip, hands down. Setting, atmosphere and service were all equally a treat.
Overall Rating: ★★★★.5
Duck in ginger and honey sauce with mashed potatoDrool-worthy mashed potato that accompanied my duck dishChorizo and asparagus risotto
Tips, tricks, must-sees and must-dos:
1. Stroll along all winding cobbled streets. All. You’ll find pretty hidden corridors and cute boutique shops around every twist and turn.
2. Pay the 6 Euros to visit the Exotic Garden. Succulents and cacti are not my thing, but entrance here also gives you access to the top of the hill, where the chateau ruins are. The view from the here is breathtaking and you’ll never see the Mediterranean sea look better.
The sculptures scattered throughout the garden are also beautiful.
3.Dress the part. I took the opportunity to wear something nice, so that my photos would look extra magical. It was so worth it looking back on them now.
4. Visit Chapelle de la Sainte Croix. This church is gorgeous and the oldest building in Èze dating back to 1306. I could feel the history of this place just by stepping inside.
5. Èze is also about 15 mins from Monaco, so for dinner we decided to take a trip down via Uber, which was fantastic! From Monaco, we caught the train back to Nice.
Candles inside Chapelle de la Sainte Croix
Run by two travel and lifestyle bloggers, The Hidden Thimble focus’ on creating truthful and in-depth travel guides, food & beauty reviews. Enjoy drool-worthy photography from around the world!
