October Good Food Month! (C)

Sugarhit at Sofitel Wentworth


So the place that served beautiful Le Notrè desserts marked the finale for us DDDs in October. Sofitel Wentworth served a phenomenal high tea earlier this year. We were drawn again by their chocolate assiette sugar hit offer so here we came.
On offer: Chocolate macaronade, white chocolate cheesecake, and dark chocolate crème pot, with either Brown Brothers dessert wine or Hennessy cognac. It was suggested that we enjoy the milder flavours first - which was the cheesecake, followed by the macaronade, and finish with the chocolate crème pot. The first bite of the cheesecake generated a consensus "mmm", the DDDs agreeing it was creamy cheesy cheesecake that wasn't too heavy, and went well with the dessert wine. I could certainly eat a bigger slab. Chocolate macaronade - half a macaroon, but I would recommend having macaroons from either Lindt cafe or Laurent Boulangerie. Chocolate crème pot - a shot of rich, creamy, thick ganachè-like crème not too sweet but a good rich chocolate perfect for a chocoholic.

It was a fanfare finale to the DDT's participation of Good Food month. However for me it was somewhat difficult to decide whether to label this best of the three Sugar Hits, as I enjoyed the InterContinental immensely. It could be because it was the first and therefore most memorable, but it could also be the variety of the delicate dessert creations. I for one found the chocolate crème pot too much to handle after two previous chocolate desserts but that's just me...

Next DDT - November 30th - X'mas party with nothing but good'o X'mas desserts till you drop!!

CS

October Good Food Month! (B)

Sugarhit at Galileo 

Galileo at the Observatory Hotel was the second installment of our October DDT. Orange bavarois, dark chocolate mousse, and a smear of redcurrant sauce were the offer, plus a sweet Browns Brother bubbly to wash things down.

Orange bavarois: refreshing, lightly sweet citrus sorbet.

Dark chocolate mousse encased in an intricate sponge and jelly* layer, white chocolate mousse smoothed over the dark chocolate mousse,
with a small blob of jelly* in the center.

Browns Brother bubbly: it felt like lightly carbonated botrytis semillon, didn't ask the staff what it is.

Verdict: It was nice, but InterContinental still reigns supreme.... maybe until the LeNotre Sugar Hit at Sofitel (Sunday 26th October)?

CS

* not sure how else to describe the red layers (see photo) and the blob in the center of the chocolate mousse - I think it's made of firm jelly

October Good Food Month! (A)

Sugarhit at InterContinental

To take advantage of the annual October Good Food Month, the October DDT will take place multiple times... I mean, when the hotels around Sydney are putting up special Sugar Hits just for this month, it is sinful not to sample the ones that take our fancy!!

The first installment of the October DDT was held at the Hotel InterContinental, sweets on offer are presented on a tasting platter with Grand Marnier-Strawberry Infused Panna Cotta, Chestnut Timbale, and V.S.O.P cognac cream & White Chocolate-Raspberry Torte. Also each came with a choice of either a Browns Brother dessert wine or a Hennessy Cognac.

The panna cotta: creamy, rich, with a hint of fragrance of the liquor, and fantastic tangy sweet strawberry topping (better than ANY strawberry jam I bought! And as good as the strawberry conserve I brewed at home). Very lush.

The chestnut timbale: smooth paste of nutty aromatic chestnut, almost hazelnutty, served with a beautifully rich dark chocolate sauce

Cognac cream and white chocolate raspberry torte - Most subtle of the three, very delicate flavours, fine sponge that stayed fused to the other layers as we sliced the torte into bite-sized morsels. This one reminded me of the pistachio and raspberry torte at the Bather's Pavillion. Gorgeous.

I felt a pang of heartache when I placed the fork on top of each of the beautiful servings, feeling the guilt of destruction of beauty. But of course the heartache was quickly soothed by the luxurious flavours, or numbed by the cognac. One disappointment: the desserts were delicate, and petite (this is not the disappointment though I would have loved to have more!) but the spoon and fork were MEAL sized, meaning we couldn't get the spoons into the panna cotta cup to clean up the last streaks of the cream!!

Luscious and delicate, beautiful experience. Next installment of the October DDT will take place at Galileo on Sunday, 12th October. Stay tuned (or join in!)

CS

KT: Special mention to first time attendees Sabrina and Jim - did pretty well after an all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ dinner!