Let's go belly dancing! Cafe Mint, Surry Hills

It had been our plan for a long time to have a Middle Eastern DDT event, but with so many more continental (ahem, French ...) locations dotted around Sydney, we simply ignored the many potential funky Middle Eastern style cafes. Cafe Mint is a bit of an institution in Surry Hills, on weekends it draws a sizeable breakfast crowd. This place fills up quickly for lunch too, yet those in the know (mostly locals) come back time and time again. While sitting there I noticed the waitress greeting customers by their names - clear evidence of happy returning customers, as well as Cafe Mint's welcoming hospitality.

It's a shame we were only here for sweets ... their meal menu looked so tantalising I had the urge to have a full 3 course meal here! Alas, we broke the "no savoury rule" at Pier last month ... can't make a habit of it!!

A strong black coffee was required to wash down the sweets - unlike French pastries, Middle Eastern desserts are often syrupy and sticky, and the only way to cleanse the palate would be with a black coffee. To be authentic it ought to have been a Turkish coffee but let's admit it - many of us aren't quite used to the intensity. A long back - thick with crema, full bodied and good to the last (cooled) mouthful - it accompanied me well throughout the sugar onslaught:

Rosewater custard topped with berry coulis and pistachio - I thought the coulis would overpower the custard but no, I could still taste the rosewater despite the tang. This was the least rich dessert today (except the walnuts and dried apricots).

Medjool dates with walnut are a great combination, nut reducing the rich sweetness of the dates, which has smooth flesh that sort of melts into a paste in your mouth.

I must admit I was not a fan of Turkish delights - my impression was always "sickeningly sweet, sticky, covered in icing sugar". I converted today - this was an authentic rosewater Turkish delight, covered with just enough icing sugar to stop it sticking, the texture chewy sticky, while it wasn't too sweet to allow the rosewater to come through! I am now a fan.... where have you been all my life!

Baklava - I'm not a fan of baklavas (geez aren't I finicky!) because it's always a rich mix of syrup and nuts. This was a good baklava, but still ... not converted like I was with the Turkish delight.

Saving the richest to last - a gooey, moist, chocolatey chocolate brownie that would give anyone a chocolate high after one mouthful. It was however one delectable chocolate brownie - Sorry KT ... this is up there in contention with yours!!!

Because of the sugar overdose, and that I have exhausted my cup of black coffee, I took the nougats to go ... will report back when I eventually have them :p

Upon departure the good lady gave me a muffin - breakfast for tomorrow! In the future (hopefully near) I will return to Cafe Mint to sample the mastic ice cream, the lemon yogurt cake, the extensive breakfast and lunch selection.......

Torrential rain at Pier

To welcome back our dear CEO, Sydney really turned on the weather for her... unfortunately, it was the faucet that was turned on, rather than the blue sky... No matter, we were under cover and enjoyed our experience there - beautiful service, artfully presented plates of sweetness, lovely experience albeit a little damp!!

The menu - take your pick!

Crème fraîche parfait - light, refreshing granita, summery citrus and nutty salad almost

Apricot soufflé - must be had first because the flavours are very soft - that hole is after the warm apricot sauce had been poured in. Perfect soufflé fluffiness with subtly fragrant apricot.

Valrhona chocolate cremeux - it's chocolatey what needs to be said? The date and fig honeycomb ice cream hidden in the centre was probably the best part of the cremeux, perhaps there were too many 'parts' to make it a bit crowded, but of course Valrhona chocolate always wins.

Kiwifruit vacherin - this could be my personal favourite except the blueberry violet crumble was just too cute to ignore. The fresh herbs set this plate aside from the usual dessert choices. Even though this should be tasted after the apricot soufflé but before everything else, the flavours still manage to hit the senses after each mouthful. Perfect for a hot summer day - or a windy rainy one in our case.

Blueberry violet crumble - it could be classified as sickeningly sweet (from the white [fake] chocolate :P) but one spoon would draw out the little girl in everybody. The flavours of black grape and cherries were buried under the white chocolate but the juices made for a yummy thick shake. The tapioca noodles turned gummy-bear like on the cold plate so extra chewing was required. I kept sighing 'awwww' before finishing the shared plate.

Lemon blancmange - in order of consumption this should have been #3 but by the time the plate reached me,  I'd been won over by "cuteness". Maybe this is an excuse for me to go back and taste it again .... I won't object!

KT: So the tradition continues, I will be present at the first DDT of every year! Thanks Sydney, for reminding me how much I heart thee.