MACARONS, CAKE & MONKEY MAGIC A CELEBRATION FOR...ME!

Amongst family & friends there seem to be a lot of birthdays in the month of November. And here is another November birthday celebration but this time is for me.


The Prologue: Macarons


So in celebration of my birthday I share with you one of my first summer range macaron flavours: Raspberry Chocolate.

Raspberry Chocolate Macaron:
 Raspberry macaron shells filled with raspberry white chocolate ganache

When I think of summer...I think of berries

An intense yet delicate raspberry flavour

The Story: Cake 


I love light & fluffy cakes so one of my favourite type of cake is the sponge cake. And as requested every year from Savoy cake shop Mr Petite orders me my favourite sponge cake for my birthday.

My mango sponge birthday cake from Mr Petite

Sometimes the simple things in life can be the most fulfilling & rewarding...

Mango sponge cake: a light, soft, moist & fluffy sponge cake
layered with fresh cream & slices of fresh sweet mango

...Happy Birthday to Me!


The Epilogue: Monkey Magic 


My birthday celebrations ended with a beautiful dinner at Monkey Magic in Surry Hills.

Japanese Restaurant & Bar

Like the Japanese cult television classic, Monkey Magic aims to also take their diners on a journey of Oriental flavours of modern Japanese cuisine with the subtle western influence of New York Flair.

What's inside this menu?

We start with half a dozen of oysters with Yuzu pozu granite & the Salt & Pepper Cuttlefish with bean sprouts, coriander & chilli salad.

Oysters with Yuzu ponzu granite

Followed by a plate of assorted sashimi.

I love sashimi...nothing beats fish in their simpliest & freshest form

For our mains we chose the Soy Braised Pork Belly with apple & ginger puree, salad of fennel, chinese cabbage, orange & chives and the Patagonian Tooth fish fillet.

The Patagonian Tooth fish fillet
(Mr Petite quite enjoyed this dish) 

But the highlight of the dinner was yet to come. Having little room for any more food I passed on the dessert but with Mr Petite's encouragement we ended the night perfectly with a wonderful sweet treat.

Loving this wall feature so symbolic of the Japanese television cult classic

I noticed the tables around us ordering what I had first thought was chocolate (though somehow knew the colour didn't seem quite right) but having witnessed the moans & nods of approval by other diners I guess one dessert to share wouldn't hurt.


We ordered the dessert & as our attentive wait-person returned to the table to fill our glasses she commented "That was lucky it was the last plate!". So what was this dessert that got diners moaning & nodding in approval?

Black Sesame Creme Caramel with red wine poached pear, 
coconut ice cream & pink peppercorn & a puff pastry twist

Red wine poached pear, coconut ice cream & pink peppercorn

Black Sesame Creme Caramel
(it was so smooth & creamy, the nutty black sesame flavour of the creme caramel drizzled with burnt toffee syrup just melted in the mouth)

 It was soooo good nothing was left on our plate!

And what about the day after, post birthday celebrations....

A day at the beach

After weeks of cold & wet spring weather (you can read about it here) the warm sun & blue skies made a surprising appearance.

Does it get any better than this?

Did I mention sometimes the simple things in life can
be the most fulfilling & rewarding?

Tell me Dear Readers who's birthday celebrations were you amongst in the month of November?