My $84 passionfruit tart

My first food post! I'm dedicating this to Adriano Zumbo, my new favourite patissier. But you're probably wondering why a tart would cost $84? Let's say thank you to Balmain Council for my $79 parking fine. So it may be a little unfair to lump it with the pastry. But let me tell you - the exquisite taste of the tart combined with the joy of discovering this great shop has made every penny worth it!

I chanced upon this narrow Balmain establishment yesterday as I walked Tino up Darling Street. I hesitated about going in at first as it meant tying Tino up to a pole . But am I glad I did!
After much picking and choosing, I walked out with a passionfruit tart ($5, not pictured, as I didn't have my camera with me when I gobbled it up) six mini macaroons ($6.60, at $70/kg), two of each of the mandarin, rose, and passionfruit yoghurt. Unknowingly, I had spoken to the patissier himself who commented about the flavours he'll have next week, including a TRUFFLE one, which I am so going back for. The reason I didn't know it was him was because he was hanging around with a friend on the customer side of the counter, so I had initially assumed they were customers. When I asked the guy behind the counter about the unlabeled yellow macaroon, he informed me it was yoghurt-flavoured but Adriano corrected him: passionfruit yoghurt. It wasn't til I exited the store that I noticed a SMH clipping with his picture on it.

Anyway, onto assessment. I sampled three macaroons pretty quickly in my car partly to dilute the stress of finding the orange envelope slipped under the windscreen-wipers.

I tried the rose one first, as it was the one that appealed to me most in the shop. It didn't disappoint. Unmistakable rose flavour, crunchy exterior and soft, delectable filling. What a macaroon should be. Next most appealing was the mandarin-flavour. Texture-wise good, but the taste was a tad overwhelming for me. I had to restrain myself after the passionfruit (another gorgeous flavour) as I wanted to leave the other three to photograph when I got home.

Now the $84 passionfruit tart. Shared this with a friend over a cuppa. The watermelon pink jelly that protected the filling reminded me of, well watermelon, especially with the two passionfruit seeds laid artfully across the top. The zingy filling oozed out majestically as I unmajestically tried to scoop and share. Again, a delightful passionfruit taste. Crust was standard but did not distract from the main event, the filling. A masterpiece on all accounts.

Yes, worth every dollar.

Three great loves

There are three great loves in my life. One is The City in which I don't yet live. The second is The Boy I can't yet have. The third? Something that delights me daily. Food.

I am happiest when I am eating my way through different pockets of the world, being wowed by innovative creations. Tho I have to say, having visited most of the major cities of the world, Sydney is undoubtedly home to some of the greatest food. I put it down to the abundance of fresh produce with which chefs here get to play. And with the most beautiful harbour in the world, it's not hard to attract (and retain) world-class chefs!

So why a blog titled Breath of the Wok? I initially thought of Gutstronomy, a tribute to my excessive desire and indulgence in food. But it really isn't uniquely me - there are plenty of gluttons out there! Breath of the Wok pays tribute to my favourite cookbook by Grace Young, and more my roots, at a time when I am discovering that fashions and phases go in and out, but I keep coming back to where I'm from. Perhaps more on that as I develop this blog?

I'm unsure what suddenly inspired me to create a blog of my own. People who know me, know I love food - nay, am obsessed with it, and have suggested that I do one. I never considered it before as I thought it would be too high maintenance, I'm not web-savvy enough...but I found myself sharing my food experiences on Facebook anyway, and inspired by a colleague's blog, I thought I may as well document my journey with food, given my three-second memory. I am forever struggling to remember the name of the dish, or even restaurant sometimes, and this is a good way of capturing the vibrant feelings I have each time I experience this thing called eating.