Recipe: Spiced mandarin cake with lavender syrup and cinnamon sugar

I made this cake for Youth Food Movement’s cake stall at the recent event Brisbane Film Feast.

They’re an organisation that I volunteer with. They’re all about educating and trying to make real changes in the current food system by holding events as well as various campaigns and workshops to discuss and change current practices with producers, farmers, policymakers, etc. I love what they do and as a 24-year-old youth, I care about our future and really hope that our generation can make the world a better place.

Keep an eye out here: http://www.youthfoodmovement.org.au/

The Summit Restaurant & Bar

**Note: I was an invited guest on behalf of My City Life, The Summit restaurant and Brisbane Lights Tours.

Recently I received a mysterious email from My City Life pertaining to a secret location dinner. Points for building the hype!

On the night, our group of media folk were whisked away by the family-run Brisbane Lights Tours group from our CBD pick up point (The Sebel Brisbane). Told nothing of our destination, our only hint was that it would provide a good view of Brisbane. On the bus ride, we nibbled on a prawn rice paper roll as a light appetiser as we hypothesised over the location. We were led through a convoluted route through the streets of Ashgrove and eventually, we found our way up to The Summit Restaurant at Brisbane lookout, Mt Coot-tha!

Papa Jack’s revisited – new papa!

Papa Jack’s has found a new Papa (head chef)

** Note: I was an invited guest on behalf of Papa Jack’s. 

Keeping with their Creole-inspired roots in the deep south, new Head Chef Nathan Wood brings a revamped food and drinks menu. I was recently invited along for a media menu launch to try some of their best dishes. Some are new cuts of meat (pork short ribs which are meatier and easier to handle) while others are just popular combinations (chicken and waffles with maple syrup, yo!). It may seem they’re moving away from French influences (no more crab souffle) but that doesn’t mean their menu lacks refinement.

Lunch on the go.

Girl eats plain lettuce.
Sometimes I eat dull things too.
Running out the door this morning, I ripped the base off a cos lettuce for a “healthy lunch”.

I’ve been doing some serious job applications lately so I’ve been neglectful on the blog front.

I’ll have a blog post coming up this week of the new menu I was invited to try from Papa Jack’s though!

Happy 3rd blog birthday!

3 years of “Eating My Way Through Life”. Although, let’s be honest, I’ve been doing that since 1990.

I’m looking at ways to expand my blog. Literally. I’m running out of allotted WordPress memory. This has held me back in blogging about my holidays (last year in Taiwan/Singapore and this year in Melbourne).

Let me know your suggestions.

I am constantly confronted with real life situations in which a blog business card has been necessary. I’m often jokingly chastised by fellow bloggers for not having one. I don’t have one and I don’t really feel my blog is professional enough to reflect having such a professional regard to my ” blogging brand”. This is all personal fun for me. I invest zero money into it — only time.

So, who knows. Maybe I’ll cave in. Throw some coins at WordPress. Throw business cards in everyone’s face over the next year.

Thanks for sticking tight, friends, readers, strangers.