I came to Australia with some pre-conceived notions....I figured that I would fall in love immediately with Tim-Tams and would spend all of my time here having to talk myself out of buying them and eating them. Honestly though, I was rather disappointed by them (which is good for my waistline I suppose). I will say though, that a "Tim Tam Slam" is the greatest thing in the world. You take a Tim Tam and you take a very small bite off of two opposing corners. Then, you put your mouth over one corner, put the other corner in your coffee and suck hot coffee through the Tim Tam. Then you have to quickly pop it in your mouth and eat it before it falls apart. Heaven - I promise!
Joe and I wanted to have dinner out tonight so we wandered down towards Circular Quay. I was quite excited to be out and about having straightened my hair with my new straightener - I was feeling much more back to my normal self! We wandered into a lovely hotel (Pub) that had some great seating arrangements. There were high bar tables along one side; but there were also really cushy leather couches. We snagged one and had an ok dinner. The food was good; but a little burned. The beer, however, was yummy (I am really loving a pale ale here called Coopers) and there was rugby on the TV.
Joe and I are not big sports fans; but we both watched almost a whole rugby match and were loving every minute of it. It is really high energy and fast paced. It's not at all like American football were the play is run, then there is the big tackle, then they all line up again etc etc etc until the next play is run and it seems to take forever. In rugby it is non-stop action. To me, it looked like 25% soccer, 25% football, 25% wrestling and 25% bar brawl. It was awesome. We ended up having a great evening snuggled on the couch with beer and rugby. After we left, we decided we wanted coffee and something sweet. We spied a Starbucks and headed over even though I really wanted to go somewhere more "local".
Turning the corner I saw a place called Pie Face - it was so cute I had to take a look. I could totally devote an entire post to this place - Firstly, the smell was so incredible that I think that heaven will smell like a Pie Face. Secondly, every pie had a little face on it - some were smileys, some were sads etc... Thirdly, they also carried dessert and coffee so were were in luck. I have been in Australia for over a week and I still haven't eaten a meat pie yet so I am totally getting this for our dinner tomorrow!
I loved their coffee sign so much that I had to take a picture of it as well! You apparently can choose how strong you want your coffee to be from "Still Asleep" to "Kick my Arse"!! Their coffee was really good (of course) and it did pack a bit of a punch!
It was here that I purchased my first Lamington. If I was lucky to escape temptation from the Tim Tams than my luck turned downhill with my discovery of Lamingtons. They are pieces of sponge cake with jam in the middle that are soaked in chocolate and then rolled in coconut. Oh My! May I just say that I have found my Waterloo.... It is all over. I have found my favorite dessert ever.Really, the food here is just incredible. I haven't really had anything yet in this country that was bad or I didn't like. They have some ideas about food that I rather like....
1. They seem to put fried eggs on a lot of things - I think this is genius and I think the eggs here are way yummier than any others I have had.
2. They serve their french fries (chips) with garlic aioli instead of ketchup - Really, this is the greatest thing ever. Everything should be served with garlic aioli.
3. They call their ketchup "tomato (tah-mah-toe) sauce" and it is spicier than in the States - Yum!
4. They serve these big fried potato wedges with a dish full of sour cream and spicy sweet chili sauce - Also genius!
Ok, I have to stop writing - I am getting hungry again!
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Oh Mimi, you are a hoot! I am so enjoying your blog, and I'm really pleased that you and Joe are enjoying the Lucky Country so far, in spite of the high cost of living for some things. Sydney is our most expensive capital city, but most of the people who live there are happy to pay the price. There has alway been a kind of rivalry between the people of Sydney and Melbourne about which one is the best city. It's mostly a friendly rivalry, but now and then people get nasty, which is stupid. They are both fabulous places to visit and live in. I'm a Melbourne girl through and through, but I love visiting Sydney.
You are one up on me with Tim Tam slams - I never heard of that! And fried eggs on just about everything...well, I guess we do. I never thought about that either. Have you tasted our chicken yet? My American friend who stayed with us about 20 years ago said she had forgotten how good chicken tasted until she came here.
I am loving all of the food here - everything tastes more fresh and more flavourful! Yum!
I think Tim Tams are just so-so, as well, but you'll have to try Gaietys and Mint Slices, those are both where it is at for me! The Gaiety is a wafer style cookie dipped in chocolate and Mint Slices taste pretty much like Thin Mints.
I haven't tries Gaiety yet; but I did try Mint Slices. I thought they were a bit ick when I tried them; but then I had some more straight from the freezer and they were just like a thin mint!
Oh my goodness! I must try Pie Face! I have seen them around - but had no idea they drew smiley faces on the pies... and for some reason that makes me happy. Lol.
PS. I'm an American recently arrived in Sydney as well. I found your blog on the expat blog directory.
Hey Samantha, yea - I really recommend them. we had them the other night and they were yummy!
Hi Mimi! I'm Stacy from over the Yanks Downunder site:) I loved reading your blog! Tim Tams are my fav, but my family back home was not a big fan... my kids love them though! lol! Lamingtons with cream in the middle are to die for!! I also love apple turnovers with cream!! Luckily I have not gained any weight since moving here, although sadly with all the walking I have not lost any either! Food is my biggest downfall, can ya tell!! lol!! Have you been to a Brumbys yet? Not sure if they have it Sydney, it's a bakery and all their stuff is super yum!
Hey Stacy!! Oh no - I am trying to saty out of any and all bakeries!! Joe and I are trying to work on losing weight and having a healthier lifestyle; but until we're settled we are still eating out quite a bit and we are trying all the food that is new and prob overindulging. Hopefully, once we get settled, join a gym and stop buying cookies we should be set :D