In which I admit to a heinous crime

Did anyone else see Paul Cookson on Today Tonight last week? Because the segment was so appalling, I'm wondering if I just imagined it.

A little election motivation

Krispy Kreme (Australia) has an election sweetener for all registered voters. Register on the site, pick your favourite election sweetener--Original John, Sprinkles KEV07, The Greenies, or Lemoncrats--and sign up for the Krispy Kreme newsletter, and you'll get a voucher that can be redeemed for up to 6 Original Glazed doughnuts on Sunday. Even though I've kicked my Krispy Kreme addiction, I'm not averse to a little nibble now and again!

Free slurpees tomorrow

According to the Slurpee website, Nov. 7 is 7-Eleven Day:

Come and visit us at your local 7-Eleven store [from 7am to 11pm on Nov. 7], and say "Happy 7-Eleven Day" to the person behind the counter for your free small Slurpee.

Yum!

Sugar Hit @ Shangri-la Hotel

This Sugar Hit had been three weeks in the planning. A couple of friends and I finally managed to find a night when all of us were free for some chocolatey goodness.

It's not difficult to see why the Shangri-la's Sugar Hit appealed to us:

Chocolate Lovers Plate - Trio of Rhubarb & White Chocolate gelato, 70% Excellence macaron with raspberry ganache and Roast Banana gianduja mousse on a coconut crisp.

Pretty much an menu item that purports to cater to the chocolate lover will get my attention.

The Lobby Lounge at the Shangri-la was by far the most comfortable Sugar Hit venue I've been to. The couches were huge and soft--perfect for, well, lounging about. When we walked in, someone was playing the grand piano. Definitely a great start to the night.

For the first time this month, I was offered a choice between the cognac and the dessert wine. One of my dinner companions--having been to numerous Sugar Hits already--asked what tyoe of Brown Brothers wine they had. It turns out that they had the Sienna, which was a red dessert wine. My friends were sold, while I chose the cognac for variety.

The drinks arrived first, and the cognac was strong. Over the course of the night, I don't think I even got halfway through the glass. My friends said the dessert wine was good.

Henessy Cognac VC (front)
Brown Brothers Sienna (back)

Of course, the main event of the night was the tasting plate. When it came out, there were looks of awe and grins of anticipation. The waiter named each dessert on the plate, but all I heard was "Blah, blah, blah," as we smiled politely and waited for him to leave so we could dig in. After he did leave, we contemplated the best order in which to tackle the plate.

Sugar Hit - $20

It was obvious we had to start with the strawberry (because it was sitting on the spoon). The fruit was firm, not sour but not too sweet either. I would have liked more chocolate, but it could have been swimming in melted Valrhona and I'd still want more, so maybe that's not saying much.

Then we tasted the mousse. It was sooooooo good. I had my doubts about banana and mousse together, but it wasn't banana-flavoured chocolate as I'd feared. A piece of sweet banana sat above the base and covered with the mousse. My friend, who ate the mousse from the top down, exclaimed, "Oh, so there's the banana!" Which was nothing compared to my dumb moment of the night:

Friend: The pear is nice.
Me: What pear? Isn't it a coconut crisp?
(Confusion all around as everyone stares suspiciously at their plates.I grab the menu.)
Me: It says "coconut crisp" on the menu!
(Silence, which I assume might have been my friends wondering what kind of airhead I am.)
Me: Um, or maybe it is a pear.
Other friend (managing to almost hide his sarcasm by not rolling his eyes): I think the mousse is on top of the coconut crisp.
Me (sheepish): Ahhhh...I was wondering! 'Cos didn't think it looked like coconut--coconut is white!

*sigh*

Anyway, I dug into the gelato after a few bites of the mousse, and the effect was almost like having a banana split. *g* The gelato was underwhelming after the mousse. We agreed it wasn't bad for something that was masquerading as chocolate even though it had no cocoa, but it tasted pretty much like vanilla gelato. There were swirls of rhubarb flavour, but mine didn't have enough for me to appreciate it (although I think my friend got an actual rhubarb bit).

We finished the plate off by savouring the macaron, which was airy and just delightful. The filling was surprisingly rich. While I would have liked more, more, more (it was a very small macaron), it was probably just the right size for the plate. Any more and the sweetness would have overpowered everything.

We sat around for another couple of hours chatting away. Did I mention how comfy the couches were? I wanted to take them home. The service was excellent. We pretty much overstayed our welcome, but we never felt like the staff were trying to bundle us out.

I had such a great experience that I'm planning to come back soon with my husband. I also hear their buffet upstairs is good, so it's on my list to try.

By far, this was the best Sugar Hit of the month for me. I hope they're back next year!

Lobby Lounge - Shangri-la Hotel
176 Cumberland St, The Rocks
02 9250 6198

Sugar Hit @ One on 1 Brasserie

Miz M and I were planning to go the Sheraton to attack the dessert buffet ($29 during GFM), but when I made a booking for 10pm, I was told that the kitchen closes at 10pm--including the dessert buffet. Bummer.

So Miz M and I perused the GFM Sugar Hit offerings and decided to try the Radisson:

Heavenly Morsels - triple the tastesation with Roasted macadamia nut and Quandong Crème Brûlée, Mixed Berry Crêpe Stack & 5 Spice Panacotta with Palm Glaze.

The night started off as a kind of comedy of errors. Just as I was about to sneak out of the house, the toddler woke up. "I want to play!" *sigh* Luckily, Rob was able to shuffle him back to bed while I made my escape, crossing my fingers that the twins won't wake up.

Then, we went to the wrong Radisson. The Sugar Hit is not at O'Connell Street, but at Liverpool Street. Luckily, the parking gods were with us, and it wasn't a big hassle.

When we arrived at the brasserie, it was packed. We had to wait a minute while the waiter prepared us a table. The service declined further during the night, improving only when we managed to flag a waiter--more than 15 minutes after we arrived--and asked about our Sugar Hits. Miz M is a little more assertive than I am and mentioned our 9:30 reservation *hint, hint* and our desserts came out within 5 minutes (meanwhile, four girls at the table next to us were still waiting even though they were already seated when we came in).

As usual, we weren't given a choice between the wine and the cognac--we got the wine. It was lovely and fruity and sweet, but we made the mistake of digging straight into the panacotta. After that, the wine tasted pretty horrible. I suggest drinking the wine before tackling the sweet options on the plate, or after the entire dessert has been consumed and your tongue has had a chance to reset.

Sugar Hit $20

I'm not a huge fan of panacotta and didn't have very high expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised by the spicy flavour. Miz M declared it to be her favourite dessert so far (she's been to the Sheraton and the Swissotel). I liked it a lot, but I thought there was too much of it. The palm glaze was yummy and sticky, reminding me of those slightly runny toffees you sometimes get at a cake stall.

The crepe looked lovely, although it seemed bland after the panacotta. Perhaps I should have tasted this first before I delved into the sweeter offerings. The berries were encased in red jelly, and the strawberries at the bottom were deliciously sweet. The crepe was a little meh and would have been nicer if it had been warm and slightly sweeter.

I saved the creme brulee for last. Alas, no crunch. For a dessert that took more than 15 minutes to arrive, this was a disappointment. The taste, however, was excellent. The texture was thicker than I'm used to in a creme brulee, but perfect for my preference because it came very close to tasting like leche flan (Filipino creme caramel). The roasted macadamia nuts inside the creme brulee added a contrast that made the custard taste less eggy. I could have eaten it all night.

In fact, when we finally scraped off the last bit of custard, jelly and glaze from our plates, I looked morosely at our empty plates, sighed and admitted, "I want another one."

One on 1 Brasserie
Radisson Hotel & Suites
72 Liverpool St, Sydney
02 8268 8888

See the sidebar for a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland.