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Lip-Smacking Food

Sweet Treats

Hotel Chocolat

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I recently had the pleasure of attending a chocolate tasting at Hotel Chocolat, situated in Midtown Manhattan, close to Grand Central. Lisa Saraceni, the store manager, gave me 8 different chocolates to try and walked me through each one.

We started with the darkest plain chocolate first, and worked our way down to milk, and then white. Lisa got us to smell the chocolate first, then break it in half. Different varieties have their own unique ‘snap’ to them. Then we placed it on our tongue and allowed it to melt, while taking in all the flavours that came to mind. Quality chocolate contains complex and intriguing flavours that are not typically associated with chocolate (berries, floral, coffee, spice, citrus, caramel, etc).

Dessert Goals, Party Animal Edition

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The very first Dessert Goals festival was held in 2016, and since then, there’s been 7 festivals both in New York City and Los Angeles. The festivals celebrate indulgence and things decadent. They are highly curated, featuring the very best in dessert. This past weekend saw dessert lovers from all over New York City gather at Sound River Studios in Long Island City for Dessert Goals, a festival dedicated to the best in dessert. The theme this time around was ‘Party Animal’, and guests were encouraged to dress up.

Mint Cakery

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I’d been wanting to try Mint Cakery for quite some time, but never made the trek to Point Chevalier. Ellerslie is much closer to where my mother lives, so now I’m back home until the end of December, I knew I had to pay the new space a visit.

Mint Cakery now has a much larger space after moving from Point Chevalier, its home for the past 2.5 years, to Ellerslie. At 40 square metres, the new cafe dwarfs the previous one at only 18 square metres.

Mint Cakery is owned by Michelle Bevan, who started out selling her cakes at the Mt Albert Market. Michelle and her partner Darren Jarrett also own Table Talk, a cafe in Remuera.

Pumpkin Pie from Little Pie Company

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I don’t know about you, but I’m extremely happy to revel in all the intoxicating flavours of Fall. Pumpkin, spice, and maple everything. If you love pumpkin pie, you can’t go wrong with the one from Little Pie Company. Wonderfully silky, with just the right amount of spice, this pumpkin pie will have you coming back for seconds (and maybe thirds!).

To celebrate Halloween, Little Pie Company is having a ‘Spooktacular Halloween Fright Night’. On Tuesday, October 30th, there will be pumpkin decorating all day (11am to 8pm), and a pumpkin decorating contest where the winner takes home a special prize. There will also be games, sweet treats and a Spooktacular Photo Op with Little Pie’s Interactive Picture Window. All participants will receive a goodie bag.

August’s Cronut: Key Lime & Dulce De Leche

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If you love key lime as much as I do, then you should definitely get one (or two!) of Dominique Ansel’s famous Cronuts this August. Filled with key lime ganache and dulce de leche ganache, this cronut is intense! This is literally a pairing of two of my favourite flavours ever, so I couldn’t miss…

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Chip NYC

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Chip NYC opened their first location in Astoria, Queens while I was home in New Zealand. I kept seeing photos and videos of their cookies pop up in my feed constantly, and I couldn’t wait to get back to NYC to try them. Chip NYC offers four flavors that are baked in small batches throughout the day so you know you’re getting a fresh cookie. The flavors are rotated each day, so if you’re after a particular cookie, it’s best to call ahead to make sure they have it that day. Cookies are $3.50 each or buy 5 and get one free. The day I went there, they had S’mores, White Chocolate & Macadamia, Cookies ‘n Cream and Chocolate Walnut. Since I quite often get the Chocolate Walnut from Levain Bakery, I decided to omit that one & go with the other three flavors. 

Mother’s Day Desserts at Little Pie Company

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When I first moved to NYC 6 years ago, I remember stopping in at Little Pie Company to get a warm slice of three berry pie. Now, every Summer, I like to stop by for a slice of their cherry pie. So amazingly delicious!  Little Pie Company has debuted a new pie flavour this May: Salted Caramel Apple Pie. Golden Delicious apples are tossed in cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, encased in a rich butter crust. Crunchy steel cut oats make the perfect topping, along with a drizzle of fresh caramel sauce. 

Copenhagen Mermaid Milkshake from C Tea

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Brand new to the NYC tea scene is C Tea in NoLita. They are having their soft opening this week with 10% off all drinks. The menu includes milkshakes, fruit tea, cheese cream tea, and lattes. I chose one of their signature shakes, the Copenhagen Mermaid, a vanilla milkshake with butterfly pea tea, whipped cream and a fondant mermaid tail. So pretty and whimsical! And let me tell you, if you’re not a fan of fondant, don’t let that put you off. I generally don’t like fondant either, but this mermaid tail was unlike fondant I’d had before, and actually tasted great. It also made a great scoop for the whipped cream. At C Tea you can choose your sugar level, which I really like. It was suggested to me to go with 50% sugar for this particular drink, so I did. It tasted very delicious, the perfect level of sweet, and the vanilla flavour tasted real, not artificial. I really loved the interior of the shop, spacious and inviting, with cute stools to sit on and personal touches like the macaron decorations, citrus plates and tropical cushions.

Raw Vegan Treats from Wise Cicada

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Hidden away downstairs from the hustle and bustle of Broadway, Newmarket, you’ll find the cafe and whole foods super-store, Wise Cicada. The food is all organic and vegan, including a salad bar, juice bar and desserts. After a day of walking around the shops with my Mum, we needed a pick-me-up and Wise Cicada was the perfect spot. 

We chose the Protein Bar, the Crème Caramel & Tiramisu. The protein bar looks pretty with raspberry on top, and is a powerhouse of nutrients including almonds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, protein powder & flaxseed. This one really keeps you satisfied.