Cafe Cre Asion, Sydney CBD

It's uni mid-sem break and as usual, the list of assignments to do is seemingly endless. BUT BUT BUT... one of them requires me to go out and eat at a restaurant or cafe of my choice. I seriously could not contain my excitement when the lecturer told us this. I've been having matcha cravings for a while so it didn't take long for me to choose my place to visit. Cre Asion, a tiny tucked away gem of a place. 

It took quite a while for my friend and I to find the cafe (even with our GPS). We were at the corner of Clarke and Alberta St, looking down, we couldn't see any obvious signs or queues to hint the location of the cafe. Still we followed the the directions on our phones wondering down the seemingly empty Alberta St and surely, we arrived at our destination. 

There was no line when we got there at around 1pm there were still a couple of spare tables so we took our time looking at the menu. Not the wisest of choice as a queue started for form shortly after. The tables that were empty quickly got taken, but luckily for us, a table was leaving just as we were ordering. 

 

 



Judging from the photos on Instagram, the sandwich servings at Cre Asion are quite large to have one each for two little Asian girls. Well it would be a good size if you were to just have the sandwich, but I wanted to save space for the matcha latte and matcha fondant that's all over Instagram.  

First to arrive was the chocolate matcha fondant. It was hard resisting not to dive in immediately, but I wanted the overhead shot of all the food (hehe a foodie's gotta do what a foodie's gotta do). I think the kitchen staff made the takeaway orders before our's, we had to wait a little longer for the latte and sandwich. It took around 20 minutes for all our food to come out but it was well worth the wait. 

Tuna, boiled egg, caper, cornichons, chive,
radicchio and mayo sandwich ($12)

We ordered the tuna boiled egg, caper, cornichons, chive, radicchio and mayo sandwich. Assembled and toasted to order, the bread was crunchy and warm. The creamy kewpie mayo works really well with the salty sour cornichons (pickled cucumber). 

Now to the much-loved matcha fondant. Displayed in a cake cabinet, these babies are warmed up in the oven before plating. It is served with a little pot of matcha pouring cream which makes for another photogenic pouring shot. The matcha cream adds to the pool of oozy goodness that flows from the fondant as you cut it open.

I liked that the fondant was not too sweet and nice and gooey.Try to soak up as much of the matcha cream for the full matcha kick. 

Chocolate match fondant
($8.50 eat in or $6.50 take away)

That oozy oozy goodness

As good as the matcha fondant was, the highlight of the meal for me was the matcha latte. First sip and I was in love. Served in a thick walled matcha bowl I cupped it in my hands and lifted it to my mouth. The warmth caressed my lips and I took a sip. I let the rich, velvety smooth matcha latte sit in my mouth allowing myself to fully register the taste and experience. Whilst I've only had a few other matcha lattes, I could see why people say this is the best matcha latte in Sydney. The bitter matcha is the star complimented with back notes of sweetness.  

Soy matcha latte ($5.50)

Every sip was heaven. I couldn't stop smiling even as I was walking away from the cafe. This is definitely a must-order. 

For those who have never been and are thinking of going to Cre Asion, I recommend going before 1pm (is that the office lunch hour?) or after 2pm if you want a table. If you're there just for the food and don't care so much about taking photos, takeaway would be a much quicker option. 

Recipe: Healthy Banana Berry Muffins

Baking can be so therapeutic. Mix everything in a bowl, bake and voila, yummy baked goodies. Nice and simple. 

The weather is warming up and bananas are ripening faster. This left me with a few over ripened bananas. I don't know about you but I'm not a huge fan of eating super ripe bananas by themselves. Good thing is they're perfect for baking! 

In the midst of tackling a 50% assignment for uni, I decided to take some time to bake banana berry muffins. This recipe was adapted from Amy's Healthy Baking. 

Banana Berry Muffins 

Ingredients (makes 12 medium muffins and 8 small muffins)

• 2 cups wholemeal flour 
• 1/2 cup plain flour 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 tsp vanilla extract 
• 3 extra ripe bananas, mashed 
• 4 tbsp plain non-fat Greek yoghurt
• 4 tbsp honey 
• 2/3 cups mixed berries (frozen or fresh)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (325°F), and line a 12 hole muffin try with patty pans 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, yogurt, and honey. Add in the flour mixture, and stir just until incorporated. Gently fold the berries into the batter. 
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tray filling each hole 2/3 of the way. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Note:

• Usually when I make recipes from the internet, I'd cut back on the sugar (or sweetener used). But I do not recommend it for this recipe. I tried using 2 tbsp of honey and it tastes really bland. So keep it at 4 tbsp :) 
• Same with the oil (keep it at 2 tbsp) - I tried using 1 tbsp of oil and the results weren't so great. The muffins were still moist, but they stuck to the patty pans. I ended up either with paper on my muffin or eating half my muffin off the patty pan I suppose if you use non-stick baking paper instead, that might solve the problem. 
• To save the use of an extra bowl (less to wash up :P) mix all the wet ingredients in a big bowl then directly add the dry ingredients to the same bowl.