Patissez introduces: The Freakshow Milkshake

Patissez introduces: The Freakshow Milkshake! Patissez at Shop 2/21 "The Lawns" Bougainville St. Manuka, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2603.
Photos taken on my Nikon D60 Sigma 30mm lens.

In the heart of sleepy Canberra, with majestic trees, wide open roads, peaceful parks and slow cars, there lies a small cafe that happens to serve these epic FREAKSHOW milkshakes.
Word spreads fast in Australia, and Canberra's Patissez found themselves featured on national TV that led to a huge amount of visitors flocking to their door.

The hype is all about their signature Freakshow Milkshakes. These passionate owners home-bake all the food components the night before and they have a couple of hours sleep per night. Their efforts are worthwhile - milk, popcorn, Nutella, pretzels, fudge, marshmallows, brownies and whip cream are in these mason jars to create four amazing flavours.
The popularity has really soared in the 7 short weeks Patissez has been opened. These days the owners have to take table bookings in person (as they haven't even had time to set up a phone line yet!) and the wait can be from two to four hours. Even take-away orders can be up to a two hour wait. Usually by 1.30pm they run out of ingredients or have such a huge back log of queuing customers they have to regrettably turn customers away.

Being the foodie I am I had to see this place for myself! Living in Sydney, it was a three hour drive to Canberra. With all our knowledge, I planned to leave the area by 6am and get there by 9am and organised activities for the wait. We arrived at 9.30am Saturday morning - booked a table for eight and were told it would be a minimum two hour wait, just as I had thought.
So me and my friends had our 'first' breakfast and went down to the park to play frisbee and kick the ball around while our stomachs grumbled again slowly.

We went back to the cafe four hours later and found out we were next on the list! By 1.30pm we finally were seated. Sitting down never felt so satisfying. The people at Patissez served us and were so nice and apologetic, especially when they broke the news to us they had run out of the 'Muddy Pat' milkshake (no more ingredients!).
We were not fazed though - we kept on ordering. We ordered the three other milkshakes - The Nutty Pat (warm salted caramel shake with popcorn), French Vanilla (cold real vanilla bean shake with caramelised puff pastry) and the Nutella & Salty Pretzel (cold Nutella shake with salty pretzels).  For Lunch we had The Big Pat and the Cheeky with extra mushrooms.

Well, the photos says its all - I really don't need to describe how good the milkshakes were, as they taste as good as they look! Each Freakshow is $9.50 and I think that is a fair price for the size and the freshness and creativity put into each shake. The presentation was enough to drool over. My friends and I scoffed down our lunches then took our time savoring each sip from our milkshakes. My Nutella and Salty Pretzel shake was rich and delicious. I enjoyed dipping my pretzels into my whipped cream. Hmm.

A few minutes later me and my friends went through a joint 'food coma' and 'sugar crash' experience and we sat in silence gazing into the distance appreciating our satisfying meal. Good food and good company is always a good combination. With our stomachs full and holding on to our takeaway cakes, we drove the three hours back to Sydney to share our stories about our epic Freakshow adventures in sleepy Canberra.

Lunch Date at Matee Turkish Restaurant, Newtown

Matee Turkish Restaurant, Newtown

When I am craving bread, in particular warm Turkish bread, I love to turn to a delicious Mixed Dips Platter. I convinced my boyfriend that to satisfy my craving I have to make my way down to bustling Newtown to find the famous Matee Turkish Restaurant.

Once inside I could smell the authentic Turkish food cooking in the front. We were escorted to the back to a sun basked room where we sat at a table with ornate cloths.

Hai and I ordered the Mixed Dips - it included Hummus, Carrot Dip, Babaghanoush, Chilli Dip and Tzatiki and a basket of warm fresh bread for only $19. I greedily tore apart bread and smeared generous amounts of freshly made dip all over, enjoying the rich flavors. My favorite were the Chilli Dip and Tzatiki.


We were nearly full when we realized I over-ordered because the Pides that came out next were of generous size. The huge Sucuklu Pide (Turkish salami, cheese and egg $15) and South King Street Pide (chicken, onion, capsicum, cheese and BBQ sauce $16) arrived fresh out of the oven on Wood Boards and it smelt wonderful. With a squeeze of lemon we tucked in. We ended up taking away more than half the Pides home but that was still a happy choice. I had to cancel my side of fries when I realized my ordering error. Everything was plentiful!

With full stomachs we walked out. I went into a Food Coma and strolled dazed onto the streets of Newtown. I was half focused when we spent the next forty minutes browsing the Vintage stores.
I will revisit whenever I have that fresh bread and delicious dips craving. Matee's quality and generous servings of food doesn't make it easy to forget and I'll be back again for sure (and I will order sensibly this time!).

Our Bundeena to Wattamolla Coastal Track Hike

Bundeena to Wattamolla Coastal Track Hike (includes the Wedding Cake Rock). Photos by me and Betty, taken on a Sony RX100II Compact Camera

Towards the end of my Birthday week celebration (I had just turned 28), Betty and I managed to squeeze in a Coastal track hike from Bundeena to Wattamolla in Royal National Park.
Hiking is one of me and Betty's favourite things to do in this vast land, so to learn that it was a 16km track didn't faze us at all. Betty estimated it would take 6 hours - 3 hours there and 3 hours back.

Starting at 10am we started from the Bundeena Park Entrance and made our way down the sandy track. Unlike bush walking out near the Blue Mountains, this track was going to involve alot of sand, cliffs and sea views. This track is slightly challenging but overall, very easy.

 Within 45 mins we were at the infamous Wedding Cake Rock (see above, I'm sure you'll instantly know which photo it is). This Rock is an amazing piece of limestone that sits out from the cliff. When you get to the edge there is a steep drop and honestly I get goosebumps looking over it. It is worth the hike to Wedding Cake Rock, but I would do it on a weekday so you get the whole place to yourself.

Passing through, we walked along the cliff to two isolated and vast beaches - Marley Beach and Little Marley Beach. Time passes slowly and peacefully when you gaze out to the sea and it is a time for reflection. I thought about my age, and the life I had leading up to it. I sent out to the world a big Thank You for the freedom I had in my life so far. I was very lucky to have the choice to drive down here to have a leisurely 6 hour walk and at the end eat Tuna sandwiches with my friends. If you have even a shred of the freedom that myself and many people in this world possess, then you must continue to appreciate and respect it. It can be taken away from us at any moment.

We stayed along the coast and within three hours we made it to Wattamolla. There, we tucked into Tuna and Chicken sandwiches, rock melon, lollies, chocolate biscuits and Nutella Sandwiches. With full and satisfied stomachs we made our way back with the sun setting behind us. Three hours later we reached our cars by 4.30pm. I was exhausted and hungry again, but I still felt extremely grateful.