April ATFT Food Tee – Citrus and Candy
Born to be wild.
I hope everyone has recovered from the long weekend debaucheries. New month means new ATFT Food Tee! And this month’s featured food blogger is a fellow Malaysian food blogger in Sydney. She loves AC/DC, she loves V8 cars, she loves footballs but she is definitely no Tomboy. Despite her understated rebellion nature, she also loves food, cooking, baking, blogging, and of course, citrus and candy.
Karen the rock-chick behind Citrus and Candy is no stranger in Sydney food blogging community. This baking diva will lure you into her lair with chocolate lime brulee tart, then strip you down slowly with Aria chocolate tart and chew you up with an orgasmic 500 gram no name chocolate cake.
She is going to rock your socks off!
1. Tell us more about yourself, and what inspires you to become a food blogger? And why the name “citrus and candy”?
Citrus and Candy was a name that just came to me out of the blue. My other considerations involved something ‘citrusy’ but none felt right so when this popped in my mind, it was like ‘yes, that will do’.
I’m not 100% sure why I started blogging but I know why I’m still doing it. I love to eat, love to share, to take photos and ‘converse’ with people and I love to write and babble on. Blogging allows me to indulge all of my needs.
And without sounding like a dating ad LOL, I’m an all-Aussie, London-born gal but my parents are from Malaysia. Outside the world of food, I love cars, football and animals. And I have a frighteningly large appetite but a belly to show for it 
2. What’s your favourite citrus, and what’s your favourite candy?
Picking my favourite citrus is like choosing my favourite child! Lemons, limes and oranges…I love them all equally. I love M&Ms and Skittles and I use to sort them all out by colours and eat them slowly, one by one. Come to think of it… I still do.
3. I love drooling over all the bakings on your blog, any pet hates while you are in the kitchen?
Oh thank you! In my kitchen, I like to be left totally alone in my own world so I don’t like people chatting or asking me a lot of questions. I don’t even want anybody in the same room, as awful as that sounds. Also turning down my music while I’m baking guarantees you NO DESSERT afterwards hahaha!
4. What is the ultimate comfort food to you?
Anything warm, soft and eaten with a spoon – buttery smooth mash potato, rich soups, condensed milk out of the tin, freshly made crème patissiere and chocolate fondants. Umm…
5. What have you learned from 1.5 years of food blogging experience and what do you think of the Sydney food blogging community?
Oh lots! When I first started blogging I had zero knowledge about photography, Photoshop, cameras, html coding/CSS, SEO… all of it. I didn’t even know what an RSS Feed was! I had to learn everything myself from the ground up and it’s amazing to see what I’ve done in 1.5 years. And most of all, I love the food blogging community in Sydney! They have all been genuinely friendly, supportive and open to learning from each other. I’ve made many friends through blogging and they are all equally hungry and they ‘get’ me. Definitely the biggest perk out my food blogging life.
6. If you have to choose, what will be your last meal?
It’d have to be a seafood buffet to end all buffets! Scallops, kingfish and salmon sashimi, sweet blue swimmer crab, Sydney rock oysters, mussels plus the most beautiful Chilli Crab and Fried Mantou I’ve ever tasted from a restaurant in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. For dessert, my butter cake and the crispiest, flakiest, buttery French Vanilla Millefeuille. Finished off with a large platter of fresh berries, watermelon and oranges and accompanied with bottles of icy Coke and Rutherglen Muscat. Of course, all my loved ones will have to be there to join me and get drunk. Eating (and drinking!) is never as fun alone.
7. What do you normally do when you are not cooking or eating?
I’m always in front of my laptop screen working or stuck in a book with lots of big words. Not terribly exciting is it, so that’s why I like to eat and cook a lot. It’s my escape plan and the one creative outlet to keep me sane.
8. Chefs that inspire your cooking?
It has to be Katrina Kanetani, (former pastry chef at Pier in Rose Bay). Her desserts are just beautiful works of art but they are still classic and she doesn’t need showy gimmicks to awe and tantalise.
9. What is your signature dish to impress?
My partner nicknames me ‘Nonna’ because I love cooking Italian and I’m always forcing him to eat more! I’d go with my classic and traditional Ragu Bolognese with fresh tagliatelle and my rich French butter cake for dessert. These are the most requested by my partner.
10. Lemon, dulce de leche and matcha – come up with a signature dish.
Oh the pressure! Umm, how about a lemon tuile filled with a light dulce de leche cream served with a scoop of matcha ice cream, matcha sablée crumbs and a lemon beurre noisette. I have no idea how that’s going to all taste together LOL.
11. Your weapon of choice: whisk, spatula or rolling pin?
Silicone spatula! Ever since I got one, ‘folding’ and scraping bowls have never been so pleasurable.
12. If you can be in one country now and craving for just one dish, where would it be and what would you eat?
Malaysia …sigh. And I’d be hunting down a large bowl of rich Assam Laksa that’s thick and goopy with fish, cucumber juliennes and sweet prawn paste. I miss Malaysia so much it hurts.
13. What’s your most embarrassing dining experience?
I don’t think I’ve ever really embarrassed myself dining out but I have had many tragic moments in the kitchen. One in particular, involved a damaged glass bowl, hot caramel, melted plastic, a 3am clean up and the most awful burnt caramel smell that lingered for days.
14. How do you poach an egg?
Funny, I eat eggs in every form except poached so I have no idea. I prefer soft-boiled eggs with a dash of soya sauce and white pepper, as all good Malaysians do although I’ll always be there to pop the poached yolk for you!
15. Where do you see yourself and your food blog in five years time?
I would love to see the photography and blog improve and I just want to continue having a blast with food blogging as I do now. On a general note, I hope that in five years time, there’d be more of a national awareness of Australian blogs and that Aussie food bloggers can enjoy the same level of exposure and opportunities as they do in the US and Singapore.
The “Citrus and Candy” limited edition t-shirts are now available from the ATFT shop. Limited to 50 units only.
[If you would like to be the next featured food blogger, please visit the shop page and get involved! ]
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
cool shirt. definitely a rocker chick tee
.-= Simon Food Favourites´s last blog ..Scores on doors: New Food Ratings for Restaurants and Cafes (7 April 2010) =-.
That looks like about as close as you can get with condensing the essence of Karen into a shirt motif. Nice work with the design.
Her chocolate lime tart does more than just lure in my opinion
LOL I love the intro! Thanks Billy for everything, it was so much fun! And that Tshirt ROCKS. (I love the Rolling Stones!).
.-= Karen | Citrus and Candy´s last blog ..Sunday Gravy from The Sopranos =-.
Love it! It is so very Karen
Great interview too!
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Fish Tank Cake =-.
Yay! That is so fantastic, and suits Karen down to the ground, I love it!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Buzo Trattoria =-.
Nice work Billy – love the design and a great interview about Karen!
.-= Helen (GrabYourFork)´s last blog ..Robosaurus, Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010 =-.
awesomeness! great work billy, and fantastic interview Karen! one of the highlight of my sydney holiday was definitely meeting all of you
)
.-= ladyironchef – Singapore Food Blog´s last blog ..Singapore Buffet List =-.
Great interview. Kick-ass t-shirt. Very Karen!
.-= Betty @ The Hungry Girl´s last blog ..Azuma Kushiyaki @ Regent Place, Sydney =-.
Should of had a ‘nude frolick’ in the tshirt lol.
.-= Howard´s last blog ..Thomas Keller’s Lemon sabayon tart =-.
i’ll make it ONLY if you wear it
Hee hee very interesting and entertaining read! So much to be learnt about each other through these interviews!
.-= FFichiban´s last blog ..Boozeday Toozeday #5 – Chambord and Maple Syrup Scones =-.
great read!
and thanks for the recomendation for Gumshara! it was intense!!!
that is an awesome T-shirt. Many many more food porn please
I love Karen’s blog. All her food looks so good. I have enjoyed her very naughty chocolate recipes of late. It’s great to learn a little more about her
.-= Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..Easy as Pie – Key Lime Pie =-.
hehehehe. great interview, though Karen, I don’t think you qualify to say you have a belly to show for it… Seriously.
Billy, awesome t-shirt design! You’re the undisputed king of food blogger t-shirt design in the greater Sydney region!
.-= Fouad @ The Food Blog´s last blog ..Pistachio and Almond Milk Ice Cream Recipe =-.
Simply devine images and a really thoughtful interview with my new friend Karen!! Thanks for the intro..
Hampers´s last [type] ..Fruit Baskets Alternatives to Flowers