If you are like me and (avidly) collect cookbooks, you will find this bookstore to die for.
The bookstore Better read than dead in Newtown looks small and pretty conventional from the street but once you are inside you are immediately surprised by the care that went into selecting books and arranging them. Then you see the sign “cookbooks” going upstairs. When you reach the first floor, or the floor between two floors, you have a WOW moment. It doesn’t have the volume of a Kinokunyia but the selection is fantastic and the atmosphere is of the kind I love.
If there were a rule in bookstores, like there is in casinos for heavy gamblers, I shouldn’t be allowed in… I had to calm myself down in that place. Despite my very large collection of food and cuisine books I could still find a good 30 books I would have loved to buy…
This one is Bernard Laurance’s Baklava to Tarte Tatin. I have bought it in Paris, in French, during my last visit in July. I have been following Bernard for years. He is my absolutely favourite blogger. This guy is a pure cuisine geek. If he likes a dish he will attempt to make it exactly the way he likes it no matter how many times he will fail and how many years it will take.
Just for the sake of it, he will try each recipe with a bit more sugar, icing instead of raw, a bit less egg, mixing this and that before a key ingredient, etc. What I like is that love for taste and that true quest for THE recipe which will never fail. He explains his errors, his attempts and this makes the experience richer and prevents you for falling in the same traps. If you have a sweet tooth, jump on that book.
Here you can see a small part of their Asian selection. I have got a few of them including N’Guyen’s, Thai street food (try his fantastic satay sauce), Spice I am (incredible book from my favourite Thai restaurant in Sydney) and last but not least The Burma Cookbook by my lovely friends Robert Carmack and Morrison Polkinghorne awarded Best Asian Cookbook of the year. It is not only a cookbook but a leap back in colonial Burma through recipes, old or new photographs and beautiful texts.
You can see on the far left the gorgeous book of Anjali Patak which I reviewed HERE.
I absolutely couldn’t resist Mark Labrooy and Darren Robertson’s brand new recipe book from The Blue Ducks restaurant in Sydney. It is a really great book with the kind of food I love to cook and many “mini classes” to learn how to ferment cabbage, make nut butter or almond milk, create your own spice mixes, and many more. I will review it very soon.
I know…. so many great books here too… I am dreaming of the Phaidon Peru and Mexico books. What has stopped me to buy them so far is the lack of photos. I love photos so much and when I am not too familiar with a type of cooking I want so see the result “physically”.
These two are gorgeous. The heavily rewarded Honey & Co. will be my immediate purchase when we finally receive our bee-hive. I already have about 15 gelato books but this one is really beautiful and the recipes are different and interesting (see the addict talking here…)
Some more delightful books. I couldn’t look at them all but I will be back.
This BBQ bible is fantastic. It’s on the list for an Indian gift as soon as I will have the right occasion…
Don’t just walk passed it, push the door and enter this wonderful store. Go upstairs, grab a pile and sit down on the chic red ottomans.
NOTE: this post is not sponsored
MORE INFO:
Better read than dead’s website
Their Instagram
Their Facebook page
Address:
265 King Street
Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia
Trading Hours:
Sunday – Wednesday: 9.30 am – 9.00 pm
Thursday – Saturday: 9.30 am – 10.00 pm
Christmas Day & New Years Day: Closed
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