Posts tagged panini

Momo Brasserie, Sydney CBD

Momo's Wagyu Brioche, $20, Momo Brasserie: Sydney Food Blog ReviewMomo’s Wagyu Brioche

I’m not the kind of girl that needs her coffee in the morning to operate. In fact, I’m not the kind of girl to operate in the morning at all.

But that’s besides the point.

Cappuccino, Momo Brasserie: Sydney Food Blog ReviewCappuccino

Unlike so many sleep-deprived 20-somethings out there, the caffeine in coffee doesn’t actually have an effect on me, so I’m extra picky about how my coffee tastes. Di Bella Coffee blends and roasts their own coffee out of Queensland. From what I’ve tried at Momo Brasserie, it’s actually a pretty good cuppa. It was aromatic without being burnt and bitter, and unlike many of the coffee places I’ve been to, this didn’t require the cloak of milk and sugar to mask badly handled beans. Very slightly acidic and fruity, with lots of body without a burned aftertaste.

The food was a bit hit and miss for me. The Wagyu Brioche (pictured above), $20, was dry and somewhat uninspiring – not the two words you’d wanna hear in the same sentence as “wagyu” and “brioche”. It was saved entirely by the chips on the plate, though, with just the right amount of crispy to fluffy ratio, and a salty bite that keeps you going back for more.

The New York Pastrami, $19.50, makes all the WHO cancer warnings worthwhile. I love me some cancer meat. A heaping mountain of house-made pastrami lay atop toasted rye with pickles and mustard, and a refreshing slaw and cut through the brininess of the meat. A serving large enough for two, but only eaten by one.

Momo's New York Pastrami, $19.50, Momo Brasserie: Sydney Food Blog ReviewMomo’s New York Pastrami, $19.50

It’s mine, ALL MINE Y’HEAR?!

So good coffee, and okay food. But what about the service? Well, the service was incredibly attentive – I pre-ordered because Sam was on a ticking lunch break, and they paid attention to when he arrived and made the coffee and food accordingly. Very meticulous, and very seamless. Definitely somewhere to go on a lunch break time pump, if only for the coffee and the service, just maybe avoid the burger and get anything with that house made pastrami in it.

Mmmmm. Delicious cancer meat.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Di Bella Coffee.
Momo Brasserie
65 Elizabeth St
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9233 8838
Website: www.momobrasserie.com.au/

Momo Brasserie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sponsored Review: Soul Origin, Rhodes

Smoked Salmon Benedict, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog Review

What IS fast food, really? Is it any good that’s just fast? Or does it have to be a food that’s bad for you? For me, it’s always been more of the latter. It doesn’t matter how the Food Giants spin it, it’s always been bad for me, and I like it.

What can I say? I’m a sadist like that.

In the more recent times though (omg I feel so old!) there’s been a shift in the perception of fast food. No longer a shorthand for greasy artery-clogging food, it’s now more about light, healthy, and that eastern-suburb-coffee lifestyle. Well, like Soul Origin is offering up with its many kiosks popping up around Sydney.

I went to the newest one in Rhodes, greeted by the effervescent Loula, who’s the franchisee. Staff swarming around her, looking to her for direction..all classic signs of first-day-training for a brand new food outlet. We select a range of food – Sam happily has Soul Origin for breakfast, so it’ll be interesting to compare the consistency across outlets – and take our little brown bags away to unwrap our brunch.

Smoked Salmon Benedict, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewSmoked Salmon Benedict

On the breakfast front, we chose the Smoked Salmon Benedict and the Chorizo and egg wrap. The eggs in the Benedict are cooked all the way through – an unfortunate by-product of health and safety rules for pre-cooking eggs – and the bread is soft. I’m not a big fan of the hollandaise: if it can’t be made fresh, hollandaise can come off as a tepid, slightly tasteless cousin of mayonnaise. In these cases, I say, just use Mayo and call it something else, and your life will be much better for it. There was an adequate amount of smoked salmon though, which is much better than many takeaway breakfasts out there.

Chorizo and Egg Wrap, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewChorizo and Egg Wrap

The Chorizo and Egg wrap was a much MUCH better option, especially when eaten warm. The cheese melts around the salty chorizo, and the soft wrap just holds it all together. Sam says that the wrap isn’t as generous here as his usual order at Town Hall, but I still think that flavour-wise it’s very balanced, and a pleasure to eat.

Achiote Chicken Panini, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewGrilled Chicken Panini

The Grilled Chicken Panini is flavoured with an achiote paste: a Mexican marinade made with citrus, annato (also called achiote) paste, a touch of chilli, garlic and herbs. As far as a chicken sandwich goes, it’s pretty good, but not quite as good a filling to bread ratio as the wraps. Now if only you can just get the filling on its own…

Variety of Salads, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog Review

Oh wait, you can! Soul Origin serves up a selection of salads, with many of the ingredients overlapping with the wraps and paninis, in case you want the low carb option. The individual components – roasted veg, beans, beef, chicken – are made in a satellite kitchen off site, and delivered to outlets all over Sydney and assembled on the day.

We got to try a little bit of everything available, and the chicken schnitzel was actually a favourite, followed by the roast veg. Usually, cooked chicken breast doesn’t hold up so well in terms of texture, but they’ve done well with the schnitzel, keeping the crust crisp, around a thin layer of chicken.

At its core, Soul Origin doesn’t pretend to be anything fancier than it is: it’s providing an alternative to the fast food that we love to hate, and maybe give you something a little different for a weekday lunch. Does it have the most amazing sandwiches in Sydney? No, but it does pretty well in the takeaway category.

Oh, and one last thing: if you’re looking for a little afternoon pick-me-up that’s not your normal coffee, try a suggestion from Loula – a dirty chai is a shot of coffee in a chai latte, and it’s pretty darn good. Soul Origin already has a reputation for its coffee, and hopefully now, a little something different.

Insatiable Munchies dined as a sponsored guest of Soul Origin, Rhodes.
Soul Origin
Kiosk 5, Rhodes Waterside
1 Rider Boulevard
Rhodes NSW 2138
Phone: 02 8765 1162
Website: http://www.soulorigin.com.au