Posts tagged Reviews

Cheap eats.

Review January 19, 2011 5 Comments

Sometimes you’re so hungry, you need something cheap and quick. And especially when you’re in a place like Ikea – I never want to leave! – cheap food is an absolute find!

I had the smaller breakfast option ($2.95). Baked beans, poached tomato, bacon, sausage, hash brown and scrambled eggs all piled unceremoniously onto a plate. Hey, I never said it was gourmet, but it is cheap and the food is very decent.

Sean went for the option that included meatballs ($5.95).

In all, Ikea food is pretty much like its furniture – nothing flash, very minimalistic, but very good value. Especially if you want to spend the first half of the day at Ikea – get in early and get the breakfast!

Tea time!

Review January 9, 2011 4 Comments

Sean and I decided to start a new tradition this year. We love going to Yum Cha (or “drink tea” if literally translated) and thought that it’d be nice to go for Yum Cha for lunch on the first of every year!

For this first gorge we decided to go to Tingha Palace in Parramatta. It was bustling with families of all nationalities, and we were quietly directed to a spot on a shaded balcony. Now let the ordering begin!

We ordered Fried Spring Rolls to start off with. Crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside, the spring rolls were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, I felt like the pastry to filling ratio was a little bit skewed, and that it should have just a little more (better seasoned) filling.

And what’s a Yum Cha session without dumplings?

We ordered Chive and Prawn Dumplings (pictured above), and Har Gow (which literally translates to Prawn Dumplings). They were both good, flavour-wise, but I personally found the texture rather lacking. There is something about the translucent, fragile skin that gently encases crunchy, fresh prawns, that has a comforting chewiness about it. I love biting into a prawn dumpling and feeling that token bit of resistance before it gives way to my determined appetite. These ones, however, were just a little too placid and limp for my taste. But they were good dumplings otherwise!

Sean also had to have his favourite – Char Siew Pao.

It was sort of…average. It had the lovely fluffy buns around sweet, barbecued pork. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely nothing to complain about.

Now on to my Yum Cha must-haves…

Cheong Fun!!! I love the silky sheets clinging delicately around tasty fillings, smothered in a magically sweet and salty dark sauce. Again, similar to the pork buns, it’s good, but not inspiring. If anything, we found that the sheets of rice noodles were a little too thick in some places where they’ve clumped together.

And last but not least (of the savouries)…

The Phoenix’s Claw (or braised chicken feet) are lovely and well stewed, with the strategic hits of chilli rounding up a medley of exciting flavours. Kudos to the restaurant for getting this right, as chicken feet are quite hard to cook correctly, and has to be stewed enough to allow all the flavours to meld. It also has to be tender enough to fall apart in your mouth, but not fall apart around your chopsticks. Full marks for this dish.

And now, on to the desserts!!

We ordered the Mango Pancakes and the Mango Pudding. As with the other dishes, these were thoroughly average. In fact, the pancakes were a little too clumpy and not silky enough, and there was entirely too much pancake to filling. We were left craving more desserts at the end of this meal, and it didn’t help that the dessert cart took forever to arrive at our table. For some reason, our table had been cleared and we were waiting for a good 20min before the dessert cart was called to the us.

All in all, it was an average experience. The prices were regular Yum Cha prices, and not fantastic value for money, since the dishes were so…regular. If nothing else, it’s really convenient for when we want a Yum Cha hit, but otherwise, nothing really worth traveling for.

Of course, when you go to a Chinese restaurant, you gotta spend some time looking into the giant fish tanks that line the walls!!

We ate at

Tingha Palace
Parramatta Leagues Club
1st Floor, 13-15 O’Connell Street, Parramata NSW 2150, Australia
(02) 9890 168

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Birthday Banquet

Review December 17, 2010 6 Comments

Last Saturday, my tummy was very happy. Not only was the Sydney Food Bloggers’ Christmas Picnic in the afternoon, I also had a very lovely friend’s 21st in the evening! Awesome food ahoy!

The 21st was held at Emperor’s Choice Restaurant at King’s Street. Now I’ve got this real phobia about eating Chinese food in Sydney – just cause I’ve had quite a few bad rounds of pseudo Chinese food here – but this restaurant just blows my mind every time! The last time we had gathered here was for another friend’s birthday, and I was so surprised that there really was such an awesome place to eat that I missed how exquisite the food really was.

Just as a note, the way Chinese banquets go is that you order loads of food, it comes out one or two dishes at a time and gets placed on a lazy susan in the middle of the table, and then everyone dig in!!

First up was the cold platter of fresh oysters, and salmon and lobster sashimi! This is one of my food dreams come true. The seafood was fresh and succulent, and I think I’ve really developed a taste for lobster sashimi (much to the demise of my wallet).

Then we had little pockets of wonder that were spring rolls. I am though, quite ashamed to say that I was so happy eating them that I forgot to take a moment to discern what was in them. They were really yummy too though!

Then duck! I love duck.

The poultry equivalent of red meat, the firm flesh with a layer of crispy skin is accentuated by a tangy plum sauce. Duck’s quite easy to get wrong and overcook, but this was tender and silky – I think I finished a third of the plate myself.

And at every birthday dinner (said in a sage voice) there must be noodles.

The belief is that the long strands of the noodles are for a long life. (The Chinese can put auspicious meaning into any dish.) The soft noodles were matched with coral crab. How awesome is this? Sashimi and crabs in the one meal! I only usually get such a choice at the fish market!

Besides the noodles, you gotta have rice of course.

The fried rice with bits of tender tender beef was not too oily, and went so well with the salt and pepper squid and eggplant dish that I unfortunately didn’t manage to get a decent photo of!! =( The salt and pepper dish had little fluttery feathers of seaweed that I eagerly heaped onto my rice and mixed in for that extra crunch.

There was also the succulent wagyu beef on a bed of sugarsnap peas. I know it’s not the healthiest thing, but oh how I love fat in my meat. I’m sorry, but lean meat really doesn’t do much for me. Must. Have. Fat.

The dark, juicy pieces of meat coupled with the crunch and the sweetness of the sugarsnap peas was a party in my mouth, but nothing can compare to the dish that was to come…

The Shandong chicken is Emperor’s Choice Restaurant’s signature dish (招牌菜 for those of you who know mandarin). Juicy pieces of chicken are drenched in a tangy, spicy…heavenly sauce. The mild spice from the chilli stimulates your taste buds while the tang moves in for it’s delicious attack. The soft meat and the crispy skin joins in the melodious harmony of tastes and textures as flavours explode in all directions.

YUM.

The last time I came here was for another friend’s birthday, and this dish has haunted my dreams ever since. I would definitely go back there just for this, if nothing else.

And what’s a birthday dinner without fish?

Oh how I’ve missed a whole fish steamed to perfection. Not that there’s anything wrong with fillets, but sometimes you just want to taste the soft flaky sweetness of a fish that is served off the bone. I really regret wolfing down my bowl of rice and not keeping it so that I can drizzle the sauce that the fish is cooked in over it. And the best part is that you’re assured the freshness of the fish too. Fish that is not fresh definitely cannot stand up to the delicate process of steaming, and that this beautiful fish was soft and had no fishy smell was a testament to the freshness of it.

It was such a good dinner, and of course, watching your friend turn 21 is such a joyous occasion. I especially recommend eating here during celebratory occasions – you’ll have excellent food memories to accompany the memories of whatever you’re celebrating.

Food and friends – isn’t that what life is all about?

We ate at:
Emperor’s Choice Restaurant
147 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
(02) 9232 1881

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Masterchef Live!

Review December 13, 2010 5 Comments

Yep, I went to Masterchef Live. After going to Taste Sydney and having such a ball of a time, I thought that it would be fun doing Masterchef.

There was two ‘parts’ to the festival – the ‘show’ part where they do a pressure test ‘live’ and so on, and the festival bit (which is the bit I really love) where you get to see people hawk their wares and try lots of food!!

But first the show.

Matt Preston does his best Zoolander in his Christmas suit.

George Calombaris gets really really excited.

I LOVE Matt Preston’s shoes.

The show was alright – some audience participation in some Masterchef activities, talking with a couple of Junior Masterchef contestants, etc. Nothing too exciting unless you’re an avid Masterchef fan.

But now the fair!!! I tried some lovely cheddar from Ashgrove Tasmanian Farm Cheese.

There was a guy at the booth that I had a really lovely chat with about aging cheese and the different kinds of cheddar. I love cheese. hehe.

Then there was another lovely man from Yael’s Cakes of Distinction.

There was a selection of cakes to sample – Fruit Cake, Chocolate Brownie and Lemon Flan.

The Fruit Cake was moist but relatively light. Great fruit cake, but not particularly special.

The chocolate brownies were divine. Dark and succulent, with a nutty crunch. Yum.

The Lemon Flan was light and fruity, and not too tart. I like too.

Springbok had a selection of biltong for sale.

The mango and chilli wagyu was the most memorable of the lot – the gentle heat of the chilli and the lasting sweetness of the mango laced through chewy dried meat. This is a good one to look out for.

Ocello had a nice selection of cheeses from which to try, including buffalo cheese parmasan!! =) Much ‘drier’ cheese than I’m used to, but a deeper flavour.

The best part of the day really had to be the hands on knife skills and flambe class that was run by the Cheeky Food Group!

Here are the lovely Leona and Daniel who were our instructors of the day – they talked us through proper chopping skills and we even got to flambe our food!!!

And look what I made!

Chicken and capsicum flambe-ed with Malibu Rum, with some coconut milk and chilli. It was so good, I really hate capsicum, but I think that I’d actually eat it in this.

All in all it was a really good day – there was so much free food that I didn’t have to eat anything else all day! I love food, even better if it’s free. (Don’t knock free food okay, you get heaps of variety and often the best of what people have to offer.)

I’m so going again next year – anyone want to go with me?

Grill’d

Review December 10, 2010 2 Comments

With all the hype about gourmet burgers going around, Sean and I decided to visit Grill’d one afternoon. Rather than gourmet ingredients like some of the other restaurants, Grill’d’s thang was healthy burgers!

To be honest, the idea didn’t exactly appeal to me at first. If you’re going to eat a burger, then why bother with healthy right?

Well the food better be good…and to be honest, it was. I expected dry, flavourless, tiny-portioned burgers, but instead I got yummy juicy burgers that didn’t feel heavy on the tummy at all!!

I got the Hot Mama ($11.90). It had a beef patty, roasted peppers, dill pickle, tasty cheese, tzatziki, salad, and a spread of harissa.

There was a choice of sourdough and wholemeal, and I couldn’t not choose the sourdough could I? =)

I really really loved the juiciness of the patty, and the hit of chilli and the end. I could’ve done with more harissa, but I think that the staff probably thought that killing the customer with chilli wasn’t a good idea. I personally thought that the dill pickles really brought it all together, and Sean (who is not a pickle fan BY FAR) thought so too. The sourdough was a bit over-toasted for my liking, but it’s still a really good burger.

Sean had the Almighty ($12.50) with a beef patty, tasty cheese, bacon, free-range egg, beetroot, salad, relish and herb mayo and he chose the wholemeal bun.

And…well it’s AWESOME! It’s just so moreish that you want mouthful after hearty mouthful. Again, it doesn’t sound like a particularly “gourmet burger” – you could probably make a similar burger at home – but it’s really nice to go out and be able to have something so comforting and not feel awful about yourself after.

We realise then that the wholemeal took to the toasting a lot better.

Also, what’s burgers without chips yes?

We ordered a large side of chips with all three sauces: Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo, and Tomato Relish ($0.75 each). We didn’t feel the mayos so much, but the Tomato Relish was DA BOMB. Awesome shizzle. It had just the right amount of tartness and depth, and wasn’t just plain and boring like tomato accompaniments usually are. Good stuff.

I also really liked that you could see all the ingredients at the counter too! Makes me feel like I know where (kinda) my food is coming from. Haha.

All in all, it was a really good experience. The food was good, if a bit pricey – there aren’t any magical, exotic ingredients – but I think the price is well worth while because 1) it’s in the city, all food would cost you that much and 2) it’s comfort food that doesn’t leave you feeling awful about yourself afterward.

Oh and the staff! The staff truly made it all a lovely day. The guy who was serving us at the counter looked truly happy to be there, and was great about making sure we were having the best time possible.

There is a downside though – and it’s a small one or a big one depending on your dietary habits. They have gluten free buns available (yay!) and the menu tells you how to make it a gluten free burger. Great! BUT their gluten free buns are toasted in the same toaster that toasts the regular buns, so it might just have some gluten in it. Really? Then what’s the point of the gluten free buns right? It’s quite annoying cause I can’t really bring my celiac friends there, but otherwise, it’s a good place to go.

We ate at:

Grill’d
Darling Harbour
100 Murray Street
Sydney 2000

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Thermomix

Review November 30, 2010 2 Comments

When I heard from Cate’s blog that I could book in a demonstration for a Thermomix party, I was so there! Just a little background info:

The Thermomix is basically a blender with a heating element. It’s really popular in Europe, and with chefs around the world. You can control the heat settings, and you can also choose to put the blender bit in reverse. All that control provides you with the versatility to work many different recipes just with the one machine!

So the lovely Jan came over one Sunday afternoon, and we made a whole bunch of things. There was buckwheat bread done entirely with the thermomix – no messing around with warm water trying to get the yeast to start!

And we also pulverised some parmesean to go with the rissotto we were going to make later.

First up, hummus, which took minutes! I’m not a fan of chickpeas usually, but this was so full of flavour, and tasted really hearty. So addictive.

Then the beetroot/carrot/mint/apple salad. It was so refreshing, we finished the whole plate practically as it came out.

And look how well chopped it came out with under a minute in the thermomix!

And the piece de resistance for me – the mushroom rissotto. The Thermomix did all the cooking – no stirring or messing with ladles and stock, it’s all done for you!!!!! How crazy is that? And it just smelt so SO good. Everything was in the one bowl – onions were sauteed in the Thermomix, and so was the stirring of the rice and so on. It was absolutely crazy.

And for those of you wondering how the bread would turn out:

How sexy is that? Soft on the inside, and crusty on the outside, Jan even ground her own buckwheat flour. Right in front of us!!

She also made some lemon custard.

It was soft and goey and thick. Just like a good custard should be!

So yes, it is a fantastic piece of machinery, and it works wonders fast. It is on the expensive side, but it does replace a whole host of appliances you might need. A home demonstration is completely free, so if you’d like to see what it can do for yourself, you can call Jan and set up a home demo!

Thermomix Consultant:
Jan
jan.vandergraaf@optusnet.com.au

Lord of the Fries

Review November 25, 2010 9 Comments

I went to Melbourne for a quick trip, and I just had to try Lord of the Fries! As you know, I kinda have an obsession with fries. You can choose different sauces for your fries, and that’s where the variety comes in. We had French Canadian (Cheese and gravy – pictured below), Indian (Indian spices (?) and mango chutney pictured above) and Mexican (Salsa and Sour Cream).

To be honest, as great as the fries sound, it wasn’t all that crash hot. The fries were wayyyy overcooked and stale, and the Indian sauce was uninspiring. The French Canadian was ok, but I’m pretty sure that it’s no where close to poutine and just tastes a lot like chips and gravy.

We requested the salsa to be served on the side, and they completely forgot the sour cream! We actually had another order with aoli sauce, but they completely forgot that too. It’s so disappointing, and it’s not like they were really quick about it. We could finish just about a whole soft-serve before the food even came out. The salsa was also very watery and doesn’t have the chunk that you’d associate with really good salsa.

It was a lot better when I went previously, but I think that it was because we went to the LOTF in the city. Just yeah.

Disappointing.

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Nuffnang Christmas Party!!

Review November 19, 2010

Went to the “Blue Hawaii” themed Nuffnang Christmas Party at the Bavarian Bier Cafe! Just as a note for anyone who is going to BBC in the city, there are two – I actually went to the wrong one. =( (Sorry to Cate and Ann who waited for me!!)

There was a prize for most Hawaiian, of course, and I dressed up too, but Cate definitely took the prize with her inflatable palm tree!! Congrats!

She won a blue Shuffle for her efforts. =)

There was a bar tab too, but as mentioned before, I can’t drink beer. They had interesting selections of Lychee and Peach though! And served in a very cocktail-looking glass!

And the food. I missed out on the cheese platter, but I had the vegetarian platter, and a meat one.

The Mushroom and Garlic Flemmenbrot was absolutely divine, with its buttery mushrooms and crisp base. A little cold, but still AWESOME! Definitely one of the more memorable bites of the night.

The rosti was tasty, but really, no one can go wrong with a rosti!! Mmm potato.

I’m not quite sure what this was, but I remember tasting avocado, and that it was fruity and light. Very refreshing when you’ve had the meat platter (coming soon my lovelies!).

I’m not quite sure what this was too – but it was quite nice. Nothing memorable though.

And finally…

The MEAT PLATTER!

A selection of schnitzel, potato wedges and…

PORK BELLY. Juicy pork belly with its succulent meat and crispy cracking. And the sauerkraut. YUM.

This, and my previous experience with the BBC has told me that their pork belly is definitely worth paying for. Time and time again, it’s never failed.

Man this will haunt my dreams tonight.

We ate at:

Bavarian Bier Cafe
16 O’Connell Street Sydney, NSW 2000
02 9221 0100

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B&B: Beef and Beer

Review November 15, 2010 4 Comments

I won a beef and beer masterclass at Mumu Grill with my crazy hat at the food bloggers’ picnic, and I finally managed to attend it! I had such a ball of a time, and of course, had fab food.

Head chef Craig Macindoe sharing all his precious meat information with us! He talked about the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef, and all the different cuts.We even got to participate in the kitchen!! How awesome is that? He also shared his top tip when it came to cooking the meat (besides picking good meat) – don’t touch it! Apparently too many cooks keep turning the steak on the barbecue and completely massacre what could have been a really juicy steak.

And speaking of juicy meat, LUNCH!! For lunch that day, we had a variety of dishes, and they were all cooked with such precision

I don’t think I got a picture of everything, but we had a garlic and rosemary T-bone, a prosciutto-wrapped steak, a Szechuan pepper and coffee crusted steak and…

THE RIBS!!!

These ribs were first cooked in salted boiling water, before it was glazed with a tangy barbecue sauce and browned on the barbecue. Mmmmm…everything was falling off the bone and just so so tasty!! Definitely my favourite.

And just to reiterate the point about perfectly cooked steak:

Just look at that gorgeous, juicy, medium rare. I’m hungry again!!

And of course, the beer.

I feel so bad that I went to the beef and beer masterclass and well, I can’t drink beer. In fact, I get severe headaches and nausea whenever I drink alcohol. =( But I did learn however, that you always drink beer in a glass because the aroma is a lot of the flavour as well, and the many different kinds of craft beers are worth paying for and trying. If you want to find out more about the beer bit of it, the man who led the discussion in the beer part of the masterclass is Dan from Beersnobs. He’s very affable and easy to understand (especially for someone who doesn’t know anything about beers), and ladies, it helps that he’s quite easy on the eyes. 😉

And to end of this post, I shall leave you with the Bambi that greeted me at the door.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Mumu Grill
94606877
70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest
www.mumugrill.com.au

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Carnivorous Fantasies

Review November 13, 2010 6 Comments

I love all-you-can-eat places. I just always have, and the glutton within me relishes the feeling of being so full you have to be rolled out of the restaurant. There’s something so satisfactory about it. The lazy person within me also loves it when the food is brought out to you, instead of having to walk to it!!

Which is why churrascaria is so AWESOME!

The concept is simple. There’s meat. Meat on sticks. Carved on to your plate. Omg it’s so awesome.

But you need to be hungry. Sean and I always are, haha. That’s his hungry face. :D:D

And we begin!!

These little wooden blocks on the table indicate whether you want more food or not. Green means yes, red means, “I’m really full, but convince me. =)”

We start off with cheese bread.

It’s wonderful chewyness is so addictive!! I need to get a recipe for this soon.

Chewy!

They also serve a whole variety of sides to go with your MEAT. (You have to say it with a growly manly voice. haha!)

This itty bitty chillies carry a heat that belies their little sizes. Each one is a happy explosion in my mouth, and always makes me want more food. Very appetizing.

The salsa is tangy, and also whets your appetite. It’s a perfect foil to the heavy meat, and I always go through multiple bowls of it.

The crumbed and fried bananas remind me of Goreng Pisang (which is a battered and fried banana snack from South East Asia). I miss home!

Black beans cooked with garlic. Lovely, but very filling.

Salad with artichokes, olives and tomatoes. It’s really refreshing, like the salsa, but not as tangy. Addictive, and it sometimes is a case of get your veggies in cause you’re not going to get fiber anywhere else! haha.

And now, for the main event.

MEAT.

MEAT

MEATTTTTTTT!!!!!!

Just posting these pictures makes me hungry again. *salivates*

To be honest, it is kind of expensive ($42 a head), but it’s great for a once in awhile thing. =)

And we always finish off with the grilled pineapple, with cinnamon. YUM!

There is a lunch option as well, from Wednesday to Friday, but there aren’t as many meat options. I say if you’re going to make it all the way there, you might as well go the whole hock.

Oh and it gets really busy over dinner, especially weekend nights. Remember to call ahead and make your reservation!

We ate at:

Braza Churrascaria
13 Norton Street
Leichardt NSW2040

Opening Hours:
Lunch: Wed to Sun – 12 to 3.30
Dinner: 7 nights – 6 till late

Phone: (02) 95727921

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