Posts tagged Soft Serve

Hello…Kitty Diner, Chatswood

Review January 29, 2016

Sometimes it doesn’t matter what the reviews say. If you put a dish like Crispy Lamb Ribs on the menu, I will show up. And I will drag Christine and Simon along with me. Like how we ended up at the Hello Kitty Diner…

And made this.

What happens when you cross a milkshake with a doughnut and a soft serve?

Simon is not impressed.

The Order:

Crispy lamb ribs, $10
With sweet soy, mint, sesame seeds

Southern fried chicken, $10
With waffles, bourbon barrelled maple syrup

Gee Gee Burger, $12
Korean fried chicken, cucumber kimchi, pickled vegetables, Asian slaw

Sweet potato fries, $6
With Miso Mayonnaise

Doughnut Soft Serve

Doughnut

Yuzu curd and white chocolate milkshake, $8

The Food:

Never has there been such a roller coaster of emotions when it comes to a menu. First I got all excited because Warren Turnbull of Chur Burger fame (and just all round chef who knows his food) designed the menu. I mean, how wrong can it get, right?

Then the deluge of reviews came through, and let’s just say that people were less than impressed. Quite a bit less. Reviews ran the gamut of saying that you’d go more for the kitsch of the theme than the food, to saying that it was downright nasty (I’m paraphrasing here). Either way, it didn’t look good for our tastebuds, but I was adamant on getting my hands on those lamb ribs.

Crispy lamb ribs, $10

Ahh lamb ribs. My second favourite of the rib variety – after beef ribs, of course – and I’m glad to say that this doesn’t change things. Lightly coated with corn flour, there was just the slightest crunch before it gives way to unctuous meat, the richness of which is enhanced with the sweet soy sauce. Because sugar is delicious, amirite?

Southern fried chicken, $10

The rest though, didn’t fare quite as well and fell into the “okay” category. The chicken in the Southern Fried Chicken was pretty decent, but the sad state of the waffles let it down. It was stale, and tasted like waffles that had been pre-cooked and heated in the microwave. Even the novelty of having it Hello-Kitty-shaped couldn’t save it.

Gee Gee Burger, $12

The Gee Gee was in a similar boat, with a decent balance of flavours, but dry bun. It’s like you could see where they were trying to go with it, but they never quite got there.

Sweet potato fries, $6

The Sweet Potato Fries were pretty edible, but no where close to the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had in Sydney. Even with the miso mayo – and you know I’ll eat anything that’s got miso in it.

Doughnut

Doughnut flavoured soft serve

Of the sweets, the Doughnut and Doughnut soft serve was dutifully adorned with Hello Kitty themed decorations, but when it comes down to it, the ice cream tasted like plain vanilla – which is okay except when you’re selling it as doughnut flavoured – and the strawberry flavoured doughnut was so sweet that I’m still buzzing from the sugar high days later.

The real travesty, though, was the Yuzu Curd and White Chocolate Milkshake. It’s as if who made this never had yuzu before. It was faintly chemical in taste, and on top of everything, runny like the texture of milk. We all took a sip each, and the glass was banished to the end of the table, behind the water glasses.

I guess what Simon said really summed up the food, ” I wouldn’t be angry if I was served this again”. Sure, the menu is designed by a really good chef, but it’s a bit like Apple being designed in California – no one said anything about execution. With mostly okay-but-not-mind-blowing dishes, you really start to wonder how much the novelty of it all is really carrying the diner.

Food: 0.5/1

The Service:

The Hello Kitty Diner seems to be staffed mostly by teenage girls, which seems fitting given the theme, no? They aren’t the most experienced of staff, but at least they don’t look like they were tortured into being there, which is saying a lot. They were polite enough, and we really appreciated the little things, like waters being replenished efficiently, but not much personality otherwise.

Well, this one girl did seemed sorry that we pretty much left the milkshake untouched, but that’s about it.

Service: 0.5/1

Value for money:

It’s not the most filling meal you could have at Chatswood, but $10 for a plate of ribs is not too shabby either. The burger was of a similar price and size to Chur, except for the drop in quality, so it’s also not the worst thing you could spend your money on.

But really, you’re there for the kitsch. Let’s not kid ourselves.

Value for money: 0.5/1

The Vibe:

I actually love how the diner is decked out. It actually feels like how I imagined a Hello Kitty Diner would look like as a 10 year-old, and I like how they get the message across without shoving your face in it.

And we all know how I love a good theme. 😉

The Vibe: 1/1

And finally,

There are no illusions here. The Hello Kitty Diner isn’t the epitome of fine dining, and you know what? It never said it was either. It’s there for the fans and people who love the novelty, and by the way, you can eat there too. All we could ask of it is that the food doesn’t suck, and in that regard, we were pleasantly surprised.

Just don’t order that Yuzu curd and white chocolate milkshake. Just please. Don’t.

Bonus Points: 0/1

This meal was independently paid for.

Hello Kitty Diner
The District, Chatswood Interchange
436 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, Sydney
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hellokittydineraustralia/

Hawker Lane, Chatswood

Review January 10, 2016

I don’t know if you spend much time in Chatswood, but it feels like Westfield has been in construction for the longest time. Well, it’s finally ready, and what used to be a set of three or so restaurants has now become an entire food court, called Hawker Lane.

I was lucky enough to be invited to sample some of the food stalls, and stack it up to the hawker experience of Asia.

Chachu

Lamb Boti Kathi

Serving up Indian street food, this father/daughter team (I’m assuming – there didn’t seem a good time to ask, but the dynamics sure looked that way) looked fairly new to the food industry. We were recommended Kathis, which is a kind of wrap filled with egg, filling (this is usually meat or some other protein), salad and sauce. Of what we tried, the Lamb Boti was delicious, with chunks of lamb pieces, a hit of sweet chilli, freshness from spanish onion, and heft from the flatbread. The lamb was a touch too cooked for my taste, but not everyone can serve up pink lamb in a food court situation. Fair enough.

Oh, and the Spicy Fries were great munchy food, too. Couldn’t stop picking at it.

Spicy Fries

There seemed to be some confusion amongst the staff, but I’m going to chalk that up to the newness of the restaurant. I’m sure it’ll only get better as they settle in, but in the meantime, they have enough charm and personality to tide them through.

ChaChu
Hawker Lane, Level 2, Westfield Chatswood
1 Anderson Street, Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9412 1555

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Devon on Danks, Waterloo

Review November 30, 2015

I’ve been very lucky to have very good friends in my life. Friends who will brunch with you, and support you when you go,

“Hmmmm. Do you think we should order one of everything?”

Okay, so it’s not quite that extreme. But Christine did help me with my gluttony by coming with Alli and me to Devon on Danks – the younger sister of the cafe-award-winning Devon Cafe in Surry Hills.

Because she’s a good friend, that’s why.

Now I’ve had a bit of a mixed experience with Devon. My first experience wasn’t that great, but then the second was much better. Maybe third time’s the charm?

A photo posted by Tammi Kwok (@teafortammi) on Jul 2, 2014 at 1:20am PDT

Mmmmmm all the fish eggs.

Well that Salmon Blini isn’t quite available anymore, and a lot of stuff has changed since. Between the three of us, we ordered the Bruschetta with extra soft egg ($17), Brunching with the Sakuma’s ($27), Annato Spiced Fried Chicken Fillet ($7), Kaya Cronnie ($7), and a DD Special ($12). Okay, so I was exaggerating when I said with ordered one of everything, but we weren’t too far off!

Bruschetta, $17

Bruschetta ($17) first, because it was as close as we were going to get to our 5-a-day in this brunch. Homemade burrata melted onto balsamic chargrilled sourdough gets topped with basil, and confit tomatoes and basil. Very luscious, full of flavour, but curiously lacking the creamy naughtiness that a bursting ball of burrata gives you. A great bruschetta, but WHERE MY BURRATA?!!

Oh, but I really recommend paying the extra $3 to order the soft egg. Not only does it give you great egg porn, but the yolk also soaks into the toast, giving you a squidgy, rich bite.

And besides, the soft whites look like it could’ve been a ball of burrata, so um, we can pretend.

Brunching with the Sakuma’s, $27

Then the dish that has caused a whole ton of debate in my circles – Brunching with the Sakumas ($27). The first incarnation, Breakfast with the Sakumas, had a smoked eel croquette, kewpie mayo, furikake (a Japanese savoury sprinkle that you usually have on rice) and a 63C egg. The salmon at the time, for me, was incredibly dry and overcooked, and for the new-hot-cafe-on-the-block, it just felt like an unacceptable thing.

I’m happy to report that this time, they’ve really upped their game. The roasted salmon is served in a thick piece, rather than a long, thin fillet, and this allows the inside to retain a silky softness, while giving you some serious crunch in the skin. Top points!

It also comes with potato noodles, clam and miso butter, onsen egg, and furikake. And you might be tempted to think that the potato noodles are made of potato starch, like other asian noodles? Nope. It’s spiralised potatoes, which should make the zucchini spaghetti lovers happy. It retained a slight crunch that polarised the table – and by that, I mean that I was the only one who liked it – but I think it provided a great body to otherwise soft textures on the plate.

Good show, Devon on Danks, good show. *slow claps*

Annato Spiced chicken fillet, $7

Christine had already tried The Manny P Burger, so instead of going to whole hog, we order just Annato Spiced Fried Chicken Fillet ($7), with a side of their chilli mayo. Annato refers to a red spice, often used as food colouring in some Spanish cultures, that comes from the seeds of the achiote tree.

But besides a bright orange colour, I’m not sure how much flavour has come across. The chicken didn’t taste unlike typical fried chicken, and not particularly moreish in itself.

Dat chilli mayo, tho. Tangy, salty, creamy…all the qualities you want in a good condiment. If this chilli mayo was on Tinder, I’d swipe right in a heartbeat, and then proceed to stalk it on social media. Trust me when I say that YOU NEED THIS IN YOUR LIFE.

Kaya Cronnie, $7

On the sweet side, we got the Kaya ~~Cronut~~ Cronnie ($7). Whoever said that round shapes doesn’t fit in square things was lying. LYING. Deep fried croissant pastry gets pumped full of kaya, which hails from my side of the world: South East Asia.

To call it coconut jam would really be too simple. Think of it like…like Coconut Dulce De Leche, made with coconut cream, egg yolks, and a shit ton of sugar.

Which could bother some people, but you’ve just ordered deep fried pastry. I don’t think the sugar matters.

DD Special, $12

Ah, this next one’s for the true connoisseur. Soft serve and salty chips are one of life’s great pleasures, and Devon on Danks has made a blue pea flower and jasmine soft serve for their DD Special ($12) this week. Blue pea flower is used in very traditional Peranakan desserts to add a sky blue tint, but it doesn’t have a lot of flavour, which is where the palate cleansing jasmine comes in.

Legit.

The staff at Devon on Danks have a much more relaxed vibe than the original, probably because the cafe itself has a chill vibe to it, assisted by wonderfully lit wide open spaces, beautiful decor, and beautiful wood and enamel-coated furnishings. Price-wise, it’s um, not student friendly, but fairly doable if you’re in a large group and splitting the bill. And you know, if you’ve got some savings. The food is well executed, and the seasonal menu means that the chefs are ever improving, which can only mean good things.

This meal was independently paid for.

Devon on Danks
2 Danks St
Waterloo NSW 2017
Phone:+61 2 9698 7795
Website: http://www.devoncafe.com.au

Be still my beating heart: Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

Review September 9, 2015

Sydney Food Blog Review of Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

No, like cardiac-arrest-literally.

Gelato Messina’s Dessert Bar in Darlinghurst has always been OTT in their creations, but when you have a collaborator like ex-Hartyard Andy Bowdy, you know that you’re in for a real treat. Or a sugar spike so high it can hold its own against the statue of liberty.

Now I am not a sweets person, not by a long shot, but when I do, I like to go all out. And the Rocher Ferrero certainly fits that description: hazelnut and chocolate come together in a soft serve swirl covered with so many shards of wafer and chocolate that you don’t know where the crispy ends and the rich gelato begins.

We honestly couldn’t finish the cone between us two, which seems like such a waste of good food, but truly, I don’t think we were robust enough to finish this cone.

On a serious note, it was well executed, and the whole thing actuslly tasted like a Ferrero Rocher on steroids, which is no easy feat. The staff were polite and efficient, and I really like how they tried to make use of a tiny space to at least give you a place to stop and enjoy the dessert masterpiece you’ve just purchased.

This was independently paid for.

Gelato Messina
Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 1588
Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

Served! Aqua S, Regent’s Place Sydney

Review April 22, 2015

Two photo collage of Aqua S's soft serve

How much can there be to soft serve? Heaps, apparently. Aqua S debuted to crazy round-the-block queues with a single, unique flavour: sea salt soft serve, tinted a bright robin’s egg blue.

You might say that it was the flavour that launched a thousand queues.

They have two flavours that change every week, with sea salt as the constant, and whimsical toppings like cotton candy, torched marshmallow and popping candy. Because what’s the point of soft serve if it doesn’t delight the kid in you? They seem to do fruit flavours especially well, with a fantastically juicy watermelon that was well balanced with the sea salt. The Apple Blackcurrant tastes like the large bottles of juice that you can get at the supermarket, and was quite refreshing, if not slightly on the cloying side of sweet.

The service is polite and efficient, and quite no-nonsense, which takes away from the whimsy slightly. And the price gets to me too, because $6.30 for a cone with two toppings somehow seems a tad steep to me when round the corner you can get decent soft serve for around the $2 mark. It’ll be interesting to see how long Aqua S can keep churning out new flavours though, because if they can, they’re in the running to be the Messina of Soft Serves in Sydney.

The Order:

The Food:

The Service:

Value for money:

The Vibe:

And finally,

This meal was independently paid for.

Hello Kitty Diner The District, Chatswood Interchange 436 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, Sydney Website: https://www.facebook.com/hellokittydineraustralia/

Chachu

ChaChu Hawker Lane, Level 2, Westfield Chatswood 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood, Sydney Phone: (02) 9412 1555

This meal was independently paid for.

Devon on Danks 2 Danks St Waterloo NSW 2017 Phone:+61 2 9698 7795 Website: http://www.devoncafe.com.au

This was independently paid for.

Gelato Messina Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street Darlinghurst, NSW Phone: 02 9331 1588 Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

This was independently paid for.

Aqua S Regent Place 501 George St Sydney, NSW 2000 Phone: 0406 970 070 Website: http://aquas.co/

Hello Kitty Diner
The District, Chatswood Interchange
436 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, Sydney
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hellokittydineraustralia/

ChaChu
Hawker Lane, Level 2, Westfield Chatswood
1 Anderson Street, Chatswood, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9412 1555

Devon on Danks
2 Danks St
Waterloo NSW 2017
Phone:+61 2 9698 7795
Website: http://www.devoncafe.com.au

Gelato Messina
Shop 1, 241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW
Phone: 02 9331 1588
Website: http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/

Aqua S
Regent Place
501 George St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 0406 970 070
Website: http://aquas.co/