The Hungry Girl: Sydney Food Blog

Change of Address!

2010-05-26T07:45:00.003+10:00

I've moved!

Dear all,

You may have noticed that things have been incredibly quiet over here. The reason is because I have been moving! After a couple of months of pulling out my hair, stressing and subsequently procrastinating, I have finally moved into my new home over at the-hungrygirl.com!

Apologies for being absent for so long, but I am back in action now! All posts can be viewed at the new site, however some comments were lost in transit, so check back here for them.

Please update your links to my new site!

Thanks to everyone for reading and supporting me since I began this silly little blog! I hope you enjoy my new home :)

xx Betty

Anzac Biscuits

2010-04-24T17:28:00.006+10:00

To celebrate Anzac Day, I decided to bake Anzac biscuits! These biscuits are an Australian tradition dating back to World War 1. They were made for Aussie troops serving during the war and these biscuits were special because they had to endure the long journey there.

I knew that I could just buy a pack of perfectly shaped Anzac biscuits from the supermarket, but I was determined to make my own! I found this recipe and I got all the ingredients and everything was looking a-ok! Until, I was trying to roll the Anzac biscuits into balls and they all crumbled on me!! OMG. I thought it was over. I was panicking! And then, I decided to quickly make some more of the butter mixture and then they were somewhat salvaged *phew*.

Chewy Anzac Biscuits

in Fresh Living by Tracy Rutherford

Makes 24

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

125gr butter

2 tbs golden syrup

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar.

2. Put the butter, golden syrup and 2tbs water in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until melted. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.

3. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined

4. Roll mixture into balls. Place on the trays, about 5cm apart.

5. Press with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Overall:

I had to add about 50gr more butter, 1 tablespoon of golden syrup, 1/2 teaspoon of bicarb soda. I'm not sure why it went all crumbly at first? Maybe I heated the butter mixture for too long the first time. After I added my second mixture, I was able to roll them into balls, but they were still slightly crumbly.

Despite the dramas!! They still taste good. They're not thin disks, like 'normal' ones, more like fat mini balls, but they're cute (right?). I like them because they're a little bit chewy and a little bit crumbly. And the whole house smells divine :)

Have a safe long weekend everyone!

Strangers with Candy, Redfern

2010-04-21T11:38:00.001+10:00

How was it?
Food: 7/10
Service: 6.5/10
Ambience: 6.5/10
Value: $$

Banana Smoothie $6.00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - nothing beats a great hearty meal in the morning. And it's even better when it's shared with some lovely people. On this particular occassion, Miss LV, Miss Toronto and I caught up after returning from our respective Summer holidays. We decided to head to Strangers with Candy, because I had heard little snippets about it here and there and I really loved the name!

Soda Lime & Bitters $5.00

The cafe sits by itself on the corner of an unassuming street. There is a small indoor seating area, and another outdoor section, where we were seated on this day. Miss Toronto and I ordered some drinks to fight off the heat. The banana smoothie was lovely and thick and the soda lime & bitters was refreshing, although unexciting.

Scrambled eggs $9.50

with Smoked Salmon ($3.50) and Avocado ($3.50)

Scrambled eggs $9.50

with Rosemary Mushrooms ($3.50) and Proscuitto ($3.50)

Miss LV and I both ordered the scrambled eggs ($9.50), with a choice of sides. The scrambled eggs were deliciously soft and fluffy, although not as light or creamy as the ones at Bill's. I liked the toasted turkish bread, which was crispy and soft and they were generous with the side portions. Although at $3.50 each, you'd expect them to be quite generous! I really enjoyed the fragrant rosemary mushrooms, although I thought that they could have given me just a little bit more proscuitto ;)

Mussels

Miss Toronto ordered the mussels (which were on the specials lunch menu - from memory). They were cooked in a thai red curry sauce, which had wonderful flavours of basil, lime and corriander.

Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake $4.50

After sitting and chatting for a while, the waitress came and asked if we'd like to have a look at the desserts in the display cabinet. Umm... yes! There was pretty much no question that we were going to leave without having dessert! We chose the chocolate brownie cheesecake which looked crazyily good! It also came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which was lovely on this hot day. I thought the combination of cheesecake and brownie was delicious although it was quite heavy and we had to really perservere to finish it off!

Overall:
Strangers with Candy is a lovely little cafe with good food, helpful wait staff and it is perfect for a lazy weekend meal. We sat their for ages and didn't feel rushed to leave at all. One strange thing was the bathroom, which was lit up in dark red with toy dolls placed around.. quite bizarre! Nevertheless, I'd definitely love to go again especially to try their dinner menu.

Strangers with Candy
96 Kepos St
Redfern NSW 2016
Tel: (02) 9698 6000
Open for Dinner (Wednesday - Sunday) 6pm - 9.30pm
Open for Breakfast & Lunch (Saturday - Sunday) 9.30am - 3.30pm
www.strangerswithcandy.com.au

Afternoon Tea @ The Ritz, London

2010-04-15T16:25:00.001+10:00

How was it?
Food: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Ambience: 9/10
Value: $$$$

One of the highlights of my trip to Europe earlier this year was afternoon tea at The Ritz Hotel in London. I was quite nervous about booking as they book up very quickly, and a weekend reservation can see a wait of 3 months or more! Luckily I managed to score a table for Smurf & myself on a Tuesday morning. I booked through their online reservation and had to pay a deposit. I then received an email confirmation and another email confirmation closer to the date.

I was in awe the moment I walked in and couldn't wipe that grin off my face! First stop was the cloakroom, second stop was the bathroom. Omg! It was so pretty! I couldn't stop admiring all of it's girly victorian charm. Lots of pink everywhere and with real hand towels (I love real towels) - I have posted some photos of the pretty bathroom at the end of this post :)

The service was immaculate and I think this is what made the experience. From the moment we reached Palm Court, we were treated like royalty. All the service people were men wearing formal tailcoats! Yes, tailcoats! They were all friendly and helpful, and even assisted in taking a photo for us :) There was also a piano player, and you could request a song by writing it on the card on your table!

We chose to have the traditional afternoon tea which was £38.00 per person. It comes with three tiers including sandwiches, scones and sweets with your choice of tea.

Sandwiches: Mature Cheddar Cheese, Chicken, Cucumber, Smoked Salmon, Ham

Egg Mayonnaise and Cress Bridge Roll

The sandwiches were all light and distinct in their own way. They were perfectly cut into neat little rectangles and were a great way to start the meal. I enjoyed the soft roll as well, with the sweet egg mayonaise. They also come around with a platter of sandwiches, so even boys could come and leave satisfied. Actually, I saw a lot of men in there, about 1 quarter of the room was male - I thought that was pretty cool.

Raisin & Apple Scones and Fruit Cake

I was a little bit disappointed that they didn't have plain scones, just because I would have liked to compare them to the ones from The Tea Room. But the freshly baked raisin & apple scones were still delicious. They were made more delicious by the clotted cream and strawberry preserve - mm.. so good!

Strawberry Preserve and Devonshire Clotted Cream

I would still say that the scones from The Tea Room are the best I've had at an afternoon tea. There was also a fruit slice on the same tier as the scones. It was packed with mixed dried fruits and lots of cinammon. I enjoyed it, but I was getting quite full from the sandwiches and the scones and I still had the sweets tier to get through! Luckily there was the beautiful Elderflower tea to assist with the digestion.

Fruit Tart

Onto the sweets! There were six very cute little sweets sitting around the top tier. Almost too pretty to stop photographing and eat! The first one I tried was the fruit tart. I am a huge fan of fruit tarts, have always loved the biscuity base, the custard and fruits covered in sweet fruit glaze. This one was simple and satisfying.

Friand

The friand was gone in two little bites! It was sweet with a distinct almond flavour. It was probably the safest option on the sweets tier, but still good.

Coconut Macaron

I wasn't sure whether this was a macaron or not, but on closer inspection it was! It was a coconut macaron with a chocolate disk cutting through the cream. The macaron was very sweet and I especially loved the flavour, but the texture was not comparable to the ones I tried at Ladurée.

French Vanilla Slice

I loved the flakey pastry and sweet custard of the vanilla slice. However, it's quite hard to eat this whilst trying to be completely lady-like and having crumbs fall on you at the same time!

Raspberry Marble Cake

The marble cake was so pretty and shiny! There were swirls of raspberry and cream inside. The cake itself was light, not too sweet and a little bit tangy.

Ritz Chocolate Cake

I left the Ritz Chocolate Cake til the end. I loved the little personalised 'R' on top of the cake! Unfortunately it was way too rich, and perhaps I was too full by this point, but I couldn't finish it!

Palm Court

Tailcoats!

Bathroom

(Reminds me of Notting Hill - the movie, everytime I see this!)

Overall:
It's pretty safe to say that I had an amazing time at afternoon tea at The Ritz. I wouldn't say that the food really blew me away, but the service was great and you are made to feel very special. I think it's more of a special occassion restaurant, as we saw a lot of people celebrating birthdays etc. But it's definitely worth it and now, I'm going to aspire to be a lady of leisure so that I can have high tea everyday with my girlfriends!

The Ritz Hotel London
150 Piccadilly,
London W1J 9BR
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7493 8181
Open 7 Days
http://www.theritzlondon.com/tea/

Umi Kaiten Zushi, Haymarket

2010-04-12T11:34:00.002+10:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Value: $$

Yes, I am pretty obsessed with Japanese cuisine. I love it to the point where I wish I was Japanese and born in Japan, so that I could be surrounded by super cute things and eat Japanese food all-the-time. Yes, it's true. *sigh* Umi Kaiten Zushi (also affiliated with Mizuya), is 'the one with the big fish tank'. I can never remember it's name, but can always remember the fish tank!

What drew us in on this particular night was a sign board out the front promoting their summer special where all sushi's everyday (between 2.30pm-5.30pm), and Monday & Tuesday nights were $3.50. Luckily for us, it was a Tuesday night so we strolled in. I know that it is no longer Summer, however the board is still out the front and it is still being promoted on their website, although I'm not sure for how much longer!

Salmon Roll

We always go for the salmon sushi roll, so I eagerly picked this up off the train. The salmon, avocado and cream cheese roll was just the perfect combination to start off.

Seaweed Roll

I also always love getting the seaweed roll. There's something about the salty seaweed and crunchy sesame seeds that just gets me every time.

Grilled Scallop

The grilled scallops were juicy and plump, although nothing too exciting. But for $3.50, why not? right?!

Salmon Sashimi & Tuna Sashimi

The sashimi platters were $1 extra, but at $4.50, it's still a bargain. We were impressed with the fresh tasting sashimi. I love sashimi that is fresh, soft and can melt in your mouth. This one ticked all the boxes.

Salmon Sashimi & Kingfish Sashimi

Some more sashimi? Why not. We picked up the salmon & kingfish sashimi. Only recently have I started to appreciate and enjoy kingfish sashimi. Again, the pieces were fresh and soft. No Masuya, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Dragon Roll

The dragon roll passed me on the train so many times, I was so tempted to have it, but then I wasn't sure if I was should or not (argh, so many tough decisions). Until finally I just gave in and swooped it off the train. Just your typical dragon roll with eel, avocado, cream cheese etc, but it was satisfying and delicious.

Fried Salmon Skin

We saw another couple order the fried salmon skin, but I couldn't see it on the train anymore, so I ordered it from the waitress. The first time I tried fried salmon skin was actually in Cambodia (on my trip in February)! I thought it was pretty genius, so I wanted to try it again. We both enjoyed the crispy fried skin, it was something a little bit different, not really tasting of much, kind of like chips - but with salmon skin! We both got a bit sick of it after a little while though (very oily), but I finished it off anyway :)

We also ordered some items from the menu, that were not part of the promotion.

Miso Eggplant

The first time I ever tried miso eggplant was at this very same restaurant a few years ago. I was so in love with it, and I raved about it to anyone that would listen! It didn't dissapoint, and was just as I remembered. Grilled eggplant that was soft and tender, lathered in sweet miso paste and bonito flakes, I couldn't get enough of it!

(Special) Seared Salmon Nigiri topped with Tempura & Chilli Flakes $8.80

The seared salmon nigiri were so pretty! I love the lightly seared salmon and the tempura and chilli flakes gave it a nice little kick & punch.

Overall:
A surprisingly satisfying meal at Umi Kaiten Zushi. I think that it's great for city workers who are looking for a quick mid-afternoon sushi hit. It's not the best Japanese you can find in town, but it's definitely satisfying. Also, you can stare at the pretty fish whilst your eating their relatives (haha). I'll be back (only on Monday & Tuesday nights!) haha.

Umi Kaiten Zushi
Shop 1, Lower Ground Fl,
477 Pitt St, (Cnr Hay & Parker St)
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9281 2006
Open 7 Days
http://www.umikaitenzushi.com.au/

Bau Truong Restaurant, Cabramatta

2010-04-08T10:15:00.001+10:00

How was it?

Food: 8/10
Service: 5/10
Ambience: 5.5/10
Value: $

I love good food, even more when it's good cheap food! And the best place for good cheap food (in my opinion) is in Sydney's western suburb of Cabramatta. I've been coming to Cabramatta since I was little with my family, it's like a mini-Asia in itself.

Assorted sauces

Bau Truong is a popular Vietnamese restaurant on the main street (John St). D* and I frequent this eatery whenever we come to Cabra. We've been loyal customers since they were in that little alleyway, pre new/jazzed up premises! We almost always order the same thing. I.e. Bun Nem Nuong (rice vermicelli noodles with grilled beef balls) and she gets the che ba mau (3 coloured drink) and I get the sam bo luong. We don't even need to look at the menu, but we pretend to anyway.

Bun Nem Nuong $10.00
(Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Meat Balls)

I love the fresh vermicelli noodles and the grilled meat balls, which are juicy and flavoursome. Smothered in fish sauce, you can't go wrong with this dish and it's definitely one of my favourite foods (big call, I know!).

Nem Nuong Cuon $7.50
(Grilled Meat Ball Fresh Rolls)

Despite my love of those noodles, a trip to Cabramatta with some lovely ladies (last year!) allowed me to sample a few more dishes on offer from the menu. It's always good to eat with more people because then you get to sample more and don't look like such a pig :) We ordered the nem nuong cuon, which were rice paper rolls filled with grilled meat ball and rice vermicelli. They were very fresh and tasty.

Xoi Chien Gion $7.50

(Crispy Sticky Rice)

Lili decided to randomly choose the xoi chien gion, which none of us had any idea what to expect. Luckily it was an absolute winner. Sticky rice and mung bean, fried to a golden crisp, it was so moreish!

Goi Du Du Tom Thit $15.00

(Green Paw Paw with Prawn & Pork Salad)

The green paw paw with prawn & pork salad was again so very fresh and tasty! It was a whole pile of sliced green paw paw with prawn and pork scattered throughout. Impressive presentation too, no? Lathered in generous amounts of fish sauce and chilli, I could eat this everyday!

Ca Ri De $10.00

(Goat Curry)

I had never tried goat meat before so I was anxious and excited to try the goat curry. We were all pleasantly surprised. It reminded me very much of a Cambodian style curry with the strong taste of star anise and it was more of a soup that your 'traditional' curry. I thought the addition of noodles were great and the goat meat was surprisingly tender and soft. It was delicious as it had really soaked up all the curry juices. Another surprise hit!

Sam Bo Luong $3.50

My standard drink is the sam bo luong (I'm not sure of the English name). But inside is a combination of seaweed, barley, seeds and water chestnuts. It is sweet deliciousness and always satisfying.

Che Ba Mau $3.50

D*'s standard drink is the che ba mau (three coloured drinks). A combination of red bean, mung bean and green tapioca jelly. You might think it looks funny, but it is seriously awesome! Definitely worth a try!

Overall:
I love Bau Truong. The food is great, it's on the flashier side of restaurants in Cabramatta, but prices are still great. I've been to the Canley Heights one, but the original one is much better (in my opinion). Service is a bit hit and miss, but that's to be expected in this side of town! I have been going for years and will continue to.

Bau Truong Vietnamese Restaurant
Shop 10-12,
70 John St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9727 4492

Open 7 Days

Azuma Kushiyaki @ Regent Place, Sydney

2010-04-05T12:59:00.003+10:00

How was it?

Food: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$$

I had heard so many good things about Azuma Kushiyaki at Regent Place, so I was excited to try it out with Little J. We had already looked at the menu online and decided that we had to try the Kushiyaki 6 course degustation. Not only did it seem totally value-for-money at $55 per person, but also there seemed to be a nice variety of items on the menu.

Famous Seared Tuna Salad

Once we ordered, the food started to roll out at a pretty steady speed. The first course was the famous seared tuna salad. Famous because it was featured on SBS' Food Safari! The tuna was beautiful, soft and almost melt-in-the mouth and the sweet salad dressing was lovely with the tuna and asian greens.

Edamame

I love edamame! Warm, salty green soy beans were a perfect nibble whilst waiting for our next courses.

Assorted Sushi

Seared Salmon, Seared Kingfish & Soft Shell Crab Inside-Out Roll

Seared Salmon & Seared Kingfish Nigiri

I love salmon and even more when it is seared. There's just something about that hint of smokiness that makes it just that much more amazing! The seared salmon and seared kingfish sushi here were definitely a delight.

Soft-Shell Crab Inside-Out Roll

Yes, I am also a sucker for soft shell crab rolls. If I order sushi rolls, soft-shell crab is very likely to be the one that I pick, so I was happy that this came on the platter. The meaty soft shell crab and the gooey mayo and bursts of salmon roe were little morsels of goodness.

Deep Fried Karaage Chicken

Little J loves her karage chicken and this definitely lived up to her expectations. The chicken was meaty, yet it wasn't as oily as I expected it to be. Dipped in the dollop of mayo, these were delicious.

Various Salts

Various salts to be used with kushiyaki. I can't remember exactly what they were, but I think from left to right: Curry, Sea Salt, Green Tea Salt.

Assorted Kushiyaki

Mackarel, Scallop, Okra, Chicken Breast, Chicken Thigh, Beef

The assorted kushiyaki were all amazing. Given that this is the restaurant's namesake, you'd assume their kushiyaki are pretty good!

Chicken Thigh, Beef Kushiyaki

The beef kushiyaki had us both moaning! It was so soft and tender, we both took a bite and then decided to save it til last! The chicken thigh was also delicious, being juicy and tender.

Okra, Chicken Breast

The chicken breast kushiyaki was also soft and tender, however didn't have the same wow factor as the chicken thigh, perhaps it is all in the marinade! I really enjoyed the woody texture of the okra, however Little J did not like it at all! I guess it is an acquired taste. I also enjoyed the fact that there was some form of vegetable to balance out all the meatiness.

Macakarel, Scallop, Okra

The scallops were also enjoyed as they were plump and soft and just very very lightly seared. The mackarel fish was rather salty and it reminded me of tinned fish! But definitely not bad, although the kind of fish you'd expect to eat with a bowl of congee, rather than alone on a skewer.

Green Tea Sponge Roll

Mango Sorbet

After a much needed break, it was time for dessert! I couldn't help admiring the beauty of the two items on my plate - the green tea sponge roll (it looked like a sushi roll!) and the biscuit placed on top of the mango sorbet. The green tea sponge roll was light and fluffy, and the mango sorbet was both sweet and sour and the thin wafer like biscuit on top added a sweet crunch.

From the bakery: Affogato dessert

We saw another table order the affogato, so we decided that we had to have it. They had to order it from their bakery next door and we waited in anticipation! The coffee was so super strong and a little bit too bitter, so I would have preferred it to be served with vanilla ice cream rather than coffee. Although dipping in the wafers and fruit were fun, I probably wouldn't order this particular dessert again.

Thanks Little J!

Overall:

I was very happy with my experience at Azuma Kushiyaki. The food was great and beautifully presented. I definitely think the degustation is worth it, and I'd definitely like to go again.

Azuma Kushiyaki

Ground Floor Regent Place Shopping,

501 George St,

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9267 7775

Open 7 Days (Lunch only available Mon - Fri)

www.azuma.com.au/

Ripples @ Sydney Wharf, Pyrmont

2010-03-29T12:00:00.002+11:00

How was it?
Food: 8/10
Service: 6.5/10
Ambience: 8.5/10
Value: $$$

Late last year, on a particulary beautiful and sunny day, a couple of hungry girls and I descended upon Ripples at Sydney Wharf in Pyrmont for a lovely Christmas lunch. This is one of the five restaurants of the Ripples group and it sits at the end of the wharf, right by the water. It's quite tucked away, so it's quite serene, without much noise or distractions.

Seared scallops with Crisp Pork Belly, Champagne Apples & Boudon Noir $19.00

Of course, being foodies we coordinated to cover as much of the menu as possible (for research purposes!). Firstly, we ordered a few starters. The first one was the beautiful seared scallop dish. After much oohing and ahhing, followed by clicking, we devoured these fat and juicy seared scallops. The crisp pork belly was lovely and crispy pork belly was complimented perfectly with the champane apples and boudon noir.

Yamba Prawn Tart with Creamed Leek, Feta & Tomato Salsa $19.00

Another beautiful seafood dish! The yamba prawn tart looked so vibrant and colourful, we couldn't help but coo over it! There were four big and juicy prawns sitting in a tart shell with creamed leek, feta and tomato salsa.

Yamba Prawn Tart with Creamed Leek, Feta & Tomato Salsa $19.00

It was equally as delicious as it looked. The only problem was - trying to divide it between 5 girls was a little bit tricky!

Duck Liver Parfait with Cranberry Jelly, Onion Marmalade & Pickled Prune $11.00

The final starter we ordered was the duck liver parfait. Lisa had tried this before and she couldn't say enough good things about it. Unfortunately this one was rather disappointing.

Duck Liver Parfait with Cranberry Jelly, Onion Marmalade & Pickled Prune $11.00

The duck liver was slimy and runny. Even the jelly on top couldn't mask the horrible blood/metal taste. I tried to lather on the accompanying condiments of onion marmalade and prunes, but it really didn't help. Such a shame, but perhaps we just went on an off day.

Sandcrab & Fine Herbs Omelette
with Mixed Cress Salad, Avocado & Tomato Dressing $29.00

For my main, I ordered the sandcrab omelette which was so filling! I am a major egg fiend (have always been, always will be) and this was perfect. I'm glad I got to palm some of it off to the others though, because it was a really big serve - I wonder how many eggs they had to use?! Hehe. The omelette was delicious and there was a generous serve of crab meat throughout, it was filling yet not too heavy.

Pan-seared Ocean Trout Fillet

with Farmers Style Salad and Grilled Pork Toulouse Sasauge $29.00

Pan-seared Ocean Trout Fillet
with Farmers Style Salad and Grilled Pork Toulouse Sasauge $29.00

Leona ordered the ocean trout which came with a perfectly pouched egg sitting on top. The ocean trout was cooked just right. The skin was crispy and the flesh was soft and moist. The crouton pieces also added a lovely crunch to the accompanying salad.

Ripples Famous Fish & Chips
with Homemade Tartare Sauce & Lemon $24.00

Karen took one for the team and ordered Ripples famous fish and chips. It was a really huge serving and there was just so much goodness in that bowl. The batter on the fish was crispy and not too oily, but the best part was the tartare sauce. It was quite possibly the best tartare sauce I've had. Now I know that the fish & chips are definitely famous for a reason!

Char-grilled Beef Tenderloins,
Creamed Spinach with Horseradish Gnocchi & Beef Short Rib Ragout $29.00

Lisa's dish of the char grilled beef tenderloins was beautiful. The beef tenderloins were cooked til lovely and tender, and the beef short rib ragout was absolute deliciousness - I remember Leona moaning over this one!

White Rabbit Fricasse with Lardons, Artichokes & Pappardelle Pasta $28.00

Steph's pasta dish was so bright and colourful. The pappardelle pasta was perfectly al-dente, it was so soft and creamy. I'm not sure if I could taste much of the rabbit though.

Dessert time!

Passionfruit Creme Brulee with Glass Biscuit & Passionfruit Syrup $12.00

So, we decided to get all of the desserts on the menu that day (minus the cheese platter). Just cause we can. The passionfruit creme brulee was sweet and silky and the passionfruit aromas were so intoxicating.

Burnt Lemon Tart, Lemon Curd Bombe Alaska & Macadamia Toffee $13.00

The burnt lemon tarte, lemon curd bombe alaska and macadamia toffee was seriously amazing! Ok, I'm not a huge lemon tart fan, so I normally don't choose anything too citrusy or lemony, but this was absolutely to-die-for! I could not get enough of the silky and smooth bombe alaska, it just melted in your mouth! And burnt lemon tart was also divine, with the crackly and sweet pastry. The macadamia toffee was also amazing, and definitely needs a mention. Leona & I kept going back to it - so much sweet, nutty goodness!

Strawberry Shortcake with Champagne,
White Chocolate Mousse & Strawberry Sorbet $12.00

Aww so cute! I couldn't get over how cute this strawberry shortcake was. The presentation was adorable. However the actual dessert wasn't a huge hit. The shortcake was really hard to break, and I wasn't sure of the champagne with the white chocolate mousse, it was a bit too strong especially getting towards the end.

White Chocolate Parfait with Bitter Chocolate & Orange Mousse, Blood Orange Jelly $14.00

Somehow, despite us saying that we wanted all of the desserts, they managed to miss one out :( After enquiring with the waiter, this beautiful looking plate came out. Unfortunately the white chocolate parfait was too hard and cold. They must've just taken it out of the freezer. The persian fairy floss on top was a nice touch though :)

White Chocolate Parfait with Bitter Chocolate & Orange Mousse, Blood Orange Jelly $14.00

Overall:
I really enjoyed our lunch at Ripples. Despite being politely shoved out at the end (apparently another party needed the table, didn't matter that half the restaurant was still empty - and no, I'm not bitter! haha). The food was delicious, however some of the items we had might not be on the menu anymore. Definitely get the fish & chips, and definitely save room for dessert!

Ripples at Sydney Wharf
56 Pirrama Rd,
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9571 1999
Open 7 Days for Lunch & Dinner (Breakfast available on weekends)
http://www.aquadining.com.au/aqua_ripples_cafe_restaurant.htm

*****

Happy 1 year to my humble little blog.
Thank you to everyone that occassionally stumbles upon my blog, on purpose or accident - you are always welcome! And thank you for the lovely comments. And thank you to my little blog for introducing me to some crazy kids!
Oh, and thank you to my blog for expanding my waist!
Betty xx

Marrickville Rd Cafe, Marrickville

2010-03-20T08:03:00.008+11:00

How was it?

Food: 6.5/10

Service: 6/10

Ambience: 6/10

Value: $

Sometimes all you need is a good solid breakfast. Actually I would recommend you have it every day, but the majority of people don't get to sit down to a nice hearty meal in the mornings, I know I don't (I eat breakfast at my desk at work!). When the Russian and I decided to catch up for breakfast, I suggested we go to the newly renovated Marrickville Rd Cafe. It's quite small inside, however there are some tables outside. One of the great things about this cafe is their free wireless internet, so you can grab a coffee and work/play at the same time :)

Toasted Breakfast Burrito

Poached eggs, Bacon, Spinach, Homemade Tomato Sauce, Povolone Cheese wrapped in a Tomato Tortilla

The Russian ordered the toasted breakfast burrito. It looked so good when it came out that I immediately had food envy! The burrito was a generous portion and there was a good filling to tortilla ratio. It was delicious and the Russian was definitely satisfied.

Organic Oat Porridge

with Banana, Toasted Coconut, Almonds, Raisins and Brown Sugar

I ordered the organic oat porridge which came with almonds, brown sugar and raisins served in separate little saucers. I liked this idea because it means that you can put as much or as little as you want of each item. The porridge itself was warm and soothing, I especially loved the generous serve of bananas on top!

Almonds, Brown Sugar, Raisins

Overall:

Marrickville Rd Cafe is quite a popular local cafe. I think it's particularly great for a long lazy breakfast or lunch. It's a very chilled out place, and I can imagine myself sitting there for a few hours. I'd definitely love to try more of the menu especially their different varieties of breakfast burritos! So if you're in the area and looking for a nice cafe, you should try this out.

Marrickville Rd Cafe

293 Marrickville Rd,

Marrickville NSW 2204

Tel: (02) 9564 5165

Open 7 Days (Breakfast & Lunch)

p.s. News!

I've just started a Tumblr page. Find me Here.

I'm new to it, so not sure how it all works at the moment, but I'll be posting some random thoughts and fun things over there, so check it out. I'm not following anyone yet, so if you have Tumblr too, let me know :) xx

Ladurée, Champs-Elysées, Paris

2010-03-11T10:37:00.002+11:00

How was it?

Food: 8/10

Service: 9/10

Ambience: 9/10

Value: $$$

As some of you may know, I went on a little holiday in January to Europe. It was awesome, I had the best time and I am currently experiencing post-holiday depression (4 weeks on!). My first stop was Paris, which is a beautiful city filled with beautiful streets, buildings and people. My days were spent walking around, shopping, eating, and more shopping - yeah, it was pretty tough! Hehe. And the food? Let's just say, I was obsessed with baguettes (not very French-like apparently), pastries and crepes!

Macarons: violet-blackcurrant, pistachio, caramel with superfine salt, praline.

4 mini macarons - €7.10

I actually didn't plan much before I left for my trip. The only thing that I booked was afternoon tea at The Ritz in London (post coming soon) and the only place that I knew that I had to go to in Paris was Ladurée, to try their famous macarons, of course.

Ladurée was founded in 1862 and there are currently four outlets around Paris and four others around the world. They are famous for their macarons, so famous that they have millions of fans around the world (ok I made that up!) but they have a fan page on facebook, and remember that episode of Gossip Girl where Chuck Bass flew over a box of Ladurée macarons for Blair to profess his love? That was so awesome. I love Chuck Bass.

For those who aren't sure what a macaron is - a macaron is lots of sugary goodness in the form of a meringue like mini cake which is crisp on the outside and smooth and soft on the inside. I noticed that they're pretty common in Paris, they even sold them at Maccas and in the supermarket!

I was immediately attracted to the store front of Ladurée, which is filled with pastel colours and little cakes and macarons on display. As soon as I stepped inside the Champs-Elysées store, I was in love. It was just the definition of French chic. There were two levels, with both the restaurant/dining area and the store front where you can walk in and purchase your goodies. It was very elegant, cosy and a little bit lavish, with silk curtains, chandeliers and beautiful crockery.

Cappuccino €5.20

I ordered four macarons to share (I would've ordered more if I was sharing with a girl!) and we ordered a drink each, the cappuccino and Ladurée's hot chocolate. The flavours I ordered were the violet-blackcurrant, pistachio, caramel with superfine salt and praline. The texture of the macarons was amazing, I could now see why they were so popular. There was a beautiful crisp outer and they was soft and gooey on the inside. My favourite had to be the caramel with superfine salt, I loved the sweet and salty contrast. It tasted a little bit like a werther's original!

Ladurée's hot chocolate (Chocolat Chaud Ladurée) €6.50

The drinks were perfect for this chilly day in Paris. The hot chocolate was so smooth and creamy, just the way that a hot chocolate should be. The cappucino came out with a mountain of froth, it was also smooth and nicely complemented the sweetness of the macarons.

Store front display

Overall:
I think the fact that I was on holidays made me love everything just that much more. But the macarons at Ladurée were really something special. And the thing I loved the most about the whole experience was the service. They were courteous and accomodating. We sat there for about three hours and we never felt rushed to leave - I guess that's just the French way!

Ladurée Champs Elysées
75, avenue des Champs Elysées
75008 Paris Open 7 days 7.30am to 11.00pm

Visit the website for more locations and information:
http://www.laduree.fr/index_en.htm

Mizuya Japanese Restaurant & Karaoke, Sydney

2010-03-02T15:05:00.002+11:00

How was it?
Food: 8/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$$

Move over Wagaya, there's a new touch-screen Japanese eatery in town! Mizuya Japanese Restaurant & Karaoke is situated in the heart of the city, opposite the cinemas on George St, close to where all the youngsters hang at Galaxy World etc. (I still remember taking sticker photos there back in the day! haha).

I still find the whole touch screen menu thing quite the novelty. There's quite a selection of goodies to go through and it's pretty hard to restrain yourself. We ended up ordering a little bit too much, I think!

Gemini (non-alcoholic drink) $5.80

There's a selection of non-alcoholic as well as alcoholic drinks including traditional Japanese sakes and liqueur, and yummy looking cocktails. I stuck to a non-alcoholic drink (pictured above), which was pretty disappointing as it was quite bland :( But the other alcoholic drinks at the table were rather nice, so I'd go for something alcoholic next time ;)

Please excuse the crappy photos. There wasn't much room for all of our dishes and my hunger/excitement might have prevented me from capturing the food in all of its glory! Anyway, to start off we ordered a few items from the 'kushiyaki' menu:

Ox Tongue Kushiyaki $5.80

The ox tongue was warm, very tender and flavoursome. It wasn't chewy at all and I'd definitely order it again.

Marbled Beef Fillet Kushiyaki $5.80

On the screen, the marbled beef fillets were in cubes, but instead it came out in slices. It didn't matter so much after that first bite - tender and moist with just a slight hint of sweetness.

Tuna Belly Kushiyaki $5.00

I didn't get to try the tuna belly kushiyaki, but I heard no complaints, so I'm guessing they were pretty good!

Garlic Shoots with Beef Kushiyaki $5.80

I really enjoyed the garlic shoots and beef kushiyaki. The garlic shoots looked a bit like asparagus, and had a very similar texture. They provided a sweet and unique crunch against the beef.

Assorted Kushiyaki 10pieces $19.80

The assorted kushiyaki platter was great and definitely much better value! There were ten different types of kushiyaki and every one of them was delicious.

Roast tomato wrapped in Bacon Kushiyaki (from the assorted kushiyaki platter)

I can't remember all of them, but I do remember the beef fillet, chicken wings, chicken thigh, king prawn, green chilli and the roasted tomato wrapped in bacon. That particular one was really fun to eat as the tomato just pops in your mouth and the bacon was tasty too, definitely enjoyed that one!

Soft Shell Crab Salad $9.80

We needed some greens to balance out all of that meat! The soft shell crab salad was a reasonable sized portion. The lotus chips on top were crispy and the soft shell crab was meaty and crunchy :) The best part was the Japanese mayo dressing!

Mixed Soya Milk Hot Pot (large) $38.50

It was an unexpectedly chilly night, so we decided that hot pot was in order. We ordered the mixed soya milk hot pot. The soy broth was light and flavoursome whilst the serve of vegetables and seafood were very generous. One of the best things about cooler months is hot pot, I think!

Deluxe Sashimi Platter $38.00

The sashimi platter was very beautifully presented and they were all kinds of fresh and melt in your mouth goodness. The different types of sashimi included: salmon, tuna, king fish, another white fish (not sure of the name), prawn, scallops and squid. The best one was definitely the white fish that none of us knew the name of! It was a thin slice and it was so soft and just melted in your mouth - it definitely sent moans around the table! The tuna sashimi wasn't as good as the one at Masuya, but the other ones were pretty great. W also pointed out that they used real wasabi, rather than horse-radish from a tube, big points to Mizuya for that! K also pronounced that it was the best sashimi that she had tried in Sydney [edit: *Since coming back from her trip to Japan a few months ago].

Green Tea Soft Serve $2.00

'Omg so cheap... oh it's just soft serve'. Haha

Green Tea Shiratama Sundae $3.50

Two desserts were ordered. The first was the green tea soft serve which was surprisingly delicious with that distinct green tea flavour. The green tea shiratama sundae was the same green tea soft-serve with red bean and glutinous balls - you can't really go wrong with that combo now, can you? The point is, don't knock the soft-serve til you've tried it, it's definitely worth it!

Overall:
I had a very enjoyable experience at Mizuya. The food was great, prices were reasonable and I will definitely be going back. It's good to go with more people, and they even have rooms for hire where you can eat and do a bit of karaoke! The service was not as swift as Wagaya, as we had to wait a little bit longer for food & drinks, but they were all very courteous and helpful. The only downside was the wait as they do not take reservations for the dining area (only the private rooms), we had to wait about 30 minutes on a Friday night, so keep that in mind if you decide to go!

Mizuya Japanese Restaurant & Karaoke

614 George St, (Basement)
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9266 0866
Open 7 Days 11.30am - Midnight
http://mizuya.com.au/

Spice I Am Restaurant, Darlinghurst

2010-02-18T12:10:00.003+11:00

How was it?
Food: 8.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Value: $$$

Before each of us parted ways for our Summer breaks in December of '09, we decided that a final dinner was needed, of course. K and I had been wanting to go to Spice I Am for such a long time, and we had decided that it should be a 'special occassion' restaurant, so we waited and waited til the right time. Finally, we decided that Spice I Am was rather fitting for our final meal of '09 together.

Lychee Mojito Mocktail $10.00

Spice I Am is a Thai restaurant in Darlinghurst, which has become popular for it's delicious and traditional Thai fare. The original location in Surry Hills was opened in 2004 and started out as a small takeaway diner. Popularity and demand led to the opening of their new restaurant in Darlighurst. Yay for us!

Longan Ice Tea Mocktail $10.00

After ordering some drinks, we began to peruse the menu. There were so many great options, so it took us quite a while to make our decision!

Khao Kreab Pak Mor $4.00 each

Steamed mini rice paper parcels on endive lettuce, filled with shiitake mushroom and bean curd with soy and vinegar sauce

I saw another table having this whilst we were checking out the menu, so I decided that we had to have it too! I didn't even know what it was, but it looked so pretty. When it arrived in front of me, I realised it was like a little dumpling! The skin was soft and silky, and the vege filling was light and the perfect start to our meal.

Pla Yum Ma Muang $38.00
Deep fried whole baby snapper with green mango salad , palm sugar, garlic and red chilli dressing

We unknowingly ordered two dishes that were pretty much exactly the same (my fault!). Firstly, we ordered the Pla Yum Ma Muang, which is deep fried baby snapper on a bed of mango salad. I was happy to find meaty pieces of snapper and the garlic & chilli dressing on the mango salad was a great combination of spicy and tangy.

Ped Yum Ma Muang $34.00 (from the specials menu)
Roast duck with green mango salad , palm sugar, garlic and red chilli dressing

The second somewhat-identical dish was the Ped Yum Ma Muang, which was roasted duck on the same bed of mango salad! Hehe. Luckily for us, the mango salad was delicious, so it was ok. The roasted duck was soft and tender, just the way it should be.

Som Tum $14.00
Green papaya salad with garlic, scud chilli, dried shrimp, toasted cashew nut, snake beans
and cherry tomatoes

DCM believes that som tum is what defines a Thai restaurant and is a real indicator of whether it is authentic or not. Spice I Am passed the authenticity test (haha) and we decided to test their's out. Som tum is green papaya salad, famous for watering the eyes and burning the tongues! But it's so delicious, that I will always try it, even though I know the repercussions! The som tum at Spice I Am was very spicy and the combination of ingredients created a real kick.

Yum Hua Plee Jay $22.00
Shredded banana flower salad with king prawns, roasted coconut, shallots, chilli,
coriander and nam pik pao dressing

We ordered the Yum Hua Plee Jay - banana flower salad, off the specials menu. They also have one in the normal menu, but I think it must be a bigger serving as it was more expensive ;)

Yum Hua Plee Jay $22.00 (from the specials menu)
Shredded banana flower salad with king prawns, roasted coconut, shallots, chilli,
coriander and nam pik pao dressing

I enjoyed the strong flavours of the coconut and the coriander. You could really taste the coriander, and the nam pik pao (which is a chilli paste - thanks wiki) dressing was sweet and tangy and it was so perfectly paired with all the ingredients in this dish.

We decided to have dessert a few doors down at Moo Cow :) It was great.

Overall:
I'd definitely recommend Spice I Am if you're looking for something a little bit more special than your dodgy/but awesome little Thai eatery, yet still searching for some authentic Thai food. Every dish that came out was great and I'd definitely like to go back and try more of what they have to offer.

Spice I Am Restaurant
296-300 Victoria St.
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9332 2445
Open 7 Days
Lunch 11.30 - 3pm (Thursday - Sunday)
Dinner 6pm - 10pm (Daily)
http://www.spiceiam.com

****
P.s. Apologies for being away from the blogosphere for so long!
Gosh, I feel like I've missed so much?!
I will be catching up on all the new blogs & all my fave blogs soon :)
Stay tuned for some fresh posts coming soon as well!
Happy eating!
xx

Grub & Tucker, Newtown

2010-01-26T10:59:00.003+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Value: $$

Happy Australia Day!

Amuse Bouche: Tomato Soup

I think that being away from home makes me feel much more patriotic! Anyway, here's a meal I shared with a few girlfriends last year. After some after work drinks, we decided to walk down King St to find some food. We ended up walking into Grub & Tucker. People either love or hate the name. I love the name, it conjures images of home cooked, hearty meals.

Bread platter with mixed dips

Grub & Tucker is a combination of modern Australian fare with a French inspiration, from what I gathered. We perused the menu for quite some time before deciding on what we wanted to order. We were then served an amuse bouche of tomato soup. As I am not a big fan of tomato soups in general, I didn't enjoy it that much. But I thought it was a nice little touch. For our entree we shared a bread platter with a mixture of four dips. Thankfully we were sharing because it was such a huge portion! The bread warm lovely and warm and the dips including guacamole and cream cheese were great accompaniments.

Specials Board: Tiger Prawn & Scallop Risotto with Proscuitto, Parmesan and Fresh Herbs $19.50

JJ-bird ordered the tiger prawn and scallop risotto from the specials board. It was definitely a generous portion, with a decent amount of seafood scattered throughout. I had a little taste and it was certainly very flavoursome and cheesy.

Pan Fried Barramundi Fillet

with creamy risotto of tiger prawns, baby spinach & smoked salmon $19.50

Smurf ordered the pan fried barrumundi fillet. It had a lovely crispy skin and the flesh was soft and moist. The risotto was also quite generous and really flavoursome.

Rib-Eye Steak with Mash

PB ordered the rib-eye steak with mash. I forgot to take note of the exact price of this dish, but I think it would have been between $19 - $23 (just guessing!). The steak was cooked perfectly and PB was quite happy with this dish.

Snapper Fillet with lemon herb crust, French beans, baby spinach and tomato butter sauce $19.50

I ordered the snapper fillet. I loved the crispy lemon herb crust. The snapper was soft and moist, like the barramundi. The accompanying sauce was light and flavoursome. There was no way that I could finish this dish though, it was way too big! Actually, I don't think any of us managed to finish our meals cause they were huge!

Overall:

The servings at Grub & Tucker were huge, so it's definitely a great place to take the boys or someone who hasn't eaten in a few days! All of our meals were very flavoursome and reasonably priced. Not a bad option and something different to the millions of Thai restaurants around Newtown!

Grub & Tucker

191 King St,

Newtown NSW 2042

Tel: (02) 9516 4970

Open 7 days

Sushi Roll, World Square, Sydney

2010-01-21T01:07:00.000+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 6/10

Value: $$

In the midst of the madness that was December of '09, we stumbled into this lovely sushi joint in World Square. I was actually in the mood for Makoto (as I always tend to be these days), but not in the mood to wait, so we decided to walk around and give Sushi Roll a try.

Salmon & Avocado Sushi $3.60

Salmon & avocado is pretty ordinary, but it's also pretty fantastic and we love it. The mini salmon & avocado rolls were tasty little morsels of goodness. The rice was lovely and soft. Off to a good start and I was pleasantly surprised.

Salmon Sashimi $6.80

The gold plate of salmon sashimi! It's pretty funny that back in the school days I would have never dreamed of touching the stuff, let alone eating it! Thankfully, I've seen the light and really love sashimi now. This one was lovely, light and fresh.

Salmon Roe & Salmon Ship Sushi $5.60

I took this plate off the train simply because it was so very pretty. Both sushi's came wrapped in salmon sashimi. One was topped in salmon roe, whilst the other was topped with chopped up salmon mixed with mayo (I think!). They were both delicious, I love all the different textures when biting into it.

Grilled Salmon Nigiri $3.60

Oh, I just realised that everything we ordered was salmon! We're so very adventurous. Anyway, I really loved the grilled salmon nigiri. The salmon was lightly grilled giving it a lovely smoky flavour. This was my favourite of the night. I wanted to get a few more plates of this, but I thought that would have been a bit excessive, so I refrained.

Takoyaki $3.60

Some takoyaki balls were ordered. They were crisp on the outside and lovely and gooey inside.

Vegetable Soup

I was in the mood for something warm and filling, so we decided to order the vegetable soup. It was a clear broth with a mixture of vegetables and tofu. It was very flavoursome, and we both thought that it was actually much better than the soup that we tried at Makoto.

Black Sesame Ice Cream

A scoop of black sesame ice cream was ordered for dessert. It really had a strong black sesame taste, so I thought maybe they made it there. It was really very tasty and a perfect end to the meal.

Hot Sake

Overall:

A great little sushi joint in the heart of the city. It's one of those places that I've walked by so many times without noticing. The food was great, service was friendly, and I definitely recommend it for a quick and easy meal.

Sushi Roll

Shop 10.19 World Square,

644 George St,

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9283 1881

Open 7 days

www.sushiroll.com.au

Afternoon Tea @ Sir Stamford Hotel, Circular Quay

2010-01-17T10:04:00.003+11:00

How was it?
Food: 5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 8/10

Value: $$$

A girly birthday celebration and afternoon tea are a match made in heaven. So for Steph's birthday back in November of last year, she organised for us (Karen, Leona, Lisa and I) to go to afternoon tea at Sir Stamford Hotel in Circular Quay. We all walked in with high hopes and were excited to meet the tea master. Walking through the lobby and corridors, I was in constant awe - everything was so pretty! I loved the Victorian decor and feel, and I could easily imagine us all wearing corsets, sipping tea and being oh-so-ladylike in this beautiful hotel.

I walked into the dining room to meet the girls and found out that they had lost the booking that Steph had made, therefore losing the memo on the fact that she is allergic to nuts! But they quickly set up a table for us and all was ok. My only thought was 'when is the tea master coming out?'

We ordered the traditional afternoon tea for $40 per person, which consists of a selection of sandwiches, scones, sweets and tea. Accompanying our tier of goodies was a little pastry served on a separate plate. I wasn't sure whether this little pastry was sweet or savoury, by the looks of it. But after biting into it, we realised it was a curry puff! A very pretty and tame curry puff. It wasn't too bad, but a nice little appetiser.

Sandwich: Smoked Salmon & Horseradish cream

Sandwich: Roast Chicken & Lemon Mayo

Sandwich: Cucumber & Watercress

First up, I decided to try out the sandwiches. There were three kinds - smoked salmon with horseradish cream, roast chicken, and cucumber and watercress. The roast chicken sandwich was surprisingly tasty, however the other two were rather average. And I noticed that they had left some of the crust on some of our sandwiches. I thought that that was rather sloppy.

Roast Vegetable & Pesto Wrap

Along with the sandwiches, there were also some roasted vegetable & pesto wraps. I wasn't a fan of the wrap, I thought that it was a little bit soggy, but I'm not a big pesto in wrap fan to begin with. However, some of the other girls did enjoy it.

So the verdict on tier 1: It could have been better, but we're here for the scones, sweets and tea, so we move on!

Scones with cream & jam

Small portions of jam & cream

We were all a little bit puzzled by the slanting scones, but we eagerly slathered on the jam and cream (or however much of the measly portion we could), hoping for the best! Alas, these scones were not having a good day. They had a distinct cheesy smell and taste, even the cream and jam couldn't mask it. Not like the beautiful, soft and fluffy scones at The Tea Room :(

So the verdict on tier 2: Major scone fail. Major disappointment.

I think at this point, we also realised that there was no tea master :( Could it get any worse?...

Chocolate Biscuit & Mousse Stack

Lemon Meringue Tart

Mixed Berry Tart

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Creme Brulee with pistachios

Moving onto the selection of sweets. I remembered having a bite of each dessert and putting it back down on my plate. The top of the creme brulee had a nice toffee crackle, which was promising, but the custard was very eggy and did not have a nice and smooth consistency. The chocolate biscuits were very powdery and bitter, leaving a strange aftertaste in my mouth.

So the verdict on tier 3: It just wasn't very spectacular, but luckily we had our lovely teas to soothe everything.

Overall:

I wasn't very impressed with the food at Sir Stamford, but perhaps our expectations were way too high to begin with. Despite that fact, the location, surroundings and decor are beautiful and definitely worth a look. It also helps when you're in the company of some lovely ladies, which tends to make everything better. Hope you had a great day Steph :) xx

Sir Stamford Hotel Circular Quay

93 Macquarie St,

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9252 4600

Afternoon tea served daily between 1pm - 5pm

http://www.stamford.com.au/sscq/page.asp?e_page=438920&special=772816

Pempek Clovelly, Kensington

2010-01-12T20:40:00.010+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 5/10

Ambience: 5/10

Value: $

Whilst on the Kensington/Kingsford food tour, Lorraine introduced us to Pempek Clovelly. And ever since that day, I had been dying to go back for more!

Pempek Kombinasi

Mixed Fish Cakes $17.50

Pempek Clovelly serves Indonesian food, specialising in fish cakes!

"Pempek, Mpek-mpek or Empek-empek is a delicacy from Palembang made of fish and sago. Pempek is served together with a dark, rich sauce called cuka (cuko, lit. vinegar) and Baso Palembang. Cuka is produced by adding brown sugar, chilli pepper, garlic, vinegar, and salt to boiling water."

Pempek Bulet

Fish Cake Ball

To get a taste of everything we ordered the mixed fish cakes dish. This comes with a variety of different sized and shaped fish cakes, all swimming in a sweet tamarind-like sauce.

Pempek Tahu

Fish Cake Tofu

Pempek Lenjer

Fish Cake Stick

Pempek Telor/Kapal Selem

Fish Cake with Egg

Pempek Telor/Kapal Selem

Fish Cake with Egg

I loved the texture of the pempek's. They were soft and chewy. I especially loved the fish cake skin, which I forgot to take a picture of (oops!). It was sweet and slightly crispier than the others! The fish cake with egg was so filling - it could have been a meal on it's own! And you can tell that it's slightly special because it costs $7.50 on it's own, whereas, the other varieties are a measly $2.50 each. But, honestly I'd probably just got for the other ones!

Gado Gado Lontong Ulek

Vegies and rice cakes with peanut sauce $9.00

To balance things out, I thought we'd better order some vegies. The fact that they're covered in peanut sauce is a non-issue! I'm a huge fan of gado gado, especially at Java Indonesian Restaurant in Randwick and at Pinangsia in Kingsford. Both very different, but awesome in their own way.

Gado Gado Lontong Ulek

Vegies and rice cakes with peanut sauce $9.00

The gado gado at Pempek Clovelly also came with rice cakes. When I first tasted it, my immediate thought was 'hmm... different'. It was a little bit different because the peanut sauce was really quite thick and goopy. It was ok for the first few mouthfuls, but afterwards I found it too sticky, thick and goopy.

Overall:

I'd definitely go back to Pempek Clovelly to try some of their other dishes, especially the martabak desserts :) I think I'd probably just order one of the fish cakes next time, a noodle dish and martabak for dessert. Hehe. I haven't put much thought into it at all, I swear! So, if the holidays have put a dent in your wallet, and you're looking for a cheap eat - I would suggest you check out Pempek Clovelly (except maybe hold off on the gado gado!).

Pempek Clovelly

198 Anzac Parade,

Kensington NSW 2033

Tel: (02) 9697 0009

Open Tuesday & Thursday - Sunday: 12pm - 8pm

Happy New Year: Best of 2009

2010-01-07T12:42:00.005+11:00

Hello All!

Happy New Year! I hope 2010 brings much happiness, love and success for you :)

I thought I'd start my first post of 2010 with a very short & sweet round up of some of my favourites of 2009.

An Oldie but a Goodie:

Thousand Spices, Homebush

I can never get enough of their naan bread and delicious curries!

So Glad I Found You:

Manmaruya Japanese

A local Japanese restaurant in Campsie that I'm always going back to. I especially love their huge portion of seaweed salad!

I would wake up extra early on weekend for breakfast at:

Kazbah on Darling, Balmain

Exciting, beautifully presented and orgasmically (is that a word?!) delicious!

Most unique dining experience:

Govinda's

Dinner & movie! Delicious Indian vegetarian buffet meal followed by lazing/sleeping on big lounges and cushions to watch the movie.

I always have the biggest cravings for:

Makoto Japanese

I can't get enough of their sushi!

I felt super special at:

Aria

Each dish was packed full of flavour and exquisitely presented. The service was the highlight and it definitely made me feel like royalty!

I never thought I'd:

Bake banana bread

Before I started blogging and reading foodblogs, I never really thought about baking. But after baking my own banana bread, it'll be hard to go back and pay $3.50 for a slice!

***

Of course there are so many more places that I've love love loved, but here are just a few. Look out for some tasty new posts coming your way very soon!

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-24T10:10:00.006+11:00

[image]

Hi All!

Have you missed me? I sure have missed you. Things have been super busy around here, hence the lack of posts. But I just wanted to quickly say - best wishes to you all for the holiday season! Whether you are celebrating Christmas or simply just enjoying all the fun and yummy treats that come along with it.

Stay safe, have fun and eat lots :)

Betty xx

Kazbah on Darling, Balmain

2009-12-13T21:54:00.003+11:00

How was it?

Food: 8.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$

I love that above picture so much, that it is now my twitter background image. Not only was it a stunning looking dish but just one bite sent me into foodie heaven. This dish, of course, was at none other than Kazbah on Darling in Balmain. I had been there once before, pre-foodblogging days, and I raved about it all the time and thought that it was high time that I revisited.

The coolest water jug you've ever seen

Thanks Little J!

Stepping into Kazbah feels like you've been transported to an exotic resort. Mosaic plates and trinkets dot the walls and a huge flower setting takes centre stage. I love all the colourful plates and especially the water jug! The cuisine at Kazbah is described as North African, Middle Eastern and Moroccan. So get your tastebuds ready for a real treat!

Feta Potato Cake, Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche, Red Wine Onion Marmalade $19.50

Little J and I decided to order two items to share. The first dish to arrive was the feta potato cake. It was absolutely amazing! The textures of each different layer were gorgeous and I could not stop moaning!

Feta Potato Cake, Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche, Red Wine Onion Marmalade $19.50

The feta potato cake was soft and crumbly, and the thin slices of smoked salmon were perfect with the crème fraîche. The red wine onion marmalade was very interesting. I loved that there was a strong onion-y taste, but it was lovely and sweet at the same time. You must get a little bit of everything in each mouthful to get the full effect. It was simply amazing!

Breakfast Tagine $18.00 p/person

Roast Pumpkin, Spinach, Roast Capsicum, Roast Tomato, Caramelised Onion, Feta, Eggs, Turkish Toast and Lebanese Bread

Next to arrive was the famous vegetarian breakfast tagine. It was just as good as I remembered. I loved the sweet roasted pumpkins, mixed with all the veges and the gooey egg.

Two types of bread are offered with the tagine - Turkish bread and Lebanese bread. Both were great with the tagine, although I'm a sucker for Turkish bread and if it's in front of me for long enough, I'll most likely eat it all!

Hot Chocolate $4.50

Little J's hot chocolate with real chocolate pieces inside! She was very happy!

Juice of the day: Watermelon & Ginger $6.50

I ordered the juice of the day which was watermelon and ginger, which was very refreshing and perfect for the morning. I was surprised to see that it was $6.50 on the bill though?! I thought that was a bit steep, considering how tiny the glass was :( But, oh well.. at least it was good!

Crayons are provided in a little cup to keep the kiddies entertained (or the young at heart!)

Kazbah are taking part in StreetSmart which is "a unique bridge between the community and small, grassroots agencies that assist people experiencing homelessness". Some restaurants are helping to raise money by adding a small amount ($2) to your bill. You can read more about it here.

Overall:

I loved the breakfast here at Kazbah. The atmosphere was buzzing, I loved the decor and the food was amazing. I think it's something that is really unique and definitely worth a try. If only I lived closer, I'd be there all the time!

Kazbah on Darling

379 Darling St,

Balmain NSW 2041

Tel: (02) 9555 7067

Open for breakfast & lunch - Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays

Open for dinner - Wednesday to Saturday

http://www.kazbah.com.au/

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant, Sydney

2009-12-07T21:16:00.002+11:00

How was it?

Food: 8.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$$

Sometimes it's good when people cancel on you (Hi K! hah). That's what happened to me a while back, and I decided to scrap our dinner plans and make new plans. New plans that included me finally making my way to Masuya! Yay. I heard lots of good things about Masuya so I was eager to check it out for myself.

Masuya Mojito $5.80

Fresh Lime, Apple Juice, Ginger Ale and Mint

Firstly, we chose some drinks from their mocktails menu. The Masuya mojito was so refreshing. I loved the mint and fresh lime combination. I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm a big mojito fan, alcoholic or non!

Homemade Ice Lemon Tea $5.80

Earl Grey Tea, Peach, Fresh Squeezed Lemon

I ordered the homemade ice lemon tea which was also lovely and refreshing. The hint of peach was just enough so as to not overpower the drink (I don't like it when it's too peachy).

Nasu Miso $5.80

Deep fried eggplant with Masuya's original miso paste

Nasu Miso $5.80

Deep fried eggplant with Masuya's original miso paste

I love miso eggplant! Whenever I see it on a Japanese menu, I must order it! The skin on this eggplant was quite tough and oily, it was even hard to chew, so that made things a bit more difficult than normal! But the meaty part was deliciously soft and sweet. I love miso paste. You can never go wrong with anything smothered in that goodness, can you?

Sushi O'Connell $19.80

Combination of traditional & modern sushi nigiri and sushi rolls

The menu is quite extensive, covering all sorts of sashimi, sushi, hot pots, chef's specials, entrees, side dishes and more! So it was pretty tricky trying to decide on what to order for our mains, but we settled on a platter of sushi, a platter of sashimi and a salad.

Cucumber and Salmon Sushi Rolls

Tuna and Scallop Sushi Rolls

This sushi platter was great because we got to sample a little bit of everything. I thought that the sushi rolls were all tasty, however not as amazing as the ones at Makoto.

Tuna Nigiri and Kingfish Nigiri

The nigiri sushi were all delicious! The tuna and kingfish were fresh and fleshy. I loved the small bed of rice that the slices of sashimi sat on top. I couldn't get over how fabulous the rice was! It wasn't hard or really sticky, it was so soft and almost melted in the mouth. It was gorgeous!

Grilled Salmon Nigiri

The grilled salmon nigiri was very interesting. I thought that the little marks from the grill were pretty cool! It was only lightly grilled, so the salmon did not lose any of it's fresh juiciness.

Salmon Nigiri and Prawn Nigiri

The prawn nigiri was surprisingly delicious. I'm not usually a huge fan of the prawn one but this one was very meaty and soft, so we were both very pleased. The salmon nigiri was a combination of their beautiful sashimi on top of their beautiful rice, could-not-go-wrong.

Tofu & Cucumber Sushi Roll

The 'modern' sushi roll on offer was the tofu and cucumber roll. I loved the rice, however I always struggle with these big ones and they always end up collapsing on my plate!

Sashimi Ocean 5 $14.80

Tuna, Kingfish, Salmon, two varieties of fish of the day, served on ice

Tuna sashimi and fish of the day

Kingfish Sashimi

Salmon Sashimi

All the sashimi on offer was super fresh and soft. After every bite there was a "mmmm so good" coming out of me! Every piece was like heaven. Definitely one of the best sashimi platters I've had.

Masuya's Salmon Salad $12.80

Lightly spiced marinated salmon with creamy blue cheese, served with a rice vinaigrette dressing

Masuya's Salmon Salad $12.80

Lightly spiced marinated salmon with creamy blue cheese, served with a rice vinaigrette dressing

The salmon salad was lovely and light. The creamy blue cheese was very creamy and the light rice vinaigrette gave the salad a refreshing twist. The salmon was soft and gorgeous, and at that price, I thought it was pretty good!

Rice Vinaigrette Dressing

2 Kind of Soy Sauce for Sushi and Sashimi

Hehe... I was in quite the jovial mood:)

Overall:

I'd definitely recommend Masuya to anyone for some of the freshest sashimi in town. I thought that the rice on those sushi rolls was incredible. It's a little bit pricier than your average Japanese restaurant, but it's definitely worth every cent.

Masuya Japanese Seafood Restaurant

Basement Level, 12-14 O'Connell St,

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9235 2717; (02) 9231 0038

Open Monday - Saturday

http://www.masuya.com.au/en/masuya/

The Falconer, Darlinghurst

2009-12-05T21:49:00.001+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$

Plan A was for Carrie and I to take Miss V to Longrain for her birthday, but we had to see a show and couldn't afford to wait for 2hours. Which brings us to Plan B. We walked up to Oxford St, and found The Falconer. From the outside, it doesn't look like much, but inside you are transported into a lovely dining room, almost feeling like you've stepped into another time or place complete with little comfy booths! It has a very Melbournian feel - very relaxed, cool and a little bit retro.

Risoni with Sauteed Mushrooms, Lemon, Thyme and White Truffle Oil $14.00

We were in a bit of a rush, so we decided to order one main each. Miss V's risoni was delicious. The risoni was pillowy soft, the mushrooms added some depth and texture, and unlike some rissoto's, this was light yet comforting at the same time.

Fish of the day - Barramundi

Carrie ordered the fish of the day, which happened to be barramundi. It came lying on a bed of vegetables, which were lovely and tangy. The barramundi itself was cooked until perfectly tender and juicy.

Linguini with Grilled Zucchini, Chilli, Garlic and Bortaga $17.00

I ordered the linguini, which was a slight disappointment compared to the two others. I felt as though the flavours hadn't all mixed together quite well and it tasted quite bland. The linguini pasta itself was nice and al-dente though, if only it had a little bit more flavour.

Overall:

A great little restaurant on Oxford St. The servings were generous and the waitstaff were all very lovely and helpful. A great location and reasonable prices make The Falconer a winner, despite my lacklustre meal, the other two were delicious and I would give them another go!

The Falconer

31 Oxford St,

Darlinghurst NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9267 8434

Open 7 Days

Dinner available Tuesday - Sunday

www.thefalconer.com.au

In The Mood For Thai, Surry Hills

2009-12-02T23:18:00.003+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Value: $$

One night we ended up in Surry Hills at In The Mood For Thai. I wasn't particularly in the mood for Thai, but turning up to restaurants without a reservation on a Saturday night is pretty tricky in Surry Hills. So we went in and I immediately liked the open front and the decor. There were woven basket chairs hanging from the ceiling and a moody red & black colour scheme, which a lot of Thai eateries are going for these days, I've noticed.

The food took a while to come out, and seeing as though I was already hungry and cranky, this didn't help matters. Fortunately, the food did make up for it.

Green Curry (with vegetables and tofu) $15.90

The green curry was served in a shallow square plate, which I thought was interesting and maybe a little bit westernised. But, I should learn not to make assumptions because the green curry was great! Just the right amount of chilli, a smooth texture and a generous serve of vegetables throughout.

Freshly Grilled Tender Octopus $16.00

The grilled octopus was served on a salad of mint, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, red onion with a chilli lime dressing. It was lovely and fresh. The octopus was nicely grilled with that smoky char-grilled flavour.

Kai Yang $19.50

Marinate Chicken Maryland in aromatic special Thai sauce, grilled and served with sweet chilli and Thai dipping sauce

Kai Yang $19.50

Marinate Chicken Maryland in aromatic special Thai sauce, grilled and served with sweet chilli and Thai dipping sauce

They were so generous with the portion of grilled chicken. This was probably our favourite dish. The chicken was grilled til perfectly tender and juicy. The two accompanying sauces were also delicious, sweet chilli sauce and a special fish sauce.

Overall:

I was pleasantly surprised by this Thai eatery. Even though I kept comparing the prices to my local Thai restaurant, I was still happy as the food was good. There's so many Thai eateries in Surry Hills to choose from, but I think this one is pretty decent and wouldn't hurt the wallet so much!

In The Mood For Thai

379 Crown St,

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Open 7 Days

Tel: (02) 9380 8097

http://www.thairiffic.com.au/

In other news...

The wonderful Ellie of Almost Bourdain was kind enough to pass on the Over The Top award to my blog!

Over The Top Blog Award:

According to the rules of the award, I must provide my readers the answers to the below 35 questions in ONE WORD. I also must THANK my award giver for this fun award AND grant 6 of my FAVORITE BLOGGERS this award. Then, give them the heads-up that they have been nominated by yours truly.

So a big big THANK-YOU to Ellie for passing this award onto me. I don't really feel very deserving of it, but I'll take it ;) Thanks for always providing us with beautiful recipes and pictures! You are a real inspiration to all of us, so thank you for blogging and sharing your wonderful talents :) xx

Onto the questions...

Where is your cell phone? Bed
Your hair? Black
Your mother? Sweet
Your father? Smart
Your favorite food? Japanese
Your dream last night? Blank
Your favorite drink? Water
Your dream/goal? Happiness
What room are you in? Bedroom
Your hobby? Blogging
Your fear? Heights
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
Where were you last night? Dinner
Something that you aren’t? Confrontational
Muffins? Ok
Wish list item? Boat!
Where did you grow up? Sydney
Last thing you did? GossipGirl
What are you wearing? PJs
Your TV? Unwatched
Your pets? Dog
Friends? Love
Your life? Busy
Your mood? Tired
Missing someone? Yes
Vehicle? Yes
Something you’re not wearing? Socks
Your favorite store? H&M
Your favorite color? Red
When was the last time you laughed? Today
Last time you cried? October
Your best friend? Smurf
One place that I go to over and over? Bathroom
One person who emails me regularly? K
Favorite place to eat? Street (in Asia, but I always get sick, but it's totally worth it!)

I would like to pass on this wonderful Over The Top Award to 6 bloggers:

Brenda - I'm Hungry Too

Conor - Hold the Beef

Lili - Pikelet and Pie

Maria - The Gourmet Challenge

Richard - Here Comes the Food

Trina - Foraging Otaku

Oh that was hard!
I love you all :) xx

Update (Feb 2010): Another thank you to Kristy for passing on the OTT award to me :) xx

La Paula's Empanadas and Sweets, Kingsford

2009-11-30T22:37:00.005+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 6/10

Value: $

One of the stops on the Kinsgford/Kensington food tour that Lorraine organised (a few months ago) was La Paula's. We went there to try their empanadas, which you can see and read about here. After tasting their empanadas, a few of us decided to buy some sweet treats to take home. I decided to buy a few things to take with me to the Hoppers Feast at Smurfs that evening.

They didn't have any names of the items in the display, so I just went "I want one of this, one of this, one of that... one of that chocolately one, oh and one of those"! The main ingredient in all of these little treats is dulce de leche (which is sweet condensed milk which has been boiled/cooked to form a caramel like syrup). YUM! They ranged in price from $1-$3 (Trina and I were nudging each other - 'so cheap'!). The first one, pictured above, was two thin sweet biscuits with dulce de leche filling in the middle, and then coated in loads of icing sugar. Lots of sugary goodness, however quite hard to eat without the icing sugar falling off!

The next one was the same kind thing except the icing sugar was replaced with coconut. Deliciously sweet yet not overly coconut-y.

The next one I chose was looked quite similar to the others, but I was so pleasantly surprised to discover that it was actually more of a cake. Two sponge pieces with dulce de leche wedged in the centre and coated with dulce de leche around the outside. The texture was actually quite hard, but I really enjoyed it. It tasted like those asian egg roll biscuits that come in those big tins... (anyone know what I'm saying?!)

The three layered biscuit one was my favourite! I loved the flakey biscuits and combined with the dulce de leche, it was just so moreish!

The chocolate one consisted of dulce de leche sandwiched between two pieces of chocolate sponge. The was lovely and crumbly, even though it was a bit hard.

Petit fours!

Lorraine tells us that La Paula's is quite a hidden little secret as most of it's clientele are native Chileans. People travel far and wide to come for their empanadas and sweets - a very good sign indeed!

Cake/Sweets Display

Overall:

The sweets at La Paula's were delicious. I'm glad that I was sharing them with other people, otherwise I would have probably overdosed on sugar and dulce de leche! If you're in Kingsford (hello UNSW students) and looking for something different of the sweet variety, just take a few extra minutes walk down Gardeners Road to La Paula's and your sweet tooth will thank you!

La Paula's Empanadas and Sweets

118 Gardeners Road,

Kingsford NSW 2032

Tel: (02) 9663 1041

Open Thursday - Sunday 9am - 4pm

p.s. happy 100th blog post to me! yay :)

Makoto Sushi Bar, Haymarket

2009-11-25T22:14:00.003+11:00

How was it?

Food: 8.5/10

Service: 6/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Value: $$

Green Tea

It's no secret that I love Japanese food. Another great Japanese restaurant to cross off my list is Makoto Sushi Bar in Haymarket. I have been to the Chatswood branch quite a few times, which I always thought was OK, but it really does not compare to the Haymarket branch. I have been twice in the past month, which is a testament to how much I have fallen in love with it! The queue waiting outside is also a testament to Makoto's popularity.

Salmon Sashimi $6.60

If there's one thing that DCM and I agree on, it's ordering salmon sashimi. The sashimi here was thick and fresh, although I thought that they could have been more generous with the serve!

Seaweed Salad Sushi $3.00

The seaweed salad sushi is also a must for me, when it comes to sushi bars. The seaweed salad was good, as always. But what amazed me the most was the super crispy seaweed that was wrapped around the sushi. It was so good! It was crispy but not chewy at all. Every bite was pure pleasure.

Spicy Raw Tuna (Tuna Yukke) $3.60

The tuna on the spicy raw tuna roll was lovely and pink, and the chilli flakes sitting on top made it look so pretty! The tuna was fleshy with just the right amount of chilli.

Chef's Special: Salmon & Cream Cheese Handroll $5.60

Both times we dined at Makoto, we ordered a few items from the Chef's Recommendations Specials. These specials change regularly, so it's the perfect reason to dine there more often ;) The first time we went, we ordered the salmon & cream cheese handroll. Salmon and cream cheese are the perfect combination, on or in anything. They are fantastic, in my opinion! The salmon in this handroll was so soft, it almost melted in your mouth and it was paired perfectly with the gooey cream cheese.

Chef's Special: Grilled Scallop Sushi $6.60

Excuse me whilst I have a moment with my grilled scallop sushi....

Chef's Special: Grilled Scallop Sushi $6.60

Oh dear. If you're a lover of grilled scallop, like myself, you will love this chef's special. I loved the textures of the grilled scallop and grilled salmon wrapped around the sushi. Both were so soft and moist, and they just went down so smoothly. Oh, and how sexy is the salmon roe dripping down the sushi?!

Special Omelette with Soft Shell Crab Handroll $3.60

My friend, Miss LV, told me that I had to try the special omelette handroll at Makoto, after I raved about dining there the first time. This handroll is on the menu, however you have to request for it to come with the soft shell crab. It normally comes with king prawns, oyster or scallop. Miss LV was so right! This was amazing! Loved the fried egg and soft shell crab mixed with the super fresh rice, lettuce and crispy seaweed. To top it off there was a generous amount of Japanese mayonnaise lathered inside, which makes everything taste good!

Chef's Special: Salmon & Mango Handroll $5.60

Mangoes are in season now (yay! I love mangoes!). So the chef's at Makoto have taken advantage of this and used mango in one of their special handrolls. The salmon & mango handroll was very refreshing, juicy and a little bit sweet.

Chef's Special: Seaweed Salad $4.60

Seaweed salad and salmon sashimi make for a delicious combination. The sashimi was soft and moist and the seaweed salad was lovely. Couldn't really go wrong with this one.

Soft Shell Crab Karaage $9.80

The first time we dined there, they got our orders mixed up. So our soft shell crab came out almost as we were finishing our meal and then they brought out the wrong udon noodle dish. But they were quick to correct themselves, so it was not a problem. The soft shell crab karaage was a tad bit too oily, and not as meaty as I would have liked. It was also a little bit too salty and I didn't end up having much.

Teriyaki Chicken Udon $9.80

To really top things off the first time, we ordered the teriyaki chicken udon. I liked the soft boiled egg, although the teriyaki chicken and udon noodles were nothing special. We also both thought that the soup was quite salty.

Fisherman's Soup $6.80

Another soup was ordered on our second visit. Keep in mind that both times we dined at Makoto, the weather was much cooler than what we have been experiencing recently (41 degrees on Sunday?!). The fisherman's soup was light and mild. The seafood was generous, although it wasn't particularly amazing.

Black Sesame Ice Cream with Red Bean, Jelly & Fruit

They have a couple of different desserts on offer. Nothing that you wouldn't find in most Japanese sushi bars though. The black sesame ice cream dessert came with red bean, coconut jelly, grass jelly and a couple of pieces of fruit including oranges, strawberries and longans. A very refreshing dessert.

Overall:

The sushi at Makoto really blew me away. It was some of the freshest and best tasting sushi that I've had. The other items we ordered were pretty average, but I'd definitely go back just for the sushi. It's not exactly cheap, but it's in a great location and if you're in the mood for sushi (and you're willing to wait), you will definitely not be disappointed.

Makoto Sushi Bar

119 Liverpool St (Corner Pitt St),

Haymarket NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9283 6767

Open 7 Days

http://www.masuya.com.au/en/makoto/

P.s. Here's a shoutout to Miss LV's little sister (Little S) over in NY! Hi! I know you're reading this, hope you're keeping warm over there and hope you've found some decent food! :)

Hopping with Smurf: Making Hoppers (Appa)

2009-11-22T21:00:00.001+11:00

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Smurf...

A Special Event

Hoppers with Smurf & Mama Smurf

The first time I tried hoppers was at Janani with Smurf. I really enjoyed them and Smurf did too, however she did say that her mother (aka Mama Smurf) made them better. So we decided to have a hoppers night in the near future! A few months had passed and after eating myself silly on the Kingsford/Kensington food tour, I headed to Smurf's for the hoppers feast!

Hoppers are a thin and crispy pancake traditionally served with curry and sambol. There are many different varieties of hoppers, including plain hoppers, egg hoppers and sweet hoppers. This evening Smurf and Mama Smurf were preparing the plain hoppers and egg hoppers.

Hoppers Batter

The hoppers batter was all made when I arrived, so all we had to do was fry them up! The recipe they used was a family recipe, which was adapted from a traditional Sri-Lankan recipe book (which I didn't manage to get the name of - sorry!). But I found a site where the recipe was identical to the one in the book. So here's the link and a little bit more information on hoppers.

Here are the photos of the hoppers-making process:

1. Have batter mixture ready, along with 1 cup measuring cup (or similar).

2. Add the oil to a frying pan and wait until it is hot before pouring in 3/4cup of the batter.

3. Very quickly lift up the fry pan and tip the batter mixture around, so a round thin shape forms.

4. Cover for a few minutes. The hoppers should be crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on towards the centre. Once it's ready, scoop it out of the fry pan with a wooden spoon and serve.

5. To make egg hoppers, follow the above instructions and before covering the fry pan, crack an egg in the centre and then cover.

And behold the mountain of hoppers:

We had the hoppers with some curries and sambol and it was all so delicious and tasty! Please check out the site I linked to above for the full recipe, and if you have any questions about hoppers, let me know and I'll pass those questions onto Smurf and Mama Smurf.

I wanted to say a huge thank you to Smurf and Mama Smurf for having me and making this hoppers feast!

And one last thing, Smurf is at present on a jet plane on her way to London. So here's a quick message to Smurf: Have fun, good luck and let's hope there isn't a rockbottom 2010! I'll miss you and can't wait to see you in January (WOOHOO!) Lots of Love xx

Little Haveli Indian Restaurant, Ultimo

2009-11-18T22:32:00.001+11:00

How was it?
Food: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Ambience: 6/10

Value: $

We had originally planned to go to the Night Noodle Markets, but after being rather disappointed the previous two years, Carrie and I decided to head elsewhere. She took me to one of her fave Indian restaurants in Ultimo called Little Haveli.

Medium Meal $8.00

Rice + Palak Paneer + Butter Chicken

They have a number of special meal deals on offer. You can choose to have either the small, medium or large meal, which comes with rice and your choice of two curries. The different choice of meal sizes reflect the portion sizes. Prices also vary depending on whether you choose vegetable or meat curries. We both decided to order the medium meal (a bargain at $8.00), with one vegetable curry and one meat curry. I decided to be naughty and ordered the naan bread instead of rice - I love naan bread!

Palak Paneer

Spinach Curry with Cottage Cheese Cubes

Carrie ordered the Palak Paneer as her vegetable curry. I loved the colour and strong flavour of the spinach. It's always good when the food arrives and it matches it's description! The cottage cheese was lovely and soft and did not overpower the curry at all.

Butter Chicken

Boneless Chicken Roasted in Tandoor Cooked in Tomato, Cream and Almond Sauce

The meat curry that Carrie chose was the butter chicken. An oldie but a goodie. It's pretty hard to go wrong with butter chicken, but I know that a lot of places do. The chicken pieces were lovely and tender, the curry was flavoursome, rich, creamy and a little bit sweet. Definitely enjoyed.

Naan Bread

I requested to have naan bread instead of rice (it wasn't on the menu) and they had no problems changing it for me. The naan bread was good, it wasn't as amazing as the one at Thousand Spices, I like my naan bread to have that extra crispness without being hard!

Dal Makhani

Lentils Cooked with Onion and Tomato finished with butter & cream

I ordered the Dal Makhani as my vegetable curry choice. It was simple and delicious. It's practically healthy, minus the butter and cream! The texture was nice and creamy, not too thick though. And I liked the soft lentils.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Boneless Chicken Roasted in Tandoor, with Onions, Capsicum, and Tomato

Another oldie, but a goodie. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala as my meat curry. The chicken pieces were lovely and tender, like in Carrie's butter chicken. It wasn't too spicy, but it did have a slight kick to it, which was most welcome.

Overall:

I loved the whole no muss, no fuss attitude at Little Haveli. Not much is given to food presentation, decor and ambience, but it doesn't really matter when the food is not only delicious, the portions sizes are generous and it really is cheap as chips! There's also a little sink inside the restaurant where you can wash your hands after getting down and dirty with your meal - I thought that was really cute and thoughtful!

Little Haveli

153 Broadway,

Ultimo NSW 2007

Tel: (02) 9212 2471

Open 7 Days for dinner

www.littlehaveli.com.au

About Me

2009-11-17T10:10:00.001+11:00

Hi there!

Welcome to The Hungry Girl.

I started this blog in March 2009 to chronicle my many food adventures around Sydney (and hopefully, beyond!).

The Basics ~

I was born and raised in the inner west of Sydney.
I have a Chinese/Cambodian background.
I have completed a commerce degree and am currently working in the food industry.
I will travel for food.

Inspirations ~

The first inspiration for my blog would have to be my good friend K, who grew up in Singapore and is obsessed with all things new, shiny and techy. When we first met, I noticed her weird tendency to take photos of all of our food. At first I was rather boggled by this strange behaviour, but then I started to get in on the act and loved it!

I have also been inspired by some awesome food blogs, which I had been lurking around for quite some time. I never intended to make friends or even meet people through this blog, but I have had the pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with some lovely bloggers :)

How often do I dine out and with who? ~

You may think that I must dine out every day of the week and am some sort of giant. But I'm not really. On average, I dine out maybe once during the week and twice over the weekend (Friday is included in my weekend. hehe).

I have lovely dining companions who put up with my camera and photo-taking! And no, sorry. You cannot just 'come with me'. I have to actually know you. I do not do any sort of food review tour thing, I have a real job!

Confession ~

1. I don't really know how to cook. But I'm learning. Apparently I will never be a good wife, until I have mastered the art of cooking! Oh dear.

2. I am a massive teeny bopper. Yes, I really do like Zac Efron, I'm not going to lie. But, have you not seen the awesomeness/overly lame/cringe fest that is HSM 1, 2 AND 3? (How good was 3?) My friends still love me for it, I think.

A little bit more.... ~

Aside from my love of food (Japanese especially), I love shopping and travelling. My dream would be to travel to every country to shop and eat. That's all really.

Disclaimer ~

I am not a professional writer, critic or photographer. Just an average person, like yourself, giving their opinion of their experience. My experience may be different to yours, so obviously you will need to make up your own mind.

If there's anything else you'd like to know about me, please leave a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Contact ~
bettythehungrygirl@gmail.com

O Bal Tan Korean BBQ Restaurant, Haymarket

2009-11-10T21:50:00.004+11:00

How was it?

Food: 7/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Value: $$

El was keen to try Korean BBQ, so I took her down the little alleyway off Pitt St, into Koreantown aka Korean BBQ Heaven! We decided to skip the 20+ minute queue waiting for Madang, and walked into O Bal Tan. It looked a little bit deserted, but not to worry as we were ushered to a more lively and happening upstairs.

BBQ Pit

Korean BBQ allows you to cook your own food and it's a fun way to be a part of your own dining experience. And here's a quick tip: when going to any sort of BBQ restaurant there's no need to shower beforehand, as you'll come out smelling like smoke and meat and other BBQ goodness. So you will definitely need to shower afterwards.. unless you like sleeping with that smell, then go ahead!

Table exhaust! (Fancy, no?)

Unsure of what to order, we perused the menu for quite a while. We ordered three items and were unsure of whether that would be enough, and let me tell you - it was way more than enough! Because of all the complimentary side dishes.....!

Sauces/Condiments

Vegetable Soup

The vegetable soup was a lovely surprise. It was served cold, which was a little bit strange at first, but then the tangy, sour and sweet flavours worked really well to awaken the tastebuds for what was to come.

Cabbage

We both got a plate of cabbage, which I thought was really nice of them! The cabbage was light and tangy, and I polished this all off pretty quickly!

Pancakes

I wasn't sure what this was, but it tasted like some sort of rice cake with shallots inside. It was a tad too oily as the oil seemed to overpower the little pancakes.

Pasta with Pumpkin Puree

Another side dish was the pasta with pumpkin puree. I quite enjoyed the pumpkin puree as it tasted like real pumpkin!

Kimchi

Gotta have kimchi at a Korean restaurant! It was quite good, just a little bit of the hot and spicy goodness goes a long way!

Pickled Onions

The final side dish was the pickled onions. They were nice and quite sweet, but didn't really compare to some of the other side dishes.

Lettuce/Cucumber/Garlic/Onion basket

for BBQ

Ggom Jang Eo $18.00

In Chore Hagfish Grilled with Chilli Sauce

Ggom Jang Eo $18.00

In Chore Hagfish Grilled with Chilli Sauce

The first BBQ dish that we ordered was the Ggom Jang Eo (In Chore Hagfish grilled with chilli sauce). Having no idea what this particular kind of fish was like, we took a chance. And it paid off! In Chore Hagfish which are the little spots of red at the bottom of the tray, are similar to eel. Quite slimy and chewy, but delicious when grilled with chilli sauce!

U-Seul $17.00

Ox Tongue

U-Seul $17.00

Ox Tongue

I remembered really enjoying Ox Tongue at Suminoya, so I convinced El that she too had to try it! If the thought of eating Ox Tongue freaks you out (it freaked me out at first too!), then try to forget the name and pretend it's just another piece of meat. A lovely, tender, slighty firm piece of meat! So good when it's all sizzling! Definitely our favourite of the evening.

Pa Jeon $12.00

Vegetables with Seafood Pancake

The seafood pancake was huge and quite different to what I was expecting! I was expecting little pieces, like at Se Jong, but this was the size of a regular pizza! And it came in a basket, making it look so nice and rustic! It was delicious with the crispy outer and soft and generously filled inner. I love Korean seafood pancake, especially from Se Jong, and I always try to convince my dining partners to try it, sometimes I'm lucky :)

Overall:

O Bal Tan definitely exceeded my initial first impressions. The food was good and the prices were fairly reasonable. It's best to share, so that you get the whole experience. The service is quick and friendly, they have buzzers on each table, so they won't come to you unless you buzz - keep that in mind! Don't forget to try the Ox Tongue!

O Bal Tan Korean BBQ Restaurant

363A Pitt St,

Haymarket NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9269 0299

Open 7 Days

Selina Restaurant, Fairfield

2009-11-05T22:20:00.000+11:00

How was it?

Food: 4/10

Service: 4/10

Ambience: 5/10

Value: 5/10

I wasn't sure if I was going to write a post about Selina Restaurant in Fairfield because I had quite a bad dining experience there. But I thought I'd do it because the food blog is about all my dining experiences whether good or bad.

It was a public holiday Monday and the restaurant was quite busy. It looks like your regular hole-in-the wall suburban eatery - cheap, cheerful and authentic. Pictures of Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia), Apsara women, and beaches lined the walls. The tables were lined with pink tablecloth with glass on top. Underneath the glass people had randomly thrown in their business cards, so the tables have now become noticeboards or advertisements. We were shown to our table when we walked in, but had to wait about 20 minutes for them to clear the table from the previous diners and then another 10 minutes to get menus. Not the best way to treat a hungry diner.

Green Papaya Salad (Laos Style) $8.00

Selina Restaurant serve a mix of Thai, Laos and Cambodian food. According to my source, they are the sister shop of the popular Laos Village, just around the corner (which we originally wanted to go to, but didn't want to wait in line - yes, there was a line!). In hindsight, we should have just waited. Firstly, we ordered the green papaya salad (Laos style), they also have a Thai style papaya salad. It didn't come with any of the tiny black crabs that are normally present in papaya salads. I thought that it was really chilli, which I normally wouldn't mind with papaya salads, but this one was lacking in flavour and substance, so I didn't persevere.

Fried Rice with Seafood $9.00

The fried rice was really interesting and definitely my favourite of the night. I saw most tables with a plate of this, so it must be a speciality. The fried rice had a lovely and crispy outer shell, they must leave it in the wok for it to get that way. I thought that they could have been a little bit more generous with the seafood, but all in all it was quite good and I think I would order this dish again.

BBQ Beef $8.50

The BBQ Beef slices were disappointing. When it was brought out, it looked quite nice until closer inspection and I could see layers of fat on each of the slices. I was grossed out. I tried one, it was so chewy and tough that I just couldn't have anymore.

Overall:

I was not impressed by Selina Restaurant at all. I wouldn't have minded the wait and the terrible service if the food was great, but it was nowhere near there. Perhaps they were understaffed because of the public holiday, but that should be no excuse. It was a packed house though and there were plenty of locals, so perhaps it was just me or we chose the wrong things!

Selina Restaurant

8/9 Dale St,

Fairfield NSW 2165

Tel: (02) 9725 6999

Open 7 days