Eclairs and cannoli and syrup cake.. Oh my! #food #foodporn #sweets #dessert #cake #chocolate (Taken with Instagram)

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Jamie’s Italian – Sydney

——-12/05/2012——-

With what started out as a Mother’s day celebration turned out to be an eating marathon. After eating a yum cha brunch at Marigold, we had planned for a late lunch at Jamie’s Italian restaurant. We had a booking for 6 people at 2:15pm (they only take bookings for 6 or more people) but because there only ended up being 4 of us we had to stand and wait in line again. Even at 2:15pm, it was still another 30minute wait and even then they refused to seat us because all our party wasn’t there yet. So we had to wait an extra 15 minutes for one more person.

We were too late to watch the pasta making in the front window so there was nothing to do but stand around on the street waiting or if you were lucky enough to get a seat just inside the entrance you can order a drink while waiting for your table.

By the time we sat down it was 3pm and dinner was booked for 6:15pm, I rang my sister to push it back, I finally got to Jamie’s and there was a lot I wanted to try!

Seated and ready to eat!

Drinks~

Pear Bellini ($11) 

Refresher with elderflower, lemon and cranberry ($6.50)

Strawberry & elderflower topped off with sparkling mineral water ($4.10)

Latte ($4.35)

Complimentary Italian Bread selection~

Homemade rosemary focaccia, artisan sourdough, ciabatta & tortano from our bakery with crispy carta di musica. 

Don’t forget to ask for it if the waiters forget to bring one to you. A variety of bread served with extra virgin olive oil & aged balsamic.

Mains~

Pasta- All our beautiful pasta is freshly made right here every day with love. 

Spaghetti bolognese-  The old-school classic ragù of beef, pork, herbs, Chianti & Parmesan with crunchy herby breadcrumbs (main size $19.00) Really delicious, surprisingly not that tomato-ey and rather meaty. There was a nice balance between sauce and pasta.

Prawn linguine- Juicy pan-fried garlicky local prawns served with tomatoes, chilli, rocket & fennel (small size $16.00) Perfect al dente pasta with a simple yet very tasty sauce.

Turbo penne arrabiata- Curly penne tossed in sweet tomato sauce spiced with chilli, garlic & Parmesan with herby breadcrumbs (small size $10.50) This had a nice chilli kick to it.

Buffalo ricotta ravioli- Delicate parcels stuffed with creamed ricotta, lemon, mint & Parmesan. Pure heaven (small size $14.00) Subtle buttery flavours with a citrus twist.

Sides~

Crispy polenta chips- With rosemary salt & Parmesan ($8.50) These chips had a yummy crispy  texture and went really well with the aioli that was served with the mushroom fritti.

Mushroom fritti- Our own-grown crispy fried mushrooms with garlicky mayo ($9.00) With a subtle mushroom after taste, these fritti are like little crispy chips.

Desserts~

Creamy panna cotta- Lovely wobbly panna cotta served with a compote of seasonal fruits ($8.50) A very jiggly dessert with a nice vanilla bean taste accompanied with stewed fruit.

The ultimate brownie- Chocolate, raspberry & amaretto brownie with vanilla ice cream ($8.50) As we were munching away on our panna cotta I noticed the table next to us were sharing a brownie. I leaned over and asked if it was worth ordering. “Order two if you can!” was the response, brilliant! But I thought I’d just start off with one.  It was as gooey as it is in the picture, the perfect warm dessert during a cloudy cold day. A warm moist chocolate centre with a subtle berry taste.The ice-cream was very smooth and off sets the very chocolate-y and sweet brownie but by itself it wasn’t anything special.

and then we ordered another panna cotta… Strangely enough, not as good as the first one. It varied in texture and the taste in fruit.

You could ‘take a piece of Jamie’s Italian home with you‘ with a variety of merchandise available from Jamie’s endless book selection to the cute tea towels.

The good thing is that once you’re in, there is no rushing anyone out. The service was really friendly but just have to be assertive enough to flag down one of the busy wait staff if you need something.

If you don’t care when you eat and you want to try this place out without waiting in a line, I suggest coming around 4pm (we went on a Saturday) as there were some empty tables about.

Venue: Jamie’s Italian

Address: CBD, 107 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 8240 9000

Down town to Thai town

——-11/05/2012——-

I mentioned last time that I wanted to try Chat Thai at the next opportunity no matter how long the line was so there we were, waiting in line…

We wrote our name on the wait list and proceeded to wait 40 minutes before being seated for dinner. Luckily I wasn’t too hungry otherwise my eye would have been twitching every time they called a number that wasn’t ours.

We finally made it inside!

Water for the table.

Entree~ 

They had sold out of steamed won ton dumplings of chicken and prawn which was a shame because that was what Timmy was looking forward to eating.  

The entrees came out pretty fast which was good because after so much waiting we were hungry.

Fresh spring rolls  fresh spring rolls of smoked fish sausages, chicken and crab with caramelised tamarind relish ($12.00) I thought this had very interesting ingredients but when you took a bite you couldn’t pick out the individual flavours of the sausages, chicken and crab. It was tasty and even better with a little bit of extra chilli and coriander with each bite.

Gai Satay chicken satay skewers ($2.50 each) Nice but nothing too memorable.

Drinks~
Blended lychee juices ($6.00) This was full of lychee flavour with a really well pureed ice which was really smooth. We ordered two in the end because we finished the first so quickly!

Thai teas Iced Cha Nohm sweet iced tea with caramelised milk ($5.00)A delicious sweetened milk tea but it was really really sweet, it almost made the lychee juice seem sour in comparison.

Mains~

Khao Padt- fried rice with chicken, eggs and Chinese kale ($14.00) This was the first main to arrive but there seemed to be a bit of a wait in between mains, especially when we almost finished this dish and started to get full before the other dishes arrived. It was nice and (temperature) hot which is how I love fried rice, as for the taste it was nothing special.

Pat Thai- stir fried thin rice noodles with chicken, dried shrimps, bean sprouts, garlic and chives in a tamarind and palm sugar sauce *includes peanuts ($14.00)I use this dish as a measuring stick to compare Thai restaurants. Mmmmm this was really good especially with a squeeze of lemon, too bad the serving looked a bit small. It seemed authentic with the dried shrimps and tamarind and it wasn’t sweet like in most other Thai restaurants.

Chilli fried rice- chicken fried rice with chilli, holy basil and fried egg ($15.00) Surprisingly my favourite dish of the night considering it was really (chilli) hot (for me) and I had to scull the lychee juice to extinguish the lingering flame in my mouth.  There was lots of flavours and not just chilli. YUM!

Kana Mhu grob- stir fried Chinese kale and crisp pork belly ($15.00)Nice greens tossed amongst some crispy pork. 

After leaving around 11pm there was still a line although a lot short than the one we queued up in. Prices drop for the same dishes for ‘supper’ after 10pm which is worth noting if your plan to have a late dinner anyway. Everyone around us having supper seemed to be eating dough sticks similar to Chinese yau ja gwai but shorter and dipping them in a green sauce which someone explained to me was like Thai custard. I couldn’t find them anywhere on the menu which I guess didn’t matter because I was too full, but the smell of freshly fried dough sticks was amazing.

Is it worth the wait? My conclusion would be I’d prefer not to unless I had a big craving, there are heaps of restaurants in Sydney and so many choices. Although the clever thing to do is probably go to the store in Centrepoint Westfield (level 6) as it appears to be less busy in comparison.

Venue: Chat Thai (thaitown)

Address:20 Campbell St, Haymarket, Sydney

Phone: (02) 9211 1808

Website: http://www.chatthai.com.au/

Opening hours: crazy long hours!

lunch: 10am-5pm 

dinner:  5pm-10pm 

supper: 9.30-2am

Breakfast at Bean and Grain

——-05/05/2012——-

We were lucky enough to get a seat (and this time make it for breakfast) at the Bean and Grain cafe before another rush of people came in.

Flat white coffee

Breakfast from 8:00am – 11:30am  All cooked dine in breakfasts come with a potato croquette with creme fraiche, chives and a smoothie shot.

Classic Eggs Benedict– 2 poached free-range organic eggs, english muffin, smoked leg ham, fresh made hollandaise sauce ($16.00)

Country Benedict– 2 poached free-range organic eggs, english muffin, sausage patty & sausage bechamel ($16.00) 

I preferred the sausage patty over the leg ham, but both dishes had perfectly poached eggs and both sauces were good. I liked the potato croquette and the smoothie shot, it’s a unique little extra that sets them apart from other cafes.

Complimentary frozen yoghurt~

Raspberry and leatherwood honey frozen yoghurt- both were delicious flavours! I definitely want to come back and try the other flavours (and a bigger sized portion). 

Mixed berry smoothie shot, mmm so good. Don’t rely on it to be your only beverage though because it is literally a shot.

We might have been full but I couldn’t help myself but grabbing some sweets to go. Peanut butter cups $2.20 Mille fluers $4.20

Friendly service and a short wait for food, definitely one of my favourites places for brunch in Canberra. I want to come back and try the waffles, I hear they are good.   

A meal fit for a Queen

——-30/05/2012——-

At first I thought any meal with meat was delicious, then I expanded that to anything with meat or cheese but after eating at the Au Lac Royal Vegetarian Restaurant I was taught that anything that is delicious is delicious.

Some people say that they don’t like this restaurant but they are just ordering the wrong things.  It’s great that even though they have had a refurbishment, the food has not changed, it is just as tasty as it has always been.  

Mmmmm Let’s eat!

Royal Noodle soup (spicy) $12.50 The perfect ‘cold weather’ meal, eat the tofu quickly before it looses it’s crispy texture. This is one of my favourite dishes and I always get cravings.

Herbs, bean spouts, chilli and lemon condiments, but for me, the soup is perfect just the way it is.

Large combination fried rice ($8.90)

Chef’s special- Eggplant in claypot sensation ($15.90) Delicious sizzling eggplant and mushrooms bubbling away in a claypot. Watch out, it retains its heat for a long time and I often burn my tongue. 

Lemon grass soy chicken (spicy) minced lemongrass and chilli caramelized with soy chicken drizzled over with exclusive sauce and served with onions and capsicum ($15.90) I don’t find this dish particularly spicy and trust me my chilli tolerance for an Asian is low. You definitely have to try this dish.

They have very friendly wait staff serving hot delicious food from the fast and efficient kitchen and with convenient opening hours, it makes for a perfect meal every time.

Another good recommendation is the Soy Shrimp on Toast for an entree. Mmmm I just had this yesterday.

Venue: Au Lac Royal Vegetarian Restaurant

Address: Shop 4/ 39 Woolley Street, Dickson, ACT 2602

Phone: (02) 6262 8922

Website: http://www.aulac-restaurant.com.au/

Belgian beer pub

——-26/04/2012——-

If you’re at the Little Brussels Belgian Beer Cafe on a Thursday night you might be there for the live music or the large range of imported beers with fancy matching glassware, but if you’re like me, you are there for the delicious cheeseballs.

Something to start~

Cheeseballs crumbed and fried with tomato jam ($10.00) OMG! They are soooo good and perfectly matched with the sweet tomato chutney.

So delicious and gooey but I’m sad about only getting 5 on a plate. 

Pork Rillette ($8.00) Toasted Turkish bread, pickled onions, cornichons. Ok confession time, I had no idea what a rillette was, just seeing ‘pork’ in the name was enough. It turns out rillette is like a terrine and this one had pistachios and peppercorns embedded through it. The rillette had a strong ‘meaty’ taste and it was accompanied with a really crunchy bread.

Mains~

Black Angus Rump 300g Belgian frites, salad and beer jus ($28.00) The steak was really good and an extra bonus was that the chips that soaked up the sauce but still kept it’s crunch. My friend had to remind me that the sauce was beer jus but I couldn’t tell.

Roast Confit Pork Belly– Belgian stoemp, sauerkraut and beer jus ($28.00) I found the pork belly disappointing as it was more fatty and chewy than crispy. It sat in a rich stock sauce with vegetables but I preferred the steak.

I would love to come back and try the mussels!

Venue:  Little Brussels Belgian Beer Cafe

Address: 29 Jardine St, Kingston, ACT 2604

Phone: (02) 6260 6511

Restaurant 2602

——-28/04/2012——-

After my friend and I had eaten a seafood platter at Maestral in Weston we had planned our next seafood platter adventure at Restaurant 2602.

Complimentary pumpkin and ginger soup– slight heat from the ginger, it was a lovely touch.

Prepped with a waste bowl and water bowl, we were ready to go!

Seafood platter for two ($75.00)

A breakdown of each dish.       

Prawn bruschetta– the prawns tasted watery and I probably would have preferred it with no prawns.

Thai style fish cakes- the nicest thing on the plate.

Kilpatrick oysters- they were ok but I would have preferred it to be cooked a little longer.

Crispy calamari- It was good that it was not overly oily.

Next platter:

Beer battered flat head and chips

Lobster tails with king prawns in a seeded mustard cream sauce over jasmine rice- this was really disappointing, once your scraped away the overpowering creamy sauce, you were left with stringy and what felt like undercooked lobster.

Atlantic salmon with smashed potatoes and macadamias-
the potatoes were bland but the salmon was ok. I thought the addition of macadamias was a little odd.

Sliced fresh fruit- Everything was nice and fresh except for the passion fruit, two halves looked like it was mixed in with canned passion fruit pulp.

The variety was much better at Restaurant 2602 in terms of the seafood platter but majority of dishes were disappointing. The staff were nice and attentive but I was a bit annoyed with the bill because I didn’t realise they confused my 2011/2012 entertainment card for the new 2012/2013 offer and they gave me less of a discount than I was entitled to. 

Venue: Restaurant 2602

Address: Unit 2/15 Edgar Street Ainslie ACT 2602

Phone: (02) 6247 4437

Entertainment card: Yes, but I was annoyed that they confused my 2011/2012 card offer with the 2012/2013 offer and gave me less of a discount.

The Artisan

——-30/03/2012——-

Ooooh I was just staring at photos of a beautiful dessert and it turns out I forgot to post about it!

My friends and I headed to Artisan after a ‘light refreshments’ event at the Botanic gardens. Despite my reminders of our up and coming dinner to a restaurant that I have been looking forward to, they still ate too much and therefore we had to skip entree.  I would have loved to have tried the pork belly, scallops or mushrooms. Instead I had to settle for a bread roll starter.

Mains~

Duck Blackberry glazed roast Grimaud duck breast with sugar snaps, baby carrots and chestnut puree ($33.00)– The duck was cooked medium but we had to send it back because my friend likes well done. It was nice that they were willing to cook it a bit more and they re decorated the plate when it was re-served. It didn’t have a strong duck taste and we found bits of the chestnut puree a little gritty.

Tortellini Artisan crafted spanner crab and saffron tortellini with lobster and chive beurre blanc ($29.00) Awesome parcels of pasta in a delicious refreshing lemon sauce. A small serving though.

Beef Pure south eye fillet with potato souffle, slippery jack butter and port jus– Every restaurant has a ‘beef’ option which makes it all the more harder to perfect and stand out from everywhere else. This was absolutely delicious! Cooked to perfection with an awesome butter and a superb potato souffle. The souffle sounded really interesting and was the reason why I chose this dish, it was soooooo fluffy and delicate.

A closer look @ the duck, amazing potato souffle and tortellini.

Sides~

Asparagus spears with tangerine oil ($7.00)

Meringue Chewy meringue encased in a cellophane wafer with cream chabousse, seasonal berries and passionfruit liquer reduction ($14.00)– This was recommended by the waiter and he said the serving suggestion is to break apart the toffee and make sure to have a bit of everything in each mouthful. The sweetness of the toffee was balanced out by the meringues and creamy custard.

Creme brulee Vanilla bean custard with burnt sugar, pistachio and spiced pineapple ($14.00)– The custard was very smooth and the pineapple went so well with the pistachio and ginger.

Tart Peach puff tart with French vanilla ice-cream and orange toffee sauce ($14.00)– This had such a fluffy pastry and you could feel all the layers of the pastry in your mouth. Served warm with a delicious subtle vanilla bean ice-cream on top.

The staff were friendly and attentive during the whole service. They were nice enough to seat us inside when a table became available. Great food and a bustling dining room, I definitely want to come back and try more (and maybe get an entree too).

Venue: The Artisan

Address: 16 Iluka St, Narrabundah, ACT 2604

Phone: (02) 6232 6482

Opening hours:  Monday – Friday  12.00pm – 2.30pm and 6.00pm – 10.00pm

                               Saturday  4.00pm – 10.00pm

Website: http://www.theartisanrestaurant.com.au

Cook your own at Tosung Charcoal BBQ

——-20/04/2012——-

After searching for this restaurant and doing a big loop around the block before we realised Tosung Charcoal Restaurant was across the road from where we first started, we were hungry and ready to eat! I have always been a fan of Korean BBQs and don’t mind the smokey BBQ smell that lingers in your clothes and hair afterwards.

Each table is fitted with a BBQ and exhaust fan.

We are all ready to go!

It was almost like being in a foreign country when they placed complimentary sides  for us and we didn’t ask what they were and instead we just hesitantly tried them all.

Starting from top left: shallot pancake(?)- it was cold and not that great, onions in a brown sauce– it had a raw texture but it didn’t taste raw, potato salad with apple (no photo)- so delicious! Just like how my grandma used to make it; a salad with a mystery pink sauce– the sauce had a really subtle faint hint of sweetness before really quickly leaving your mouth with no taste, how odd; a variety of sauces (no photo) and of course the national dish, Kimchi (no photo) which was really spicy.

Pan fried dumplings Gun Ma Du 5 pcs ($10.00) Delicious but really expensive for what it is.

Duck salad ($17.00) the duck tasted like a cured ham and the salad was covered in a really strong sauce but I couldn’t put my finger on what the flavour was. Definitely not worth $17.00 though.

Let’s start cooking! I ordered pork ribs, marinated chicken with teriyaki sauce and thin beef skirt. I was really disappointed that they didn’t have chicken wings on the menu (not very Korean I know) but it is one of my favourite things to eat.

Pork ribs ($19.00) the nicest meat we ordered.

Marinated chicken with teriyaki sauce ($19.00) I must have been doing it really wrong if the waitress had to come up after giggling and take the blunt scissors away from me after I attempted to desperately try to cut up the fatty chicken breast. She cut the chicken into smaller portions but it was still really fatty.

and thin beef skirt ($23.00) this was really fatty which I usually wouldn’t mind but not if half of the strip is solid fat.

The meats seemed a little bland even after dousing them with the random sauces provided.

Just in case cooking ourselves didn’t really work out I ordered marinated BBQ beef (So Bul Go Gi-$14.00) and rice. I had to get the rice topped up several times otherwise my friends wouldn’t get any. 

The staff were really attentive and I do like how they have a buzzer at every table to ask for staff but their English isn’t very good and they struggled to respond when I asked them something about the dish.

My friends and I might have failed at the cooking part and not really knowing what to do with the sauces didn’t really help either, but I wouldn’t come back here even with a Korean explaining everything to me. I found the meats poor quality, not much flavour in the food and everything was crazily overpriced. It came to around $35.00 per person and I left feeling really hungry still- disappointing.

Venue: Tosung Charcoal BBQ

Address: 15 Flinders Way, Griffith ACT 2603

Phone: (02) 6295 2627

Sweets at Sweet Copper

——-15/04/2012——-

During an ‘intermission’ at a wedding, a few of us headed to Sweet Copper for some lovely morning tea. Tucked away nicely amongst some of my favourites stores like the Style Emporium and the Darling Sisters boutique, I love walking past Sweet Copper to look at their menu and events calendar.

They recently held a 100 year Anniversary of The Last Dinner on the Titanic serving a ten course degustation as served in the first-class dining saloon of the R.M.S. Titanic on April 14,1912.

Looking at what Sweet Copper had to offer.

Lemon and pistachio (gluten free) ($7.50) A moist delicious cake with the perfect amount of icing.

New York baked cheesecake ($6.50) 

Freshly made scones ($7.50) Ok scones but I would have preferred a berry jam rather than the apricot jam.

Vanilla slice ($6.00) Not the biggest and thickest vanilla slice but it was still a good balance of sweetness.

Coffee

English breakfast tea

A lovely day to sit outside to enjoy some tea.

They have a candy machine inside making yummy candy.

A cute place to have light meals and tea with cake. It is a shame it was a bit hidden away and not as well known as the other cafes but definitely up there as one of the better choices in the area.

Venue: Sweet Copper

Address: Old Ginninderra School House Ginninderra Village, Gold Creek Village, Nicholls

Website: http://www.sweetcopper.com.au/

browsing the menu at d’browes

——-07/04/2012——-

There weren’t many places were open during the Easter weekend and Mum didn’t want to cook every night (I didn’t cook because oh how I miss her cooking) so we headed out to d’browes in Narrabundah for dinner.

I have had many enjoyable dinners at Marinetti’s and when people told me that the head chef went and started his own restaurant in 2005 called d’browes where they have kept the much loved favourites like the lamb shanks, duck livers and ‘bongo bongo’ on the menu (and the food was much nicer), I was super excited. I have been here on several occasions now and some dishes have wowed me and some have been disappointing but it might be because I’m comparing the dishes to Marinetti’s and for the extra price, it isn’t worth it.

Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (not complimentary)

Entree~ ($14.50)

Scallops grilled with garlic herb butter As soon as the dish was placed in front of me, I remembered I had had this entree last year when I came here for my birthday and I sighed with disappointment.  I didn’t enjoy the huge roe lobes which dominate the small portions of actual scallop or the style of cooking. Some of them even felt like they weren’t cooked all the way through, I really have to stop ordering this. 

Mushrooms field and forest mushrooms with white wine parsley cream Not as great as my memories of Marinetti’s version which is a shame because it is one of my favourite dishes.

Mains~ ($27.50)

Duck crispy duck Maryland coated with poached pear jus The pear was amazing- sweet and juicy and covered in spices but it overpowered the taste of the duck, it was almost like eating a duck dessert. The meat was also a little dry.

Eye fillet char-grilled with a classic pepper cream sauce A good piece of steak with a good portion of peppercorns in the sauce.

Vitello con funghi veal pan fried with mushrooms sage and vermouth sauce An ok dish although the sauce was a bit oily.

Special- Hungarian goulash slow cooked for 8 hours with sauerkraut, paprika and beef  If a special was so great it would be on the menu and this one should be! A delicious rich goulash with tender chunks of beef slow cooked to perfection bringing out all the flavours in the sauce.

Sorry about the flash, it was very dark within the restaurant, not the best blogging environment.

Dessert~ ($11.00)

Profiteroles choux pastry filled with ice-cream topped with chocolate sauce this was the finale to the dinner and what we were soooo looking forward to and for me this fell completely flat. My sister didn’t really like it because of the almonds, which I think they accidentally put on because the other dessert had it. The choux pastry was overly hard and we struggled to cut portions with our spoon. The best part would be the chocolate sauce but overall very disappointing.

Pears and Zabaglione poached pears with rich egg marsala custard topped with roasted almonds and cream A delicious custard covering perfectly poached pears- yum! A great combination of textures between the roasted almonds, poached pears and creamy custard.

D’browes wasn’t my first choice for taking my Mum and sister to experience Canberra dining but I was thoroughly impressed that they didn’t have a surcharge during the Easter weekend considering some places were charging up to 15% surcharge.

Venue: D’browes

Address: 59 Boolimba Crs, Narrabundah, ACT 2604

Phone: (02) 6295 6990

The Pies have it

I had bought some frozen pies from Gum Tree Pies and I remember the first time I walked through my door smelling amazing scent of delicious pastry, I have fallen in love with their pies ever since.

Great packaging with cooking instructions and clear descriptions of each pie flavour.

Long lines must mean the secret of yummy pies is out! 

Steak & Red wine– I get really disappointed when bakeries claim to have ‘chunky steak’ but there is nothing but minced meat or just a few bits of chewy steak wrapped in pastry. These pies are nothing like that, you lift up the pastry lid to find tender chunks of braised beef in rich sauces.

Steak & Pepper– a nice amount of cracked black pepper with tender chunky steak.

Curry Steak– I’ve yet to try this but it is sitting in my freezer waiting to be devoured.

Steak & Mushroom–  rich brown sauce with mushrooms and tender chunky steak.

Steak & Bacon– the perfect combination, I wish they added cheese to this though.

Mince steak– I’ve yet to try this but it is sitting in my freezer waiting to be devoured

Chicken & Vegetable– a creamy combination of vegetables and a chicken mornay sauce

Chicken & Mushroom–  a creamy combination of mushroom and a chicken mornay sauce

Lamb & Mint jelly– you can taste the tender lamb chunks with a subtle mint taste

Creamy Cauliflower– I didn’t think I would like this but surprisingly this turned out to be one of my favourite pies. Think creamy cauliflower mornay wrapped in tasty pastry. 

Panang Curry pumpkin– I was hesitant to try this as I thought it was an odd combination but when I took my first bite, I was amazed! A rich curry sauce with soft pieces of pumpkin.

You can find the Gum tree pies crew at the Epic Farmers market on Saturday mornings but definitely go early to avoid disappointment.

What’s delicious at Burgerlicious?

——-22/03/2012——-

Everything! Well everything that I have tried at least. Situated along the busy main road in Newtown, Burgerlicious is an Australian owned company boasting self made meat patties and sauces and their burger buns are made to their recipe.

At first I ordered wings but the meat patty looked too good for me not to try one so I changed my order.

Tofusion– marinated tofu, grilled onions, roasted eggplant, avacado, tomato, lettuce, tomato relish, homus (meal $12.40) This is my friend’s standard order, I asked if she had tried the other vegetarian burgers, but she said why stray from a great thing.

Their (vegan) chips are yummy!

Cheese– angus beef, grilled onions, cheese, American mustard, pickles, ketchup burger (burger- $6.90) Not the best burger I’ve ever eaten although I did appreciate the tasty patty but I wish they made more effort to melt the cheese though.

Venue: Burgerlicious

Address: 215 King St, Newtown, NSW 2042

Phone: (02) 95197401

Website: http://www.burgerlicious.com.au/

Functions at Federation

——-24/03/2012——-

We went to a beautiful wedding in March and even though I was admiring the beautiful bride, everything from her dress to her very unique bouquet down to her gorgeous shoes  the delicious food that was being offered before reception still managed to catch my eye.

Simply put- everything was deeeelicious. I loved everything from the bountiful portions to the cute bamboo serving accessories.

Calamari and rocket, vegetarian quiche, fancy looking spring rolls, really good crispy pork belly, zucchini balls, risotto balls and a beautiful croquembouche.

Locanda re-run

——-23/03/2012——-

I had been to Locanda Italian Steakhouse before and after talking to several people who really enjoyed their experience, they all had one thing in common- they ordered pasta! How was I supposed to know, it is called a steakhouse after all. So I took some keen pasta eating friends and we went off to Locanda Steakhouse for lunch.

Mains~

Spaghetti seafood “allo scoglio” ($25.00) Perfect al dente pasta with lots of seafood in a rich tomato based sauce.

Tortelloni house made ricotta & spinach filled ($25.00) I couldn’t really decide so the waiter made a suggestion that I ordered the tortelloni. It was a very nice buttery sauce and a good home made pasta but I couldn’t really taste the sage.

Gnocchi house made: King Prawns, Fresh tomato, chilli and chopped king prawns ($26.00) The pasta sauce had a nice infusion of chilli and there was a decent serve of king prawns. 

Sides~

Steakhouse fries ($8.00) They came out hot and crispy, not much more you could ask for in fries.

Grilled asparagus– ($8.00) This was really nice, grilled perfectly with just the right amount of butter.

Limoncello They kindly offered us a shot of limoncello as we waited for our dessert. The waiter was telling us that Italians drink this to help digestion. I don’t usually drink but I thought I’d had a little sip since he so kindly offered. It was STRONG and it cleared my nose even though I didn’t think that there was anything to clear in the first place! It had a subtle lemon flavour followed by an overwhelming aniseed aftertaste.   

Dessert~

The waiter was a very smooth talker and he convinced me to get dessert, although I didn’t need too much convincing when I had fallen in love with their tiramisu previously.

His top dessert choices were: 1) chocolate pudding 2) tiramisu 3) panna cotta

I told him how much I loved the tiramisu but he still insisted I tried the chocolate pudding. He said if I didn’t like the cake more, he would pay for my dessert.

Chocolate pudding (20 minute wait) essentially a rich delicate chocolate molten lava cake with every aspect of the plate being really delicious from the custard to the coulis. Very enjoyable for chocolate lovers but I still preferred the tiramisu.

It seemed like a long wait but we received our meals and finished our meals within an hour. I thought the pasta was a lot better than the steak but I am still keen to come back to try their whole suckling pig or pork belly.