Eating Our Way to Diabetes (Type II Of Course!)

Evening peeps! So after the intimate Korean affair between HM and I at Haanssie, couple of the other peeps decided to join us for some chocolatey-sugary goodness - which ultimately leads us to requiring more insulin!

Anyways, I am sure I have posted up previously a post about Chocolate Bean, however we did try a few other things this time around, so hopefully, you enjoy this post as much as I did eating the desserts!

Date: 23 March 2012

Restaurant: Chocolate Bean

Cuisine: Desserts

Location: East End (off Rundle Street...follow the signboard!)

Pictures: 

Dark Chocolate Tea 

Chocolate Waffles 

Strawberry Waffles

Chocolate Filth: 2x dark chocolate shots, 2x white chocolate shots, 1x chocolate mousse, 1x cream shot, strawberries coated with chocolate, "Death by Chocolate" cake

Aftermath of Chocolate Filth ...

Review: There is nothing better than a warm cosy place on a cold night, especially if it is a candle lit dessert place packed to the brim with people and yet still able to hear each other's conversations without having to shout at the top of your lungs (as if you were lamenting your love for your soulmate...)! Initially, we were trying to head into Cocolat (which is also on Rundle Street), but that place was absolutely packed. I was glad we had a change of plans and went to Chocolate Bean instead. There is something unique about Chocolate Bean which reminds me of very "homely" style desserts. This is really evident for example in the chocolate tea (that's right...chocolate TEA!). I'm quite sure there was a previous mention about chocolate tea (which actually is pretty darn delicious as it is full of creaminess of the chocolate, yet light and earthy with the tea components). 

One awesome thing is that they were also really generous with their chocolate sauce (extremely evident with their chocolate sauce mini-jug provided in the chocolate waffles). Now, Chocolate Filth is definitely a share platter I recommend (preferably for more than 2 people, even though I did end up sharing it with HM - which ended up being me eating 80% of the platter). It is full of sweet, chocolately, cake-y goodness; for all of you with a very sweet tooth (or teeth...) this is a platter you MUST order. The "Death by Chocolate" is also a fantastic piece of cake that can be ordered alone (or it does come with the platter) and I recommend you try it - extremely moist, yet light and fluffy!

Recommendation: YES / MAYBE / NO Definitely recommend this place (but be warned, you may have to end up queuing as it can get extremely busy, and you may also need to carry around some insulin with you (and also exercise 7 days in a row after your consumption!).

Back from MIA: Straight to HAAN-SSIE

Bonsoir bons vieux amis!

It has been a while and I have missed writing in my food blog! I will try and improve the ways in which I write so that it will minimise the amount of time I require for editing! Food reviews will have a similar layout so hopefully you will get reviews more frequently - i.e. this means more food-ography!

When I don't have food reviews, I might be discussing more on the nutritional values of food, the importance of a well balanced diet, as well as some more general food topics - so stay tuned!

Date: 24 March 2012

Restaurant: Haanssie 

Cuisine: Korean

Location: Adelaide CBD East End

Pictures:

Galbi Jjim: Beef Short Ribs Stew

Gochujang Bulgogi: Mixed Seafood

Yangnyeom Tongdak: Korean Style Sweet & Chili Fried Chicken

Review: 

The staff were all extremely friendly and nice (definitely a bonus when you first walk into any restaurant). The positioning between tables were good - not too close together, therefore giving patrons between tables some privacy! From a quick glimpse around, the food looks extremely appealing and delicious! 

The waiters/waitresses gave us ample time to have a look at the menu, but came over very promptly when we had questions/decided to order. The menu was quite extensive and there were so many choices to choose from! 

Favourite dish of the night has to be the beef stew (first picture above) - it was sweet from the corn syrup and jujube (red dates), and the beef ribs melt away once it reaches your mouth. I couldn't stop eating it!

The fried chicken is definitely 500% better than any KFC I have ever eaten. The sweet chilli sauce gives it the slight sweetness that makes this dish delicious with a swig of beer! It was so crispy on the outside, yet the meat is moist and tender - definitely an impressive technique in cooking those chicken pieces ~!

Finally the seafood bulgogi, which is also very nice! The slight sweetness of the dish and the slight spiciness makes it very pleasant to eat (without too much of a spice, but I would've loved it a little bit more spicy, nevertheless, flavours were still there). The combination of seafood seems to be just right and nothing was overcooked - they were just right. 

Recommendation: Yes / Maybe / No - definitely heading back there to try more of the other dishes out.

Talk of the Town at the Press

Bonne soirée chers amis...

Around a week ago, I went to the highly recommended new-ish restaurant in Adelaide (the new talk in town!). The Advertiser gave them a really good review, and a few friends of mine (along with some harsher critiques) also gave good recommendations. If you do intend to dine here, I highly recommend that you book (I went on a Tuesday night with another friend of mine, booked approximately a week ago, and they only had a few tables remaining, and I could see why when I got there!).

The decor of the place is very nice and dimly lit (gives it that chic and cosy feeling). There are two levels, with the top level mainly as dining tables, whereas the bottom level (where you first enter) has a few more longer tables. This time around, my friend and I decided to try something out of the ordinary. We were quite impressed that this place actually serve offals, so that is in fact what we decided to go for. We did order 3 dishes with a dessert to finish off.

First up was lambs tongue:

Grilled lambs tongue, beetroot & horseradish

At first, I was a bit hesitant as this was definitely NOT an ordinary dish for my tastebuds, however, I did actually enjoy it! My friend said this was her favourite dish for the night, but mine is the next one coming up. The texture of the tongue was slightly chewy, but soft. The grilled flavours were quite nice and the beetroot was very nice; I wasn't a big fan of the radish though as some parts were slightly raw and there was evidence of the 'green taste'.

Next was my favourite dish!

Honey & anise roasted sweetbreads, turnip purée & parsley sauce

Absolutely loved the combination of flavours of the sweetbreads! The sweetness of the honey and slight spiciness of the anise, along with the sauce is just amazing! I could eat lots from this dish. The beans were nice and fresh as well (not overcooked), but my only criticism for this dish was once again, the slightly 'green' tasting turnips (not all, but some). 

The final big dish was the Press* mixed-grill:

(From top to bottom) - liver, caramelised onion, minute steak, poached egg, house-made sausage, apple slaw, brains

The liver was nice, but extremely rich in flavours (there should have been some sort of fresh salad or something light to go with it instead of more of the apple slaw). The minute steak was over-cooked in some parts, but not bad (could have better flavours). Poached egg was done perfectly, but it wasn't seasoned properly - having it with the apple slaw did improve it, but it could be better, and also would've preferred it slightly warm rather than cold. The house-made sausage was average; it was a bit fatty in some parts which created a nice soft texture, but I would have preferred if it has a bit more flavour rather than the "common" sausage flavours. I must say, I was a fan of the lamb brains - although the texture was a bit 'off-putting', the flavours of the coating of the brain and the apple slaw worked really well. I think the brains could be better if it was a bit more crispy, but I did like it. 

Finally the dessert:

Raspberry ice-cream and raspberry soufflé 

I must say, throughout the night, I did enjoy the dinner, but the dessert was a bit of a let down. The coffee I ordered (short black) did take a LONG time to arrive, AND the temperature must've been too high as the flavours of the coffee were distorted and unpleasant (coffee-drinkers would know what I'm talking about...the semi-sourish flavour if the water is too hot). The soufflé looked amazing, but it wasn't great; the bottom was moist and wet which ruined the fluffiness texture of what soufflés are supposed to be like. The ice-cream was refreshing, but they could make things more interesting if they played up the raspberries a bit rather than just using ordinary raspberries (e.g. honeyed raspberries or gin-infused raspberries).

Apart from the dessert, it was a really good night. The waiters and waitresses were all really nice - excellent service I must say. I'd definitely be returning back there to try some of their mainstream dishes (as they did look amazing). The plating was pleasant and the price wasn't anything ridiculous. The place wasn't extremely upper class, but it was really quite nice (good place to bring dates, few friends, close family, small dinners). Highly recommended ;)

Man Date at Fancy Burger and Ended with Gelato?

Bon soirée mes chers amis. Hope all of you have been keeping well and enjoying the beautiful (and often dramatic) weather in Adelaide.

A week or so ago, group of guys (i.e. men date) decided to try out a burger joint that many people are raving about. For me, this will almost be a "battle of the burgers", or "burger off" between Fancy Burger and Burger Foundry (refer to the blog ~ Burger Foundry has been Founded by Me). These 2 burger joints are definitely not close to each other (distance wise around 1 hour apart); Fancy Burger (FB) is located in Blackwood (refer to address below post), whereas Burger Foundry (BF) is in Magill.

One thing about 'gourmet burgers' that the majority would agree upon is that once you've had them, you usually wouldn't turn back to "normal" fast food (well I certainly wouldn't!); the green leafy vegetables are ACTUAL green and fresh salads (compared to pre-chopped iceberg lettuce that is often frozen and wilted which the majority of fast food places use), and the quality of meat is usually top notch in gourmet burgers - the fat content therefore is often less compared to common fast food places...not even exactly sure as to the meat they use. Anyways, if you haven't already tried gourmet burgers, I do highly recommend you try them (and its an effective way to cut down your junk food intake as well I'm sure).

Back to FB, I decided to order The Biggy and tall hot chips with smoked chilli mayo to go with it. I really do like beetroot and egg in my burgers, hence why I ordered The Biggy (plus it also allows me to make a comparison to The Aussie from Burger Foundry). So with the actual burger, there are positives and negatives:

The Biggy (from bottom to top): relish, cheddar cheese, herby mayo, crispy bacon, 100% South Aussie Beef, free range egg, salad, beetroot

What did I like about it? Well for starters the smells wafting from the burger was amazing. The beef was pretty juicy and the bacon was crispy enough; would've liked a bit more "salad" and relish (which was pretty tasty), but hey, overall it was pretty awesome. However, I do prefer BF's beef (it may be a bit drier, but there is much more flavour in the meat), the bun is better than FB's burger, and their beetroot relish instead of slices of beetroot is also a better idea; their mesclun greens also did win me over with their burger, but having said all that, The Biggy at FB is still very decent (oh and size wise, the burgers are actually bigger at BF as well). 

Next is the comparison of the chips:

Hot chips

Smoked chilli mayo

Now these were pretty awesome chips and that was one MEAN dip (it was A-W-E-SOME!). The chips were a bit more 'fancy' as well; they were sprinkled with rock salt and rosemary as well. For me, it could do with a bit less salt in some instances, but overall the taste was pretty good. The mayo was just....wow...really. It was playful and light and tasted incredible with the chips (not sure of the health content but let's not even go there). The chips at FB would be a winner compared to BF (yes, the chips at BF taste pretty good, but they are DRENCHED in oil!).

So overall, Fancy Burger is a neat lil burger joint located in Blackwood. What I like about them is that they do also sell cider/beer (which does go down pretty well with the burgers), so if you live close to that side of town, drop in for a bit. Oh and also, the service was great!

Next stop was ice-cream, or gelato rather at the east side. We dropped into Gelato Bello located on 87 Glynburn Rd, Glynde SA 5070, a bit closer to my side of town. They do have heaps of wicked flavours and also, they open till later at nights compared to most other gelato places and ice-creameries.

They have so many different flavours, and not only that, they have sorbet as well (for those of you who are lactose intolerant or trying to avoid dairy products). Also, they serve them in quite a few different ways such as in waffle cones (thank my model, ML, for the side profile of the waffle cone licking shot on the right), or just simple cups (in my case) ~ quite sure they do sundaes and lots of other things as well.

The choice was so hard, but in the end I decided to do all dairy gelato:

Baci, pistachio and cassata

Even though it was only served in a foam cup, that is not important... the gelato was REALLY good. The cassata was light and loved the candy jellied pieces in them. The pistachio gelato is fantastic! You can taste and bite into "actual" pistachios and the flavour is evident, not JUST from artificial flavouring. Now Baci, who can forget the beautiful taste of Baci! Definitely recommend this place. 

So the mandate was pretty chilled. Maybe YOU should go on one too?

Au revoir ;)

Chilling Out at Saldechin

Bonsoir! Sorry about not posting yesterday, but this is the follow up post.

Vendredi (Friday)... one of my favourite days (if I don't have to get to work on Saturday that is!). It is the day that for the majority, signifies the end of a hard working week and in some instances, when celebration for the weekend begins. With the Friday just passed, I was invited to a combined birthday (SL and TS, once again Happy Birthday...and yes the wrinkles are starting to show!) held at Saldechin. The location is perfect, especially for after work drinks (not that I had work that day, but you get the point). This is the place where you can wear a suit and NOT be pretentious, unlike some other places around the CBD.

For those of you who don't know, Saldechin is located on King William St, right in the heart of Adelaide's CBD. It is restaurant / tearoom / martini bar with some pretty chic decor. They are open 7 days, but what I believe is the main attraction is the Happy Hour $10 cocktails on Friday evenings (from 5pm to 8pm, which was conveniently when the birthday was held), and ALL DAY Saturdays and Sundays. They do have quite an extensive collection of cocktails (some quite unique and definitely tasty creations as well). I've snapped a few photos of what I ordered (unfortunately I did forget a couple of drinks), including a tapas selection.

Kublai Khan - vodka, melon liqueur and pineapple juice

This was a rather enjoyable drink (yes CY, I do make this quite often myself!), and they definitely did nail  this drink with the proportions of each component.

Hong Kong Martini - lychee black tea infused vodka, triple sec and lemon sours

Oh MY.... this was TASTY! I was tempted to gulp down this drink - the actual taste of alcohol was minimal, but it was definitely there (quite a number of people felt it!). The lightness of the infused vodka and the tanginess of the lemon sours made this a perfect summer martini cocktail creation.

Extra Dry Dirty Martini - gin & a splash of dry vermouth served chilled straight up with an olive garnish + splash of olive brine

This is a "real" drink if you ask me....loved it. They definitely made a very decent traditional martini (plus the additions which I requested for). The best way to judge how good a bar is in making cocktails is to order the basics and see how well the make it (and of course how well they deal with the tweaks you chuck in).

Socialite - bourbon whiskey, lime juice, grenadine, orange juice

Although the base alcohol for "Socialite" is bourbon whiskey, the juices of the citrus fruits made it very light and the sweetness from the grenadine syrup made it just right. Also another enjoyable cocktail.

Tapas tasting plate (from top): Saldechin Crab Cakes, Cajun Spiced Sweet Potato Fritters, Prawn Trumpets, Buffalo Chicken Wings

The idea of tapas platter to have with cocktails is amazing (the price isn't too steep either, which made it an excellent choice for something to nibble on as you are drinking). The crab cakes were alright, but the buffalo chicken wings were awesome. Similarly, the prawn trumpets were pretty good (it was surprising that the filling was garlic prawns, not just ordinary prawns) and the sweet potato fritters, although weren't crispy, tasted really good with the lemon aioli.

The mixologists were friendly, although it was hectic at some point (which was to be expected as it was Happy Hour on a Friday evening). The service towards the later part of the evening was quite good (apart from one of the staff who was a bit snappy, which dampened the mood slightly), but regardless of that, it was an enjoyable evening. The live jazz band also helped with the atmosphere of the whole place. I haven't tried the restaurant section of Saldechin, but from the perspective of the martini bar, I highly recommend that you drop by and have a martini (or a few!). 

Always remember, la bonne nourriture means excellent company (for the majority of times) ;)

Sparrows Flying into North Adelaide

Bonjour!


First off, désolé for M.I.A. (missing in action) for a good long while. I will compensate for my actions by providing you with not only one review, but make it a DOUBLE review! For starters, it will be Sparrows on O'Connell St, then I will move to Saldechin on King William Road, but first thing's first.

So a couple of weeks ago, I went to Sparrow to celebrate a birthday of a friend of mine (happy birthday again for then LS). It was a beautiful Sunday with perfect weather - not too hot, or too cold, yet sunny with blue skies. As it was lunch time, I really felt ] like a main meal rather than tapas. So decided to order a steak...

Black Angus Sirloin with Salsa Verde with Green Salad as a side

The cut of sirloin was actually really good, with some streaks of fat through it making the piece very nice and tender. I did order the meat medium-rare, but when I started cutting into it, it was more medium, to medium-well done (similarly with another friend of mine who ordered something similar). That was really the only criticism to the actual steak, but it was still nice. The salsa verde sauce was pretty light which was what I wanted. As I needed a side to go with it, I decided that the green salad was probably a good choice. I did have a whole bowl of salad (placed some beside the steak) - it is pretty pricey for a bowl of green leaves which was absolutely drenched in olive oil... really didn't need that much and the vinegar was pretty bland (bit of white wine or red wine vinaigrette would have been the better option here clearly!), but nevertheless, steak was still good.

This wasn't actually the first time that I've been to Sparrows. The previous time (which was quite a while ago now), we ordered purely tapas - they were actually fantastic (based on what's available here in SA). The menu at Sparrows does change quite frequently so some of the items are not currently available or they may have been replaced.

Grilled scallops with potato mousse

Duck donut, aioli, porcini salt

Sparrow's Mini Wagyu Burger

Sour Green Apple Macaron and Creme Brûlée (or Catalana...can't actually remember)

Lemon tart (I think)

Molten lava chocolate cake with peanut brittle and vanilla ice-cream

The potato mousse and the salty bacon bits with the scallop was A-MAZING (can't believe it's not on the menu at the moment!). The texture was extremely silky and the grilled scallops in the middle was bursting with flavours. If you ever go to Sparrows, duck donuts are a MUST! Yes, they are slightly pricey, but the flavours in them are just incredible. The donut itself is made from taro (or yam) and the duck is just tender and juicy in the middle... aioli of course gave it that extra edge. If this was fast food, I'd definitely be eating it everyday! The signature Wagyu burgers are pricey, but they also tasted pretty good! I think one of the Wagyu piece was slightly dry, but the other one was just dripping with juices.

Then came desserts... the sweetness from the creme dessert balanced out the tartness from the sour green apple macaron. The lemon tart was also a memorable item; the tang of the lemon was cut out by the slightly sweet meringue (pretty good looking dessert as well). The downside was the actual lava cake which was actually not melting as much as we had hoped, but the peanut brittle was quite nice. I have realised that the desserts have completely changed in the menu so do try them out and let me know!

Of course, when you're having tapas, you need Sangria as well! We tried out all their Sangrias and were quite impressed. I suggest going on a Sunday to utilise their "Sangria day" offers. The staff there were quite nice and service was quite good. Recommend that you try it out.

España Por Favor...

Amis bon après-midi.

It is a B-E-A-utiful day today, so all of you should hopefully be reading this blog somewhere out in cafes, or parklands on your mobile phones or laptops. Few weeks ago, few friends and I decided to have a voyage en Espagne, well not entirely true...rather it was Spanish desserts that we were craving for. We went to this Spanish restaurant, España on Melbourne St (refer to location below post), recommended by a friend of mine. To put it bluntly, he said the food there is terrible, i.e. rubbish (many dishes were not seasoned properly, which is rather unusual as one of the first thoughts that come to mind about Spanish food is that it is high in salt!).

However, he highly recommends the dessert so that is in fact what we did go there for! We ordered several servings of two types of dessert (as well as coffee which is normally to be expected in desserts).

Churros - "traditional Spanish style crispy dough, dusted with sugar and side of melted couverture chocolate"

The churros here were rather chunky, yet extremely fluffy and light! It was almost like eating AMAZING donuts, except not as greasy or sweet. The churros was not the 'crappy' type of chewy lil pieces of dough that you get at 'amateur' restaurants or dessert joints, but rather they were generous servings and the way its presented on the brown porcelain plate gives it that homely feel. What I absolutely love about this is the fluffiness that you get when you first bite into it, and then the cinnamon flavour explosion hits your tongue along with the amazingness of the melted chocolate, as well as the cocoa sugar! That's right, not only is the outer layer coated with sugar, but cocoa as well (that's what makes it so amazing).

Pan con chocolate - "chocolate with thin bread wafers, sprinkled with salt flakes and sweet olive oil"

This was another unique dessert. I have tasted something to this, however the version that I've had before was somewhat more similar to a bread-pudding style. I definitely did like this dessert, but be warned, it is not to everyone's liking. What I like about it is the saltiness which breaks the sweetness of the chocolate mousse (which I can have LOTS of). The crunchy bread dipped in the mousse with the saltiness coming through with a cup of coffee - pleasures of sharing desserts with friends and having an easy evening out. Highly recommended ;)

Chocolate Brownie (Cookies??) with Peanut Butter Icing

Bonsoir good followers and readers, I have been MIA for a good 2 weeks or more due to my thesis and other outings which have kept me away from writing. However, I am back now and that's all that matters. My aim is hopefully 2 posts per week -  a review followed by a recipe of some sort. There's a few posts that I already have lined up, both recipes and reviews. Tonight however, I will start off with a recipe.

Donna Hay Magazine has just released a 10th birthday collector's edition for this month. It is definitely worth having a read of, especially those of you who are drink mixologists, and also those of you that LOVE baking with chocolate. There's a few recipes in there which isn't too hard to follow and has definitely caught my eye... even the handsome layered cake with the contrasting black and white on the cover page (I will definitely post that up asap if I do happen to attempt it). I downloaded the iPad version of the magazine and must say that I am VERY impressed. The interactive recipe step-by-step guides was very helpful in the cook mode, so for those of you with an iPad, I highly recommend giving this app a go (it's free as well ~ first issue of dhm for iPad).


Anyways, getting back to food, I attempted the chocolate brownie cookies (that's right...COOKIES!) with peanut butter icing as listed in the 'brownies' section of the magazine. The ingredient list isn't extensive so I highly recommend that you give it a go. I'm not going to list the ingredients on here (may be some copyright issues etc.) but if you're interested, email me and I'd be more than interested to help you out. Preparation time didn't take too long and the steps weren't too complicated. These cookies would make really neat gifts ~ all you require is some twine, cardboard and you'll be set!

My initial thoughts when I saw the picture in the magazine was how ridiculous the peanut butter icing looked - with the amount that they used. However, when I tasted it, I understood why. The saltiness from the icing cuts out the sweetness from the actual brownie cookies themselves, so its a tastebud save really (for example, salty caramel in macarons make it 'taste' less sweet, even though the amount of sugar in the actual macaron pieces are still the same).

Chocolate Brownie Cookie with Peanut Butter Icing served with Long Black (unsweetened)!

When something is "sweet" like this, you really need to serve it with plain black coffee (or strong tea without milk) to cut the sweetness out. The cookie is really fudge-y, soft and gooey; I think the chocolate pieces in the cookies gave them that little bit of extra bite. These cookies aren't meant to be crunchy, but they're supposed to imitate brownies after all. I think it'd actually be quite nice if you serve it warm just out of the oven, served with a dollop of the peanut butter icing rather than a 'sandwich' cookie as the chocolate pieces would still be flowing. Nevertheless, it is still rather nice when served cold.

The textures are quite nice with this dessert - slight crispy/crunch on the very top layer, followed by soft gooey centre, and if you happen to chew on a piece of chocolate, they do melt quite quickly; then you have the saltiness of the peanut butter icing. I'd recommend in cutting down the amount of sugar in the icing as the cookies themselves are sweet enough as is - caster sugar and the chocolate are both rather sweet. Give the cookies a go yourself and let me know how they turn out!