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!

4-Course ... Breakfast?

Good evening (or morning or afternoon depending on where you are) my fellow followers, hope you have all been well. There are a few posts that I do intend on posting up this week if I do get a minute or so. 

Today was a beautiful Sunday, where the sun was shining, sky was magnificently blue, birds chirping outside with a perfect 25 degrees celcius. There was a very slight breeze in the air and honestly, it is definitely one of the most relaxing days I've had in a while (unfortunately still a lot of things I'm worrying about at the back of my mind, but that's not the point). 

One of the most perfect ways to start a day like this, is of course, a sleep in without being woken up by alarms, but rather have the sunshine peeking through the windows. After that, it is time for a 4 course breakfast ... yes, you've heard right, BREAKFAST! The even better thing was, it was actually made by myself. Most of my friends were either busy today (especially at this time of the year) or away on holidays. So I decided to cook up something magical instead of going out for brunch:

4 main course breakfast

As I was feeling creative, I have decided to whip up these four elements, but instead of separating it into different dishes, I was feeling rather inspired by some of the other restaurants and have basically used a similar idea...serve up all the courses on one huge dish. Typically in the 'upper class' chic restaurants, a course like that would be considered a tasting plate with literally sample sizes of each course. However, as I was feeling rather generous at home and this is home cooking at its best after all, I decided to use bigger than average portions to ensure that the breakfast/lunch was adequately filling. So on the menu today was (rotating from bottom left anti-clockwise):

Entree: Butter-infused with garlic, shallots and Italian parsley on rye toast

First main: Portobello mushroom steak with freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt

Second main: Grilled eggs with chilli napolitana sauce

Dessert: Layered blueberry yoghurt with banana and freshly toasted hazelnut and organic maple syrup muesli

So you see, these elements were not very hard to produce individually. The only challenge was knowing what to do whilst preparing the other element as you want all the dishes to be warm/cold/crispy, i.e. as fresh as possible. There was not a better way to start this lovely morning but with a huge 4-course breakfast. I hope this has inspired some of you to start your day with a huge breakfast.

Au revoir ~~

A-Oval Invaded by Pharmacy Students

Bonsoir my dear followers/readers, I have been extremely busy once again this past week, and will continue to be busy for the next coming few weeks, so please do forgive me for my minimal number of posts each week. I will try and post as many as I can (there are quite a number in the pipeline, waiting to be written up!).

Tonight's post is basically about an event which occurred last Saturday (10 September 2011). It was the Guild Annual Pharmacy Ball held by the South Australian Pharmacy Student's Association (or SAPSA). This year, it was held at the Adelaide Oval function centre in North Adelaide on War Memorial Drive. The newly renovated catering function centre looks quite nice, but the food on the other hand was debatable. We had a 3 course meal which is quite a standard format (food-wise) for the evening.

Here were the following dishes for the night:

Roasted pumpkin, leek & sage with black pepper & goats curd

Well, for soup starters are the standard for the ball (need to keep prices low as it is a student event after all). The description of the soup sounds absolutely divine, but the actual taste of it was well... "can-like" to put it in a mild way. It wasn't as thick as I would've liked it (which once again really depends on what people like so it is debatable), but the leek and sage could not be tasted at all. The pepper was evident (at least), but the goats curd was not...the white dash in the soup actually just tasted like ordinary cream, nothing too fancy. So the soup starter was a bit of a disappointment.

Frenched lamb cutlets with rosemary & garlic fondant potatoes, spinach strudel

This was an alternate drop to the chicken (which I cannot comment about as I received the lamb). The lamb cutlets were frenched really nicely and it wasn't overcooked which was good. However, the rest of the 'parts' of the dish was not really up to a very high standard. The potatoes did not have any garlic flavours whatsoever, and the spinach strudel was absolutely terrible — it was basically an extremely dry pie base with overcooked dry spinach sitting in the pie base, and according to them, is a spinach strudel... The tomato and broccoli actually also played no part in the dish. It was there really to make the dish look more colourful, but that actually 'cheapens' the quality of the dish that it could have been.

Eton mess: Vanilla cream, summer strawberries & crushed meringue

Well this was definitely one of the biggest failure of the night. As any close friends of mine would know, I have an extremely sweet tooth and I love sweets! However, I have never been more disappointed with an Eton mess. It can be such a simple dish to do well without being overcomplicated. The presentation looks absolutely lovely. However, the chefs need to seriously reconsider what they are writing in the menu and what they are actually presenting. There was no vanilla evident in the cream; the cream that was there was basically straight out of the container, not sweetened or flavoured with vanilla. It was just eating cream. The supposedly crushed meringue was actually not very crushed. Yes, fine the cream is not sweet and the meringue should sweeten it up, but its not going to do the job if there are only 2 button sized pieces of meringue in the whole huge cup of cream. The summer strawberries also didn't look like strawberries either. They were actually frozen berries. Sorry to be ridiculing this dessert but a more appropriate name for this would be Eton fail: carton of cream with frozen berries and 2 pieces of meringue buttons (at least it would be the correct description). 

So unfortunately, the caterers for this year was very disappointing. Not only was the food extremely average, but the presentation of the plates were so inconsistent. With the lamb cutlets, just from quick glances around the table and at other tables, the plating was horrific; some people had 2 pieces of tomatoes, others one, some with vines, some without...and then comes the broccoli - there were 2 pieces, 3 pieces, brown pieces of broccoli, 1 huge broccoli, and even NO broccoli for some. That was disappointing. Hopefully, the caterers do a better job for your functions in the future if you are looking for a venue, but based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend the venue if you need very decent food to be served (unless you only need a venue for a presentation or showcase and need some drinks and light meals to go on with).

Good Morning Adelaide.. Well the North of it

As promised, here is the second post for the night.

On the recent weekend that has zoomed past, couple of my friends DA and AP decided to roam the city and we had an absolute ball. However, for some unknown reason, I decided to wake up extremely early on Sunday morning. It was a cold, winterish morning; the sun was playing peek-a-boo so it was a bit unpredictable.

I was actually in real need of coffee and was quick hungry (which was unusual considering I ate extremely late, or early some might say). This was of course at around 7.30 in the morning. As I was on O'Connell Street in North Adelaide and the sun was shining, I decided to stroll down the street (yes in my Adidas track pants, Nike jumper and Tigers...I really look like a crazy sports guy up ridiculously early on a Sunday morning). I was really surprised that not only was Un Caffè Bar open, but the machine was ready to go, with their range of take-away breakfast all set up in the fridge ready to go.

What I really love about this particular coffee joint is the location; whether you're sitting indoors or out, on a sunny day, it is beautiful. The sun comes in and just hits the right sections of the store. So I decided to order my usual coffee (my usual at Un Caffè is large skim cappuccino with an extra shot of coffee) and as I was rather peckish, I had to get one of their quick take-away breakky:

Berry granola topped with Greek yoghurt and fresh mixed berries

The granola was a nice mixture of corn-flakes, granola pieces, bits of muesli, dried fruits, and some other bits and pieces. The yoghurt with the mixed berries was a nice substitute for milk (I don't think I was ready to have too much milk this early in the morning since I haven't exercised). It is just a nice and clean start to the day to break the fast on a lovely Sunday morning. If you are ever down O'Connell Street in North Adelaide extremely early on a Sunday morning, I suggest you pop by for a visit for a fantastic way to start your day.

...and into the Lion's Mouth We Go!

Désolé my dear readers, for I have been lazy (and my honours project isn't very light on me, and I am also trying to train with 2 weeks notice for a 12km run!). 

I'll make this post short and snappy, and if I have time, then I may put up another post later in the evening.

So a couple of Saturdays ago (not the one that just went past), a whole group of us went to The Lion for a birthday dinner. I've been there a couple of times, but I'm trying different things each time. There are two sections to The Lion dining area: the 'proper' dining area which is right beside the pub/bar area, or the 'pub' dining area which is more informal. 

Their pub dining menu still had some pretty "proper" dishes, but as to how well done it was, that will come later in the review. People usually go to The Lion for their burgers, steak, i.e. basically their meats. Before I went there, an awesome friend, LP (who is THE dessert queen), recommended that I try out their beef bourguignon which is only available in their pub dining section. It was a struggle to find as it wasn't written on the menu, and there wasn't really a 'specials' board. If you head up to the counter where you order, it is actually hidden tucked away at the top corner in the dark where it says "Winter Warmers". It was an extremely inexpensive dinner (approximately $15AU) AND it came with a free glass of Jacob's Creek cab. sav. (alternatively you can have a beer with it, but I'm not a big fan of beer). 

Winter warmer - beef bourguignon with soft polenta and gremolata

This dish is not only inexpensive, but an absolute flavour explosion in your mouth! The beef was so soft and tender. The polenta was done incredibly - it was soft and creamy, cheesy, yet not sickening...it was amazing; and the gremolata (can't see it very well sorry!) went really nicely- the nice tang and the herb-iness was fantastic.

The Lion Burger - beef, with french fries

WG ordered this and he said was really good (it does look nice). I'm not too sure if it is able to beat the burgers at Burger Foundry, but perhaps next time... 

ML ordered lamb shanks with confit garlic mash, gremolata and glaze which looked pretty good, and he said the shank was done pretty nicely. Unfortunately I did forget to take a photo of it, but the presentation was very decent. There was one dish however that many people who ordered were not happy with - TMN ordered the panfried atlantic salmon with toasted cous cous, green beans, almond figs and cider vincotto, which sounds really lovely, but the taste is another matter. The skin was not crispy at all (very easily fixed by salting it a bit more!), and the salmon was not seasoned properly, i.e. it was pretty much tasteless. If you do happen to feel like seafood, I recommend that you best avoid that dish!

However, I was quite pleased that night with the meals. The dishes were whipped up extremely quickly and there is a vast selection on their menu (considering it was such a big group) ~ they didn't modify the menu at all which means that the whole pub dining menu was available for selection. I would definitely recommend The Lion if you feel like a burger, a winter warmer, or if you have a large group booking you need to make.

Good Life..Good Pizza

Bonjour! It has been over a week since I last posted now! Things are getting a bit busier as it gets closer to the end of the year.

Last week, my friend, LT, and I went to Glenelg to buy some sports gear, but then I was feeling rather peckish from the money spending! As we haven't had pizza for a while, we decided to try out Goodlife Modern Organic Pizza - a lot of people have been talking about them, giving rather positive feedback. There are 3 different locations in total; one in Glenelg (which is the one that this review will be based on), one on Hutt Street and the other one in North Adelaide.

The first time around, we actually walked right past the restaurant without realising where it was. The tricky thing about this particular joint is that it is located on Level 1 (so that yes, there are stairs involved ~ I guess it gives you a slight workout before reaching there =P) and the name isn't that particularly obvious. The bottom of the stairs is quite dark so you really need to keep an eye out, otherwise you will miss it.

As we weren't  overly hungry, we decided to order one large pizza (a 2-person pizza, i.e. 12-inch) to share. Unfortunately, they don't do half-&-half pizzas (i.e. two flavours on one pizza) - there were a couple of different ones I definitely wanted to try. We ended up ordering a duck pizza:

Free-range roasted duck with shitake mushroom and spring onion ginger jam

It was absolutely mouth-watering and delicious! The smell wafting from the pizza as it was brought to our table already awaken our tastebuds, sending them to overdrive. The duck was really nice ~ soft and tender. The crust on the pizza is done very well; it was thin and the outer crust was very crispy and has a very nice texture contrasted to the soft delicious centre-filling. My favourite thing on the pizza though was the spring onion ginger jam! If any of you have tried Hainanese Chicken Rice before, the jam reminds me of the flavours of the spring onion and ginger dip that comes with the rice, except the one on top of the pizza is slightly sweet, making it very nice. After having one bite, it leaves you wanting more.

Overall, the service was good - the waiter and waitress came back often enough, checking orders, drinks and asked how everything was. I definitely recommend that you try this pizza joint out; I will certainly be back to try the others.

Saturday at SQ

Good evening mesdames et messieurs. I recently went out with a group of people for a dinner on Saturday night and I've come to realised that it is in fact very challenging for such a big group of people to go out to a very decent and nice place without alterations to the menu (in total, there was around 20 people).

This review was going to be about Culshaw's Grill at the Majestic Hotel on Frome Road but because of the change to a-la-carte menu, I decided to change the venue of the dinner gathering. I was just browsing around for different places, trying every single site or book I could find, from Google to Entertainment Book to the papers for places to go. At the end however, I managed to find SQ Restaurant (part of Mantra Hotel in Hindmarsh Square in Adelaide's CBD).

The staff were very nice and the service was definitely top notch. It is a nice little hidden place, yet still located right in the heart of the city. From the start, the tapas and the starters menu looked very intriguing, but I was not extremely hungry so I did not order any. My friend LK however, did decide to order bread which came with an olive oil dip and dukkah (the typical) - the only let down was the bread; it would have been a lot nicer if it was warm.

Most of us went straight into the mains. Being such a huge crowd meant that there were a variety of dishes, but I unfortunately could not take a photo of all of them. So here are the ones that I did manage to snap up:

Duo Beef served on Vegetarian Risotto

This dish was part of the specials on for the evening. The combination of beef was cooked beautifully. The Wagyu brisket was absolutely amazing - so tender and literally a "melt-in-the-mouth" moment. The steak was a bit over-done on the edges, but the middle is cooked to perfection (I like them medium-rare). The risotto on mine was cooked very nicely as well - creamy, yet not very gluggy (the way it is supposed to be done!). The platting could be a bit nicer though, but the food was good at least.

Side dishes: House Fries with Lemon Salt and Roast Onion Aioli and Rocket, Pear & Parmesan Salad

The fries weren't crispy which was a bit disappointing (double-frying could crisp them up) and there wasn't enough lemon salt in the chips, but the aioli made up for it - very addictive dip.  The salad was as expected, nothing too grandeur; it was just as it should be, a rocket, pear & parmesan salad. 

Snapper (I think) and seafood cous cous served with wakame

This was another dish which was on the specials menu. I am not too sure in regards to how the fish was done. The wakame addition to the top of the seafood cous cous is interesting - two people ordered it and one definitely did not like it, whilst the other thought the combination as odd. I quite agree that this was an odd combination; instead the wakame should be served on the side, almost as a starter if it was going to be utilised in the dish.

Angus Coorong Sirloin Steak on Shallot and Roast Garlic Rousti and Cabernet Jus
Side dish: Potato Mash with White Truffle Oil

My friend, TN, said that it was done perfectly (I'm pretty sure he wanted it medium-rare as well), and the meat did look extremely tender, beautiful and juicy. I think it is quite safe to say that it was a winner.

From the overall experience, it was quite positive. The let-down for the evening was actually the plating of the dish. The same dishes were plated inconsistently. For example the snapper which was ordered by a couple of people looked extremely different - the cous cous wasn't plated in a round circular manner and the size of the snapper were extremely different. The Duo of Duck, another popular dish for the evening was again plated extremely inconsistently - some plates had more duck pieces, whilst others had a mixture of big and small pieces. For the amount you have to pay for each dish, you would be expecting them to be plated very similarly, if not, exactly the same. However, it was still an enjoyable evening with lovely food and wine (I can't remember the exact one but it had a combination of Shiraz/Grenache/Viognier — highly recommended).