Chocolatier Cafe Society

Taste

Chocolatier has all these different varieties of boxed chocolates, each with very interesting themes. The Cafe Society contains:

• Short Black - a smooth combination of coffee and rich dark chocolate - this one is quite nice, the chocolate rich and with a cafe aroma.
• Hazelnut Gateau - a whole hazelnut encased in creamy praline and milk chocolate - this was my favourite. The hazelnut pairing very nicely with the praline.
• Cappuccino - fresh brewed combination of coffee and milk chocolate - this one was too sweet and not enough coffee flavour.
• Mud Cake - rich dark chocolate blended with soft creamy caramel - not bad, but I'm not a fan of caramel because of the sweetness, but the dark chocolate made it more bearable.
• Coconut Torte - a beautiful blend of toasted coconut and hazelnut praline - I like this one too, the coconut added a slight crunch and I love hazelnut praline!

Rating - 6

Look

This is one of the cutest packaging I've seen. Each chocolate is very distinctive, and they all resemble little cupcake. The box is very nice too, coming with a tray that supported all the chocolates.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$10.95 for 10 chocolates (130g all together). I think I can get better quality chocolate at that price, but you've got to try before you know!

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

Sugar, caramel, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, hazelnt praline, milk chocolate (33% min cocoa solid) (28% min), dark chocolate (53% min cocoa solid) (15% min). traces of peanut and/or other nuts

Available At

Safeway/Woolworths, Kmart, Target, David Jones, Myer, Priceline or specialty chocolate shop

Wattle Valley Chunky Dip

Taste

Like the other dips from Wattle Valley, the Grilled Eggplant with Cashews and Parmesan was a little bit spicy and a little bit oily. The base of all their dips chunky dips are pieces of nuts and oil. I don't think I can particularly taste any sort of eggplants in this. In their herbs based dip, I appreciate the nuts, but for this one, I would like a bit more eggplant.

The Asparagus with Cashews and Parmesan on the other hand was excellent. You can really taste the asparagus throughout, while the chunky nuts add depth and complement the asparagus freshness.

The Dill & Chives with Cashew & Parmesan was the best yet. The chive added that "vege" taste and the dill flavour really tied everything together.

The Black Olives was great. A salty and spicy hit of black olives is a perfect pairing.

The Artichoke with Cashew & Parmesan was just like marinated artichoke blended with nuts. The artichoke was marinated in vinegar and in this case less successful.

The Baby Spinach with Cashew & Parmesan tasted like the others actually. I was expecting the sweet taste of spinach but got none. It was nevertheless pleasant enough.

The new ones in the range was your basic chuncky with added tuna. I tried Exotic Thai with Tuna & Cashew and the Chilli Red with Tuna, Cashew & Parmesan. The Thai was ok, you can taste the coriander and lemongrass in it. The chilli red is one of their best, a tomato and capsicum mix with a hint of chilli, I'm just not sure what the tuna adds to them, in my opinion, not much.

Rating - Eggplant -6, Asparagus - 7.5, Dill - 7.5, Olive - 7, Artichoke - 6, Spinach - 6, Exotic Thai - 6, Chilli - 7

Look

I have to say the colour wasn't too great. It looked like a dark greyest brown... not something you want to eat. Luckily I don't judge my food from its colour (hey I am Asian and will eat anything). The packaging was a good size and comes in a closable container.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

150 g for $3.59

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - Eggplant - 8, Asparagus - 9.5, Dill - 9.5, Olive - 9, Artichoke - 8, Spinach - 8, Exotic Thai - 8, Chilli - 9

Ingredients

Eggplant

cashew nuts (30%), eggplant (30%), canola oil, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese (4%), spices, salt

Dill

cashew nuts (30%), canola oil, dill (12%), chives (8%), lemon juice, parmesan cheese (4%), white vinegar, spices, salt, preservative

Chilli

canola oil, cashew nuts, tuna, sundried tomatoes, capsicum, vegetable oil, parmesan cheese, white vinegar, herbs & spices, salt

Exotic Thai

cashew nuts, canola oil, tuna (25%), coriander, lime juice, vegetable oil, ginger, lemon grass, salt, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, spices, preservative

Artichoke

canolia oil, cashew nuts, artichoke (20%), parmesan cheese, white vinegar, herbs & spices

Available At

Supermarkets

Timboon Organic Gourmet Fetta

Taste

Fetta marinated in spices and olive oil. The fetta held its shape but crumbled very nicely when pulled. The herbs and spices were subtle and highlighted the natural flavour of the fetta, and it wasn't too salty.

Rating - 7

Look

It comes in a small jar. It was a bit hard to get the fetta out as it just fits through the opening. The jar was handy if you can't use the cheese up though. The label was a bit dull. You have to read the label carefully before you find out that the fetta is actually organic. The fetta looks very white and fresh and the spices add just the right colour.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$7.89 down to $2.99 for 250g for an organic produce. In my view, worth the money.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

organic fetta cheese (min 58%), (pasteurised organic milk, salt, mineral salt, enzyme,(non-animal rennet), cultures), non organic vegetable oil, herbs, spices

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Chatswood Food Tour

Yup, another one of our quests to capture our lost holidays, so off we went to Chatswood to find Japanese shops. I heard on the grapevine that Beard Papa - a Japanese cream puff chain that has outlets around the world - has opened their first shop in Sydney at Westfields Chatswood. We ordered half a dozen ($12) of chocolate cream and vanilla cream. Sadly the green tea flavour wasn't available yet, but with the opening of the Haymarket outlet, it will be available. What makes them so good is because the pastry is freshly baked, and filled on order. You can order 1 for $2.50 or 12 for $20. I don't think it's really worth the money, but more of a novelty, once a year item.

We hit Victoria Ave, the "Chinatown" St in Chatswood, every shop is either a Chinese BBQ, Asian groceries, or the new "it" item, the Chinese bakery. The delightful find there was Bread Top, a Taiwanese chain that has also recently landed in Oz. We first encountered them in Canada, and Slokky's grandma absolutely loves the taro swirl roll. She kept buying it for us when we were in Vancouver, saying we couldn't get it in Australia. Well, I am sorry grandma, but looks like we can get it here afterall. There are lots and lots of different varieties of bread here, all slightly different from those you get at the traditional Chinese bakeries. The selling point is that they all look and sound so appealing, you want to try them all! In the end, I opted for the Green tea red bean bun ($1.60) - not enough green tea taste and the bread was quite dry, I'm disappointed! Slokky settled for the Pork floss roll ($4.80) - this one was much better, soft and sweet bread contrasting with the slightly salty pork floss filling.

We hit a few more Asian groceries trying to find Jap sweets. They all had a few varieties but not everything from Jap, and pretty expensive. I was hoping the one at the Mandarin Centre would be good, but I was sad to see in the 2 years since I've last been to Mandarin, the centre has deteriorated to the stage that there are hardly any shops in there anymore. I guess the giant of Westfields Chatswood and Chatswood Chase. The best shop for Asian sweets is now in Westfields Chatswood. We got some taro mochi (from Taiwan and not as good as Japanese ones, but certainly cheaper) and a seafood flavoured pretz.

Info

Beard Papa
Level 2, Westfields Chatswood
1 Anderson Street
Chatswood 2067
Website

Bread Top
300A Victoria Avenue
Chatswood 2067
Phone 9419 2699
Website

Pria PowerBar

Taste

In the last 2 years or so, PowerBar has been the next big thing. Pria bars are aimed at women, and their flavours, Chocolate cookie,fruit & nut, and strawberry, certainly point that way. They don't taste like Powerbars I've had in the past, more like normal museli bar. Out of them all, chocolate cookie was the best, the others are way too sweet. Given the choice, I will def choose the real thing over protein bar, which I still don't see the value of for non-atheletes.

Rating - 4

Look

They all have a good looking women with a good body, and are coloured coded based on flavour. The foil wrapping keeps it fresh, pretty standard really.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Do you think I would actually buy this stuff? I got them all free at Fitness First.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 6

Available At

Supermarket, health food store.

Auburn Food Tour

Finally made it to Auburn after our incident last week. Unfortunately this had to be a very rushed tour 'cos of Slokky's soccer. First stop was Auburn Central. This place has the cheapest fruit and veg we can find, as well as a Bakers Delight that is cheaper than the set price everywhere else.

From there we hit the streets, striding very quickly. It was too early for a kebab lunch, (the ones at the corner of Rawson St near Ben Da is highly recommended), and way too early for ice-cream at Mado Cafe, so we stopped off for some Arabic sweets and pastries from Baladna Pastry. There was a huge display of all kinds of pastries, from your basic baklava, to stuff I've never seen before in my various other trips to pastry shops everywhere. We were excited, and pointed to 3 different varieties that looked different. First up, a huge mound of candied pistachios surrounded by a bird's nest. The filling was really hard but I loved the bird's nest. Next up, a filo encased almond filling with a dusting a pistachio on top. This one was a bit plain and boring, the pastry not as good as others I've had. The third piece was two disc of thin pastry, that on order, the guy sandwiched between fresh cream then sprinkled with fresh nuts. Surprisingly, the cream wasn't too sweet or sickly, and went well with the crunchy pastry.

Unfortunately that was all we had time for today, but hey, that means we'll have to come back for a return visit right?

Info

Auburn Central
Cnr Queen St and Harrow Rd
Auburn
Website

Baladna Pastry
150 South Parade
Auburn
Phone 9649 2324

Hawthorn Slice-square

Taste

You might be wondering, What on earth is a hawthorn? I have no idea myself. I have no idea of what a hawthorn actually looks like as I've only ever had hawthorn slice, which, to the uninitiated, is an orange-brown thin slice. It's an acquired taste from childhood I think. I haven't had one of these for ages. This one seems to be made for grown-ups, the slices thicker (better!) and bigger (better!) than the ones from childhood.

Rating - 6

Look

Hmmm, not very attractive, but the thin slices and packaging make it very easy to eat and transport.

Rating - 1

C-factor

200g, not sure how much though... Def marks for making a childhood treat appealing to grown ups!

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

fresh hawthorn 6%, water 29%, sugar

Available At

Asian Grocers

Salmon Mousse

Taste

This is kinda like a pate, with a layer of gelatine surrounding a very pink salmon mousse. There was a strong salmon smell and taste but the texture is exactly like a mousse. Personally I like smoked salmon, or raw salmon for that matter, better, but this is another alternative, probably for those who don't like the salmon texture?? It also reminds me of salmon dip.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Very pink and pretty, with a very moussy texture that also holds its shape when cut. This will look great on a white platter. The cling wrap is not very resealable though.

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got this one on special at Harris Farm (does anyone see a theme here??).

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 10

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

La Disfida

Carol and Alvin dropped over after an intense day of shopping at DFO. Pizza was decided as the dinner of choice, so off we went to the "real" (read authentic Italian) pizza capital of Sydney, Haberfield. And what better place than the place to eat pizza, according to all the critics.

Food

Haberfield on a Sunday nite is pretty quiets. Most of the restaurants were empty except for this place. We got there at around 6.30 pm on a Sunday nite, and the place was packed. There was a 20 mins wait for a table, and we soon found out why. As we waited, we saw streams and streams of young families leaving with toddlers and babies on tow, and here I thought this was a hip place for young people to hang out. Instead, it's a hip place for locals and young trendy families to hang out.

Needless to say, by the time we were seated, we were ravenous. Luckily, not long after, our entree of Garlic Pizza ($9) arrived. It was thin, hot and bubbly, with a just charred surface. The garlic was subtle but gave it a pleasant smell. We devoured the pizza in no time.

Luckily, our other pizzas arrived not long afterwards. La Disfida is a bit like the pizza nazi. The pizzas only come in 1 size, and with their list of ingredients. There's no make-your-own or half-half combo. They are all ($18), regardless of the ingredients. The bases are all beautifully charred, the base very thin. La Disfida - Tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, smoked mozzarella, ham, capers and anchovies - was too salty for my taste, but it was spicy. My favourite was the Eraclio - Tomatoes, mozzarella, rocket lettuce, ricotta cheese and cracked pepper- nice and simple, with very fresh ricotta and a huge splattering of rocket, added after the pizza has been cooked. Quattro Stagioni - tomatoes, ham, mozzarella, mushrooms, artichokes and olives - was hard to share as the ingredients were divided into quarters.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

There's a huge mural/poster on the wall, showing some sort of fighting. Soccer memorabilia line a shelf, the window displays a pic of the World Cup winning Italian team. The majority of the restaurant is dominated by the bar/coffee area and the wood-fired oven.

We were able to watch the chefs at work. layering ingredients and pushing and pulling pizzas into the huge wood-fired oven. Nothing fancy here, just your cosy neighourhood restaurant.

The place has a very buzzy atmosphere. The only gripe I have is that we were seated near the door and each time someone comes in or not, we were hit with a burst of cold air.

Rating - 2

Service

The waiters were very busy, so we weren't served when we wanted. You have to wave madly to get their attention, but they all seem to know what they are doing and are quite efficient once we got their attention.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

1 entree and 3 pizzas for $63 'cos they forgot to charge our 1 drink. Ok for above average pizzas at a "happening" joint.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

109 Ramsay St
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Phone (02) 9798 8299
Website

Arnotts Tim Tams

Taste

Ahhh, Tim Tams, the quintessential Aussie biscuits from a non-Australian company, Arnotts. For the latest World Cup do, we tried our favourite, Classic Dark - an original Tim Tam wrapped in dark chocolate, absolutely divine, and the best of all the flavours, as well as their 2 new flavours, Latte - a really aromatic coffee smell, and now my 2nd favourite Tim Tam flavour, and Choc Orange - over-rated with a weak orange smell and taste.

The best to worst of Tim Tams are:

1. Dark Chocolate
2. Latte
3. Chocolate Mud
4. Double Chocolate & Raspberry
   
5. Original
6. Double Coat
7. Chewy Caramel
8. Sticky Vanilla Toffee
9. Creamy Truffle Temptation
10. Choc Orange
11. Black Forest Fantasy

Rating - 7.5

Look

Each package comes with little compartments for individual Tim Tams. I'm sure you all know that the new flavours such as the alcoholic, indulgence and these new ones all range from 165 g - 175 g whereas the old favourites were in 200g, but they all cost the same... I think it's very sneaky of Arnotts to do that.

The best thing about them is when you bite them in half and you can see the different textures.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

For the normal flavours you get 200g but for the special ones, you only get 165g. I think it's a rip-off, and won't buy them unless they're on special to start off with.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 9.5

Ingredients

Sticky Vanilla Toffee

sugar, wheat flour ,vegetable oil, milk solids, cocoa butter, condensed milk, cocoa mass, butter, glucose, starch, humectants, emulsifiers, salt, antioxidants, raising agent, flavourings, thickener, food acid, colour

Chocolate Mud

sugar, wheat flour ,vegetable oil, milk solids, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, cocoa powder, golden syrup, colours, starch, butter, emulsifiers, salt, antioxidants, raising agent, flavourings, thickener, food acid, colour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Lindt Lindor Dark

Taste

These are like the Lindor balls, only in a block. Considering the Lindt Lindor ball is one of my favourite chocolates, I love this bar. The chocolate outer is not as thick as in the ball, but the gooey and smooth centre filling is just as good. I prefer the ball for their thicker outside, but these are a lot cheaper. However, there is a tendency to finish the whole block though...

Rating - 7

Look

It comes in the dark blue colour that signifies dark chocolate and also in a cardboard box. They don't have the hard cardboard backing like the Excellence range though so they break apart much easier. Somehow this is nowhere near as sexy or appealing as the individual Lindor balls...

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

100g for $1.99 on special at Priceline, normally $3.19. If you get the individual Lindor balls at Martin Place they cost about $1 last time I checked.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

sugar, cocoa mass (41% min), vegetable fats, cocoa butter, butterfat, lactose, skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder, emulsifier, flavourings, malt extract powder

Available At

Supermarkets, Priceline, specialty chocolate stores

Sunbeam Apricot & Sultanas

Taste

I have to admit, I haven't had one of these snacks from Sunbeam before, as they are clearly aimed at kids' lunch boxes. They come in handy 37g packs. I guess they're a better choice than chocolates are something. In terms of taste.... the sultanas are pretty tiny and doesn't have that juicy bite to it. Apricots were slightly better but I think I prefer the whole ones.

Rating - 5

Look

It comes in this cute packet with dancing smiley sultana and apricot. The box is handy and resealable, and quite good for kids and big kids, as long as they have slim fingers.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Good for when you want to feel like a kid and a handy snack to have on hand...dunno how much they cost though.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

Australian sultanas, apricots, preservative, vegetable oil

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere.

RICS Hawaiian Crunch

Taste

I've never had Hawaiian crunch before, so I was curious. This was kinda like a peanut brittle, only with softer bits of popcorn in between and surprisingly good. They were right about the "crunch", it takes a bit of power to bite into one of these, but it was a satisfying sweet and crunchy snack.

Rating - 6.5

Look

We did get this from the warehouse, so no fancy packaging. The colour also looked very artificial, but you can see the peanuts and other things through the colour.

Rating - 0.5

C-factor

500g for $2 at the warehouse, what a bargain!

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

sugar, wheat, glucose syrup, peanuts 25%, popcorn, desiccated coconut, vegetable oil, butter (milk fat, water, salt), salt, sodium bicarbonate

Available At

RICS outlet
179-183 Parramatta Rd
Homebush 2140

You'll Love Coles Crumbed Fish Fillets

Taste

Surprisingly good. I have always steered away from packaged fish fillets, but because of this little incident, I gave it a try. We popped a few in the oven, and 15 mins later, out came these golden and crunchy fillets. Mind you, they weren't the tastiest fish I've ever had, but the topping was crunchy, the flesh firm and actually tasted of fish. The topping was a little oily, but this is processed food afterall.

Rating - 6.5

Look

I'm not a fan of the You'll love Coles packaging. I think having people on the cover look tacky, and the 1kg box is not resealable, and it was weak! After being in the freezer for awhile, the cardboard became weak and soggy.

Rating - 0

C-factor

1kg of fillets for 99 cents, you gotta love that. I think the normal price is about $6.99

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

white fish joined fillet (51%), batter (water wheat flour, wheat starch, salt), breadcrumb (17%) (wheat flour, yeast, salt, emulsifier, flour treatment agent), canola oil, rice flour

Available At

Coles
Website

Uncle Tobys Fruit-full Apple bar

Taste

One word - SWEET. The very very sweet apple paste dominated the taste of the whole bar. I couldn't get the taste of the sweet apple out of my mouth, the flavours masking everything else. The pastry itself was soft and crumbly, the filling not too sticky, but they weren't given a chance to shine.

Rating - 4

Look

Very pretty packaging, an apple green. The foiled-wrapped bar meant it was easy to carry this around anywhere and eat it.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

The 33.4g bar was a perfect size for a snack.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 7.5

Available At

Supermarket everywhere.

Nestar Choc Coated (Milk-Chocolate coated macadamias)

Taste

This is one from the range by Nestar, a funky label specialising in macadamia and coffee products. I was expecting great things as I love chocolate and I love macadamia. The chocolate was not very good at all. Yes I know it's not dark chocolate, but it didn't have much chocolate taste at all! The macadamias were quite small, but they tasted quite fresh, which is a good thing. There was quite a large amount of chocolate for the size of the macadamia you get, I would like to see a little less chocolate.

Rating - 5.5

Look

The packaging was quite beautiful, so I guess you would give it as a gift? The box is resealable and a clear section shows you what you're getting.

Rating - 2

C-factor

You get 100g of this stuff, which is very little for your money. Maybe if you can find it somewhere either than gourmet food stores or DJs. Not worth the money.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 7.5

Available At

David Jones
Website

The Nut Shop Dark Chocolate Macadamia Slice

Taste

Well, I love dark chocolate and I love macadamia, so I figured this has to be a match made in heaven right? Unfortunately that was not the case, and I was so looking forward to this. The chocolate was dark, but it did not have that melt in the mouth quality. I actually think there was gasp! too much macadamia. I felt like I was chewing macadamia with chocolate bits. The quality of the macadamia was not good - perhaps it's been there for too long? The Use by date was Feb 2007 though...Somehow this doesn't give as much satisfaction as choc coated macadamia.

Rating - 5

Look

I guess you could call it Nostalgic Packaging, the Nut Shop logo is a bit old-fashioned. The bar itself looks dark, with ok size macadamia spread throughout.

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got the bar on special for $1.70, usually $2.00, so works out to be about 3 cents per gram. I'll use my money on either plain dark choc or plain macadamia instead.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 7

Available At

the Nut Shop
Strand Arcade:
25 Strand Arcade
Sydney City
Phone 9231 3038

Martin Place: (soon to be closed!)
Shopping Circle, Martin Place, Sydney City
Phone 9232 6635

Waterloo (Factory Outlet):
20-26 Allen St, Waterloo
Phone 9319 6574

Bistro Lilly

We were out to see the Darling Harbour Winter Concert Series, so a dinner with Shan and her bf was on the cards. They actually read my blogs, so this review is for them.

Food

One of the gripes from Matthew Evans was the need to pay for bread. Yes, it costs $6.90 for bread here, which meant we skipped that. Just a note, the description and the spelling of the menu is theirs, not mine, so don't blame me, as at least I can use spellcheck.

We started off with our entrees. I had Seared Veal Tenderlion with Tempura Qld Scallop & Yorkshire Pudding Finnish with Horseradish Cream ($19.50) - The portions were small and delicate. The veal had a real meaty taste, the sauce sublime. Slokky had Homemade Bangalow Pork & Sydney Rock Oyster Sausage ON Mushroom Tart & Spiced Granny Smith Apple Chutney ($17.50) - luckily the oyster wasn't actually in the sausage like the description implied to, but balanced on top. The sausage didn't taste much different from the other, the pastry of the tart was good, and the oyster was very small but had a real oyster taste. I didn't really think all the flavours worked together, but eaten separately it was great. Shan had the Panko Herb Crumbed Yarra Valley Feta on Asparagus, Caramelised Walnut & Pear Salad Finish with Warm Lavender Honey ($16.80) - which she declared was very good and Chris had the Murray Valley Roasted Lamb Ravioli with Butternut, Garlic & Rosemary finnish with Tomato & Parmigiano ($16.90) - not sure what he thought but it was polished off in no time.

The entrees, being so small, left us hungrily waiting for mains. By the time the mains arrived it was way past 10pm. Shan and I both ordered the very wintery sounding dish,Braised Lamb Shank on Corned Beef Mash with Wilted Greens & Paloise ($29.50) - One lamb shank arrived on top of a mound of pink mash. So that's what corned beef mash is. I think it is a bit too salty but interesting. The lamb itself, quite good quality but not quite as caramelised or meltingly tender as I'd like, but still good. Can anyone tell me what a Paloise is though? Slokky had to see if their quail was better than his. I would like to report that the Whole Roasted Quail Filled with Wild Mushroom Risotto, Fresh White Truffles & Jus ($33.90) - is much better than Slokkys ;p The meat was delicious and for once, a good mushroom risotto. I didn't notice any white truffles or what difference this made though. Chris ordered the Gippsland Aged Sirlion on Berrichone Potatoes with two Pepper Salsa & Jus ($31.90) - except the "sirlion" was replaced by I think rump? And the potatoes with 13mm fries. We rounded off the meal with a side of Seasonal Vegetables & Hollandaise ($7.50) - which included cauliflower, asparagus, zucchini. I dunno how "seasonal" asparagus is, but I was glad to have it. The hollandaise was passable but not exactly spectacular.

Since the mains were not huge, for once we had room for dessert. Slokky and I shared the Bannoffi Pie: Baby Banans, Mascarpone & Fresh Vanilla Cream ($12.50) - just 'cos we missed bananas. Well, I certainly didn't eat very much "banans" maybe it was so "baby". The vanilla cream was good. What they neglected to mention, which I am quite surprised at since they love having very long names on the menu, is that there was a huge chunk of very sweet caramel in the middle. The caramel just pushed the sweetness over the top, and made me very full! Shan and Chris shared a Mango Sorbet with Frozen chocolate Mousse ($12.50) - which Shan declared as very good and that the mango went surprisingly well with the chocolate. All our food was washed down with a bottle of merlot ($47) from the Yarra Valley - which was ...ok.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Well, Bistro Lilly looks like a lot of other Sydney restaurants. There's a rectangular room with very low lighting, a brown and burgandy ( as far as I can tell anyway 'cos of the low lighting), a small bar areas, and a semi-open kitchen. I could see the blow-torch firing away. They were on the whole time, but I didn't see any brulees on the menu... I also didn't see anyone use it the whole 3 hours we were there....The toilets weren't very flash though, but at least they were clean. It's situated in a very quiet area of the city (well, for the weekend anyway), so everyone who was there would've seeked it out especially.

Rating - 1.5

Service

A bit strange really. First off, we arrived for our 8.30 booking to a half empty restaurant. We were dripping wet. A waiter came over, and we told her of our booking. She then told us to wait for a few moments. We stood there for about 5 minutes, after which she led us to a table that was already set and ready 5 minutes ago. So they like to make their customers wait with anticipation? We noticed a few other tables were the same as us too. They were very good with our umbrella once we were shown to the table though, putting it aside for us.

While waiting, we checked out the Winter Degustation Menu, which sounded pretty cool. However they failed to give us that menu with our regular menu. Shan and Chris arrived not long after, but they didn't get any drink orders taken for at least 10 minutes...They were able to accommodate Chris's unusual request for his steak, but when they brought the meals, there was a mix up on who ordered what.

One of the waiters actually said to us at this stage that he was very forgetful, so maybe that explains the up and down service? I mean, the waiters were all nice and quite efficient when they actually came to serve us. With our water, sometimes it was topped up very often, other times not at all. Weird, but I've decided that half good and half bad experience still doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth, especially when you know that they can provide good service.

Rating - 2

C-factor

This was one of the places I was looking forward to going to. The food tasted pretty good, but the portions and execution could be better for the price. Because we used 2 e-cards, it worked out to being $233 for 4 including drinks, so not too bad I guess. Still, not enough to warrant a repeat visit.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11

Info

Observatory Tower
168 Kent Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9252 1116
Website

Won Jo Hae Jang Kuk Korean Restaurant

Another Sunday, another dinner with parents. This time though, I got my wish of exploring my neighbourhood so that's how we ended at Strathfield. For those not familiar, Strathfield is also known as Koreafield, where every 2nd shop is a Korean restaurant, cafe, bar, karaoke, hair-dresser, market, clothing shop... among other things. We decided on an early dinner so we could go home and sleep in preparation for the world cup final. Well, I think everyone else had the same idea because when we got to our first choice of restaurant, Ceci (what a great name!) at 6:15pm, it was packed to the brim and there was a 20 mins wait for the table. That's how we ended up at Won Jo Hae Jang Kuk, a what seems like newly opened place. We're not really sure because everything was written in Korean and the wait staff don't seem to possess much English skills.

Food

Woohoo, there's actually some sort of English on the menu, albeit very brief. 3 dishes are described as "Fried Korean sausage", then there was "special Korean sausage", as well as numerous other combinations of beef, sausage and pork.

We used the look and point method of ordering, as everyone else seemed to have big stove tops with big pots of boiling meat and hot-plates of orange looking things, and we wanted the same. First up though, we juggled the tradition series of side dishes (kim chi, radish, green chilli and some other chilli thing that I can't identify). that appeared, along with water, bowls, rice, silver chopsticks and spoons. The side dishes tasted similar, only differing in texture. Like all other Korean side dishes I've had really.

Not long after, ourSoy bean soup ($9) arrived. A slightly spicy soup filled with pork, soybeans and noodles, it was tasty, if not very filling. That left room for the Korean beef hot pot ($25), which came with the portable stove. It had slices of marinated Korean beef, carrots, onions, new year cake, mushrooms, vermicelli swimming in a slightly sweet and slightly spicy broth. This was my favourite dish. The beef marinated just right, the soup cooling to the other chilli dishes and the vegetables hearty and warming on a winters night. Last but not least, our Fried Korean sausage ($25) arrived. It came with its own stove for the ingredients to sizzle on. It turns out that Korean "sausage" is actually vermicelli wrapped in intestines and set with blood, it actually doesn't contain any "meat" at all. The meat in the dish was provided by the little strips of pork belly. I have to say the Korean sausage and the pork belly are both acquired taste. I didn't find them particularly exciting, but this dish was spicy! Conclusion? Koreans like vermicelli and chilli a lot, and if you want to warm up on a cold winter's night? This is the cuisine to have.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Strathfield always has that air, it's like being in another country almost. The place looked like it was newly opened, there were a couple of those bouquets around. Everything looked very temporary and new. The walls were pretty bare except for the menu and picture put up.

You can seat at the table, but you can also dine Korean style, i.e., seating on the floor. The fact that the place was filled with Koreans meant that the atmosphere was lively.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The waiters definitely need to scrub up. When we walked in the door, everyone ignored us, we had to approach a waiter ourselves before they even bothered setting us on a table. We had to ask for everything ourselves, the menu, the water, the bowls. When it came time to pay, they weren't very responsive either. There are a lot of waiters for a restaurant this size. The only excuse I can give them is that they have to keep bringing those little side dishes to all the table, otherwise they were prob watching TV out the back?

They weren't very good at explaining the menu to us either. At least everything came in good time and they didn't muck up on anything. Still, a bit of a smile won't hurt.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$59 for 5, no extras of any sort charged. And I got to watch Slokky's reaction after eating a chilli, priceless really.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

33A The Boulevarde
Strathfield
NSW 2135

Foodie Outings

Bars/Pubs

• 1802
• Arthouse Hotel Attic Bar
• Aurora Bar & Lounge
• Bankstown Hotel
• Bayview Tavern
• Blu Horizon Bar
• Brodies
• Bungalow 8
• Ciel Rouge Restaurant and Lounge
• Isis Bar and Lounge
• Mint Bar and Dining
• Pontoon Bar
• Pyrmont Bridge Hotel
• zebrano bar

Events

• Australia Day 2006
• Gluten Free Gourmet Expo 2006
• Gluten Free Gourmet Expo 2007
• P&P Day 2006
• Raining Weekend in London
• Sculpture by the Sea 2006
• Sydney Food & Wine Fair 2006
• Tamil Civic Centre Fundraising 2007
• Taste London 2008

Festivals

• Bankstown Bites 2006
• Bankstown Bites 2007
• Bloomsbury Festival 2007
• Homebush West Moon Festival 2006
• Japan Festival 2006
• London Chinese New Year Festival 2008
• Manly Jazz Festival 2006
• Mayor's Thames Festival 2007
• Primo Italiano 2007
• Pure Gelato Open Day 2006
• Real Food Festival 2008
• Rocks Aroma Festival 2007

Markets

• Balmain Market Dec 06
• Borough Market
• Islington Market
• Good Living Growers Market March 06
• Glebe + Rozelle Market September 06
• Marylebone Market
• Notting Hill Farmers Market+ Portobello Rd

Suburb Tours

• Auburn July 2006
• Balmain + Haberfield Dec 2006
• Bankstown Aug 2006
• Bankstown July 2007
• Chatswood July 2006
• Croydon Park Oct 2007
• Five Dock June 2006
• Glebe + Rozelle Sep 2006
• Haymarket Aug 2006
• Leichhardt July 2007
• Homebush West Oct 2006
• Northbridge + Crows Nest + Manly Oct 2006

Smoked Peppered Mackerel

Taste

There's been a guy at Harris Farm promoting this new line of smoked seafood from the Shepherd Food Company. After I've had a few taste tests, I felt obliged to buy one of these. Plus, they actually taste great. The mackerel was pretty firm, with a subtle smoked taste and a hint of chilli. I've tried the salmon and quite like it, but everybody does smoked salmon these days. If they ever go on special, or if I taste test too much again, I might get some of that next time.

Rating - 7

Look

Ummm, no smoked fish doesn't look nice. The packaging was vacuumed sealed so that was good, but once opened, you can't really reseal the thing. So I guess I'll just have to finish it in one go, hahaha.

Rating - 0.5

C-factor

$36/kg. An indulgence, but worth it.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

Australian blue mackerel, salt, sugar, woodsmoke

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

PiM's - Chocolate Mousse

Taste

These divine PiM's soft biscuits with chocolate mousse filling are also available in orange, raspberry, sensation bar and chocolatier. The packaging describe these as "delicate soft biscuit, delicious chocolate mousse filling and rich chocolate" and I agree totally. I love soft biscuits, I wonder why not more people make them, and the mousse was heavenly. The very thin layer of chocolate (darker than Australian milk chocolate) added a crunch when you bite into the soft biscuits. I am so addicted to these. After devouring one in 2 bites, I can't help but reach for another one...10 times better than Tim Tams I say.

Rating - 8.5

Look

I think they are cute, each one has a PiMs logo printed on it. It's easy to tell the different flavours as it's all colour coded. As well as plastic wrapping, there is also a cardboard outer layer, which kept the little biscuits intact.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

130g for $1.25 worth every cent. Plus, I saw these on sale at DJs for about $4.50!

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

Chocolate mousse filling, sweet chocolate and vegetable fat coating, soy lecithin, artificial vanillin flavour, wheat flour, sugar, eggs, glucose syrup, vegetable oil shortening, leavening, salt

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Shanghai Night II

Even though I love Shanghai Night, I really wasn't planning on going back so soon, afterall, so many restaurants, so little time. However, I have to go where my mother wants to go, and that's how I ended up back here again, this time for a family dinner.

Food

I wasn't unhappy about returning, there is so much new stuff to try, and my rule was to not eat anything I had last time.

As usual, the food arrived in a random order, first up was wonton and cucumber in chilli and peanut sauce - this dish has a very pretty Chinese name, that translates roughly into hands in a sea of red, a very famous dish in Shanghai. This one is not so "red" or spicy, but I love the peanut taste and the refreshing cucumber. Next up, mushroom and meat wonton was nice, but that's all there is to that dish, no sauce, no anything else. Last time I tried the pro Shanghai steam buns, so this time we had the crab and pork Shanghai steam bun - I think I prefer the plain pork, as this one is sweeter, but it's still good!. Shanghai fried new year cake was better than the XO sauce new year cake though, the wok-fried taste evident, and it wasn't too salty, even with the added pork. Elaine is a fan of sweet and sour soup, so we ordered one here to test it out. I think this is the worst dish of the night, the soup gluggy, and I can only taste a vinegarly flavour. At $9 to serve 3, you do get lots of ingredients for your buck. After a long long long wait, the famous pork fried dumplings arrived. Again, the ones we tried last time, with the crab and pork, was slightly better, but these are the 2nd most divine pan-pried dumplings I've tasted. Everyone else seem to agree, as the long wait was caused by every single other table ordering one. They are very generous, 10 plump dumplings with the bottom crisped just so, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top... hmmmm, they are definitely worth the wait.

We had room for dessert this time, but they ran out of the sesame glutinous rice balls, so we had papaya and sweet syrup soup - that's all I can describe it as. Not very generous with the papaya, but not too sweet and kinda refreshing. There's another wait for the fried red bean pancake - unfortunately these weren't really worth the wait. The pastry is kinda gluggy and the red bean was a let down. It didn't fill the whole pancake either so I was eating just pastry half the time.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Well, Sunday night seems busier than the Saturday night we were there, but it's probably because this time it wasn't pouring rain and that we were a bit earlier. We still managed to secure a table. This time we got a good view of what other people are eating and ordering, and I watched firstly, the couple next to me who managed to consume 5 dishes among themselves, and after they left, two middle-aged guys eat dessert first, followed by beer and then the pan-fried dumplings. I guess they have their priorities right!

Rating - 2

Service

Efficient and aloof. This time we managed to get a Mandarin speaker, who dad was conversing with. Still, better than most other Chinese places.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Well, he didn't pay this time, but for the amount and quality of food you get, this place will have me coming back time after time. Plus, this time we had side table entertainment.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

275 Liverpool Road
Ashfield
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9798 8437

Asagao Bligh St

This is a chain store Japanese restaurants with quite a few outlets all over Sydney. This one is particularly popular with the lunch set.

Food

I chose the teriyaki chicken bento ($8.50) - which comes with rice, miso soup, teriyaki chicken, greens, 3 small nori rolls, a vermicelli salad, a tatoki ball, and corn and mayo salad. The chicken was tasty and tender, the rest of the meal average, but nothing special, except for the vermicelli salad, which I loved, with the crunchy texture and the fragrant of sesame seeds. The amount was just right for lunch, any more and you would be stuffed. I think their greatest achievement is actually balancing the amount of rice with the amount of chicken, one of my pet hates is having to eat plain rice or having nothing to wash down the chicken sauce!

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

We got there early, at around 12.20pm. By about 12.30pm, the place was filled up, it had a very buzzy atmosphere. Actually I saw quite a few people I know. The seats are very comfy, and the seating large. Despite the people it wasn't really noisy. There's not much view except for people watching though.

Rating - 2

Service

Hey it's a takeaway joint, so you help yourself. The sales people were efficient though, and everyone knows by know that's what I like best.

Rating - 3

C-factor

I quite like the environment, and the service was quick. That's all you want for lunch really? I think $8.50 is quite good value for the city, but you can probably get better value in the suburbs. We went for a nice walk down to circular quay after that, and the weather was perfect!

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

Cnr Phillip/Bridge St
Sydney
NSW 2000