Bankstown Bites 2006

I've been to Bankstown a couple of times before, but this is a special occasion, the annual Bankstown Bites festival, which the council puts on to showcase its cultural diversity. Our first port of call was the Free Food Tours run by locals in the area. We were just in time to join Chives @12pm. Armed with our blue Bankstown council bags and green badges, we followed our leaders Leanne and Jenny around Bankstown's main streets. Our first stop was at Happy Cup, a jelly drinks franchise like the Easyway chain. We sampled mango snowflakes - which are yoghurt, ice, milk and flavour mixed together, a bit like a slushie. It was surprisingly nice and very refreshing on this 30+ degree day. This stop was followed by a sampling of pork, chicken and char siew at Hai Yen Noodle House. Their meat was better than average.

We continued town Bankstown City Plaza, passing a few Vietnamese groceries, butchers and fishmongers, before arriving at Jenkins Cake Shop, where a lavish sample of all sorts of different cakes were offered. We tried cheesecake, mudcake, coffee cream, an interesting green iced cake called a Paandair, taro roll and even pork pies. My favourites were the taro roll and the pork pie, the rest suffered from the Asian cake syndrome of dry cake and creamy and sweet icing. We passed the Olympic Continental Deli and Butchery, which was established in 1956 there, but didn't have time to go in.

We stopped at the biggest Asian grocery of them all, Best Value Supermarket, which was definitely good value. They certainly had the best value oyster sauce, as well as a myriad of other items. Their Pocky line was non-existent, but I did pick up some Peppeto from Korea to try. We sampled a variety of fish balls and 2 types of mooncakes - the more unusual fine five kernel ($23.04 for a box), and the ubiquitous white lotus.

Pass all the commotion in the main square, we turned onto North Terrace to visit the Valley View Continental Groceries and Spices, a shop filled with bins of spice mix, dried fruit and nuts, as well as all sorts of other Middle Eastern goods. Their prices was not so crash hot though. Another Continental Deli of note is the Izvor Deli.

Our last stop was the Bankstown Cellar, a vodka specialist where we were able to sample honey vodka. Besides being free and having the opportunity to sample lots of new food, we even managed to win some drinks voucher for answering some simple questions.

Armed with our vouchers, we ordered a coke (guess who) and a vodka cranberry with lime (guess who), and relaxed on the lounges of the Bankstown Hotel, overlooking the fish tank with live sharks.

There was a half hour before our next tour, so we checked out all the stalls, from the tataoki ball people and Gozleme that are at every festival, to the South American stall all cooking up a storm. As well, there was a cooking demo, featuring "celebrity chef" Vince Sorrenti (anyone actually know who this guy is?). It was too hot and sunny to watch the demo, but we did sample the food they cooked, a Sausage Stew with capsicum, tomatoes and eggplant, and a Penne Pasta with a Bolognaise style sauce... they were...average, maybe that's why I haven't heard of any of those chefs before.

The Afgan store had a demonstration of bread making, where a woman rolled out dough and cooked it over this giant dome. It was very interesting and she was so quick! The bread was crunchy and didn't have much taste, I think you must eat it with dips.

At 2pm, we put on our purple badge and met our new leaders Kim and (sorry didn't remember the other lady) for the Thyme tour. This time we visited Hartnell's, the oldest dress shop in the area, established in the 1950s, and still selling dresses from the 50s! Next stop was Sinbad Bakery, famous for their oregano pizza, and finally Habib's Charcoal Chicken, which has apparently THE best Middle Eastern food in Bankstown. Interestingly we also passed the one and only Thai restaurant in Bankstown!

We headed down the direction of Greenfield Parade, where Merabi Groceries (Lebanese), Bankstown Sports Club (Paul Keating's home), and of course, An Restaurant (supposed to be the best pho in Sydney). We were also told where to find the best duck noodle soup in Bankstown.

We then came back to Bankstown City Plaza, where we stopped again at Jenkins Cake for more samples, followed by the Vien Dong Chinese Herbs Centre where we sampled chrysanthemum and green tea and were told the benefits of different kinds of teas.

Then the highlight, we went to Quang Minh Supermarket, where a fresh durian was cut open for us to sample. You know what they say, "taste like heaven, smell like hell", you really have to taste it to believe it, words just cannot to this fruit justice.

Our tour came to an end where we started, with a taste test at Happy Cup, this time, kiwi snowflake, tasting sweeter than the mango, but also very refreshing.

Tour over, but shopping was not. First off, to my absolute favourite Lebanese pastry shop in the whole of Sydney (that I've tried anyway), El Bahsa Sweets, for 1kg selection of their sweets for $17. There were about 25 pieces in our kg. A bargain!. You can also buy them individually for $1.30 each. Then back to Jenkins Cake Shop to sample their cocktail bun (.8). The verdict? Not bad at all, not too sweet, but very soft. We stocked up on groceries at Best Value and even managed to grab a bargain at the end of day sell-off at the stalls. The 3 mini pineapple buns actually had pineapples in them! And the char-siew bun was also delicious, and all for $1.

Info

Happy Cup
68 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200

Hai Yen Noodle House
61 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 1608

Jenkins Cake Shop
335 Chapel Rd
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 8659

Olympic Continental Deli and Butchery
41 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9708 2288

Best Value Supermarket
32-34 Old Town Centre
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9708 2288

Valley View Continental Groceries and Spices
Shop 40, Compass Centre,
North Terrace,
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 0465

Izvor Deli
Shop 20 Cinoass Centre
North Terrace
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9793 7056

Bankstown Cellar
10 Marion St
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 8921

Bankstown Hotel
102 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 1142
Website

Hartnell's
14 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9709 2882

Sinbad Bakery
Shop 4/2-10 Restwell St
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 3165

Habib's Charcoal Chicken
24 Restwell St
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9708 2219

Merabi Groceries
Shop 9-10
19 Restwell St
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 1399

Bankstown Sports Club
8 Greenfield Parade
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9709 3899
Website

An Restaurant
27 Greenfield Parade
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 7826
Website

Vien Dong Chinese Herbs Centre
50 Old Town Centre Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 6989

El Bahsa Sweets
288 Chapel Road
South Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9796 4818

Pretz Chart

After our quest to try all the Pretz flavours in Japan, I've compiled this list of favourites.

CC

1. shrimp paste

Slok

1. shrimp paste

Inner City romp

The aim of today's excursion is to discover what the inner city has to offer. We started off at Glebe, the suburbs where the "alternative" lifestyle advocates hang out. We walked from one end of Glebe Point Road to the other, and the conclusion is: people in Glebe are into alternative therapy, with at least 3 shops specialising in this pursuit, offering the oil, candles, massage and tarot reading, as well as countless organic shops/emporiums (the GNC LiveWell shop unlike any other I've ever seen), reading (of note is the famous Gleebooks), and eating, with every other shops a "funky" cafe.

First stop for us was Sonoma Bakery Cafe, well known as the producers of one of the best bread in Sydney. True to form, by the time we got there (around 2pm) most of the produce had sold out. We picked up the Polenta loaf ($5.70), which was dense and had great texture and great crust, but lacked the sourdough taste I adore. It tasted better after the first day too!

The next shop of note, aside from all the organic stores, was British Sweets and Treats selling chocolates and candy from overseas. For a "British" store, there were a lot of American products, but I didn't see anything from our overseas trip except for Reese Peanut Butter Cups.

Eventually, we got to the Glebe Markets, our main reason for going to Glebe in the first place. Well, this place was crowded! There were a lot of 2nd-hand clothing, all manners of jewellery and "gypsy" style clothing, as well as a few budding designers hawking their wares. It was more interesting watching the people (all dressed in the latest fashion) browsing the shop and the things they buy, than actually getting anything for myself.

Our Glebe soujourn over, we hopped (ok drove) over to the "quiet" side of Rozelle, where we stopped at Herbie's Spice to browse their collection. I've heard and used Herbie's so often, I really wanted to check out the shop. It's a quaint little shop filled with all their herbs. The owner,, offers an explanation of everything. Almost next door is the barn cafe, a cafe cum deli selling lots of organic produce. This place has been reviewed by SMH before, and was immensely popular. Ironically they were selling some Herbie's Spice at 20% off.

Crossing Victoria Rd, we arrive at the more popular end of Darling St, and squealed in delight that we got to Belle Fleur Fine Chocolate just before they closed. The shop was really beautiful, with chocolate figurines filling the shelves and a glass counter with at least 30 different kinds of chocolates. We got an assortment of individually handmade chocolate - very expensive at $99/kg. My verdict? They are very good but nothing really stood out. Because we spent so long here, we just caught the end of the Rozelle Market. Very similar to Glebe, except on a smaller scale. There seemed to be a lot more 2nd hand ware. We took a quick walkthrough, most of the good stuff were either gone or packed away.

We didn't have time to try anything at Gelateria Caffe 2000 but their gelato offering was just like what we could get from Italy! We wondered into a few organic shops, which all seem to be selling Sonoma bread anyway! The best and cheapest one we found was About Life, a very modern store that was in the style of the barn cafe. Their grocery line is much more extensive though. We picked up some Cyclops European style organic yoghurt in banana flavour. (See my review). I was happy to see they stocked the lovely Brassarie Bread (the subject of a future excursion), as well as Sonoma and Common Ground Bakery. A few doors down was The Fine Food Store selling similar but a bit different things, including some cool chocolate stocks.

It was close to 5pm when we finished our browsing. What to do between 5pm and dinner? Hit Birkenhead Point to waste an hour. We thought everything would be closed so we were only going to browse around at Coles. To our surprise, the DJ Warehouse was open until 6pm so we spent an hour browsing its ware. For the uninitiated, the warehouse is very large filled with everything you will normally find at a DJ. We had no trouble browsing (or more like digging) for an hour, but didn't come out with anything worthy at the end.

We headed to Balmain for an early dinner. We've been trying to satisfy our Thai craving for awhile, so we settled on the slightly upmarket Pinto Thai for dinner. (See my review here). Stuffed and satisfied, we drove back to the non-trendy part of Sydney, ready for another adventure in the near future.

Info

Sonoma Bakery Cafe
215A Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Phone (02) 9660 2116

British Sweets and Treats
85 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Phone (02) 9660 9912

GNC LiveWell
53-55 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Phone (02) 9660 8144
Website

Gleebooks
49 and 191 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Phone (02) 9660 2333
Website

Glebe Markets
Glebe Public School
Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Every Saturday, 10am-4pm

Herbie's Spice
745 Darling Street
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone (02) 9555 6035
Website

the barn cafe
731-735 Darling St
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone (02) 9810 1633
Website

Belle Fleur Fine Chocolates
658 Darling St
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone (02) 9810 2690
Website

Gelateria Caffe 2000
650 Darling St
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone (02) 9555 6032

Rozelle Markets
Rozelle School
Darling St (near Victoria Rd)
Rozelle NSW 2039
Every Saturday, 9am-4pm

About Life
605 Darling St
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone: (02) 8755 1333

The Fine Food Store
595 Darling St
Rozelle NSW 2039
Phone (02) 9810 2858
Website

Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre
Roseby Street
Drummoyne
NSW 2047
Phone (02) 9181 3922
Website

Pinto Thai
315 Darling St
Balmain
NSW 2041
Phone (02) 9555 6745

Cyclops European Style Organic Yoghurt

Taste

Cyclops is from our good old neighbours NZ, so I'm glad that they are doing things as well as the aussies. This was more sour than I thought it would be, but for a low-fat yoghurt (only around 1% fat) these were extra creamy. According to the packaging they are cultured for longer than normal, maybe that's why. They were oh so yum.

• banana - I wasn't too keen, tasting somewhat fake (maybe it's because I'm not used to organic bananas :))
• Walnut & Honey - my favourite, the walnut was sweet and mixed well with the slightly sour yoghurt
• Blueberry Burst
  - the blueberries were a little too sour and didn't go too well with the yoghurt
• Lemon Honey - another successful pairing with the sweetness of the honey and the tanginess of the lemon
• Chocolate Velvet
  - kinda strange. The chocolate itself was thick, and yes, velvety, but tasted really weird with the sour yoghurt

Rating - 8

Look

This came in a tub with a cute lid that matches the flavour, so that means yellow, blue and brown! It was very cute (especially the little ones!) and the tub is supposed to be biodegradable too. The little sized ones comes with a spoon in the lid so you can take it anywhere. I don't know about that but I will definitely reuse it because it seals very very well. In fact, if you look on the website, they have pictures of reusing the containers.

Rating - 3

C-factor

$5.50 for 1 kg, very good for an organic product. About $2 for the 125g little size.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 12

Ingredients

Banana

organic skim milk concentrate, organic banana (16%), organic cream, organic sugar, stablisier, vanilla extract, culture

Walnut & Honey

organic skim milk concentrate, honey (9%), walnut (4%), organic cream, vanilla extract, culture

Blueberry Burst

organic skim milk concentrate, organic blueberries (14%), organic cream, organic sugar, blackcurrants, locust bean gum, vanilla, culture

Lemon Honey

organic skim milk concentrate, organic cream, organic sugar, organic lemon (4%), organic orange juice concentrate, honey (2/.5%), pectin, locust bean gum, culture

Chocolate Velvet

organic skim milk concentrate, organic sugar, organic cream, coca mass, cocoa butter, chilli powder, culture

Available At

Organic and specialties store

Glico Pretz Shrimp Paste

Taste

Very salty but very addictive. They taste like prawn crackers really. Afterwards you have the taste of shrimp paste in your mouth...hmmm.... shrimp paste. See the Pretz ranking.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Yup, like the Pocky and Poare packaging. The red box had cute shrimps on it too!

Rating - 2

C-factor

65g for around $2.50, not too bad, but I would probably buy some chips for that price.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

wheat flour, vegetable oil, shortening, shrimp powder, sugar, garlic powder, yeast, table salt, oyster sauce, XO Jiang Sauce, spices

Available At

Asian Groceries

Glico Pocky Milk Flavour

Taste

I was surprised to find these Pocky that are made in Thailand and keen to see if they taste any different. Well, they taste pretty similar to other Pockys. For the uninitiated, Pockys are little bread sticks coated with all manners of toppings. They are the opposite of Poares. Where do these stand in terms of the taste test? Click here to find out.

Rating - 7.5

Look

They looked like all other Pocky packaging, except there was Thai writing on the box! This one had a white background with blue writing. The milk coating was more cream than white, but otherwise the packaging was the same as any other Pocky. There was only 1 package in this pack.

Rating - 2

C-factor

27.5 g for 80 cents, I wonder how much they would be if they were made in Japan?

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

wheat flour 42%, sugar, 20%, palm oil 14%, milk powder 10%, lactose 6%, margarine 4%, calcium 3%

Available At

Asian Groceries

Uncle Tobys Plus - Wildberry

Taste

This is basically corn flakes with added fruit, and it was surprisingly tasty. The corn flakes tastes a little better than Kelloggs's but it was still pretty bland, but the wildberry really lifted the whole cereal to another level. The fruit were juicy and tangy. I would probably like a bit more of it pleasant.

Rating - 7.5

Look

I like the colour of the package, the purple matches the fruit. The flakes were less yellow than Kelloggs's. Like most other cereals, the plastic bag is not resealable.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Around $5-6 for a big box.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

cereal grains (55%)(corn, whole wheat, brown rice), sugar, oats, sultanas, berry fruit pieces 97.5%) [fruits (strawberry (2%), blueberry (1%), raspberry juice, red elderberry juice), sucrose, dextrose, humectant, vegetable gum, rice flour, wheat fibre, citric acid, flavours, mineral salts], salt, mixed berry juice concentrate, emulsifier, malt extract, minerals

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Sara Lee Banana Nut Muffin

Taste

I had no idea that Sara Lee actually made individual muffins, but there you go. I was attracted because of the word "banana" as I've had a craving for this for ages. The banana taste was unfortunately quite artificial, but the muffin was soft and the walnuts added great textural crunch. Now if only they used real bananas...

Rating - 5

Look

They came individually packaged in a clear and coloured wrap, so it was easy to eat and transport. The muffin itself has that uniformed, machine-made look and artificial colour though.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

120g for free, but I wouldn't buy it normally.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

sugar, wheat flour, banana puree (12%), egg, canola oil, walnuts (5%), fructose, syrup, emulsifiers, milk solids, salt, banana flavour, baking soda, vegetable gum, baking powder, preservative, vanilla flavour.

Available At

Somewhere

Copperpot Chunkies Dip

Taste

I'm a fan of Copperpot's double dips. So this time I tried the Hommus with kalamata & Cashews - a drier hommus with heavenly pieces of olives and small chunks of cashews. The olives were fresh and added the sour and salty texture to the dip. I also tried the Moroccan Hommus with cashew - again a drier hommus with similar pieces of cashews adding great texture and blended well with the chickpeas. The Moroccan spices added a subtle sweet and spicy kick that elevated this above other hommus.

Rating - Kalamata -8, Moroccan - 7.5

Look

They went for a very fun packaging instead of the classy look. Through the clear plastic container you can see the vivid colour of the dip. There are no artificial colour use so the colour is not very appealing. But you eat this for the taste and not the look right?

Rating - 2

C-factor

200g $4.30. More expensive than others, but then again, I think this is better than others.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - Kalamata -11, Moroccan - 10.5

Ingredients

Hommus with Kalamata & Cashews
chick peas (48%), cashews (19%), veg oil, kalamata olives (10%), tahini,
parmesan, garlic, vinegar, black pepper, lemon, preservative
Moroccan Hommus with Cashews
chick peas (54%), cashews 922%), veg oil, tahini, Parmesan, water, Moroccan
spice (2%), garlic, salt, vinegar, lemon juice, preservative

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Byron Bay Cookie Company - Butterscotch & Almond Shortbread

Taste

I think I am in love with Byron Bay Cookie Company cookies. Each one I have just keep getting better and better. These were buttery and crumbly, like any good shortbread should be, and with a great almond taste. It's really hard to stop at one.

Rating - 8

Look

As always, very innovative packaging. The box can be resealed very easily, however you will need to put these in a separate container once the plastic wrap is opened. I don't think there will be much left though.

The biscuits come in little heart shapes, in a pale cream colour, a great present for a loved one.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150g for $9.95 at DJs. This is a premium product, with no addictives added. Again, expensive, but totally addictive.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

butter, wheat flour, wheaten cornflour, sugar, almonds (8%), flavouring, salt

Available At

David Jones Food Hall
Website

Island Pure Kangaroo Island Natural Sheep Milk Yoghurt - Honey

Taste

Am I just lucky or is Australia blessed? I'm finding more and more yoghurt products that just keep getting better and better. For those who aren't familiar, Kangaroo Island is a small island off the coast of South Australia that is beginning to establish a name for itself for the quality of its local food produce. This yoghurt has a very strong sheep taste so if you don't like that, stay away, but if you do, then grab this and enjoy the creamy fresh taste, with just a hint of honey. This wasn't too heavy or too watery, it was just right!

Rating - 9

Look

The packaging could be worked on, consisting of a white tub with blue writing. The yoghurt though, is set in the tub, and looked as good as it tasted.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

500g for $5.99 is not expensive at all, especially because of the quality of the ingredients. I will be back for more.

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 12.5

Ingredients

sheep milk 96%, kangaroo island honey 4%, live yoghurt culture
thick natural yoghurt cultured in the pot.

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Wattle Valley Spicy Hommus

Taste

This offering is more runnier than I expected for hommus. I am a fan of their chunky dips but I'm not so sure about this one. The hommus is heavy with lemon juice, and I can't really taste enough nuttiness of the chickpeas. The addition of chilli is a good idea though, lifting the flavour of the hommus and giving it that little something extra.

Rating - 6

Look

Again, not a fan of the packaging, but the hommous itself looked rather creamy and pinkish, especially with the red chilli flakes throughout.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

200g for around $2.39

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

chick peas (45%), water, canola oil, sesame paste, lemon juice, white vinegar,
salt, garlic, red chilli flakes, preservatives, colours

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Australian Swiss Cheese

Taste

I have to say, a bit plastic like, but retaining the essence of Swiss cheese.

Rating - 6

Look

A pale yellow cream colour, with very small air pockets. It came wrapped in plastic with the Harris Farm label, not great for storing this at all.

Rating - 1

C-factor

11.99/kg is an ok price to pay. I think this is more suitable for cooking or filling sandwiches rather than to eat plain.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

milk, starter culture, rennet

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Paradiso

For Evelyn's farewell lunch, we chose Paradiso at the MLC Centre. I'd been here years ago, on a company sponsored lunch and quite enjoy the experience, so I was looking forward to another visit.

Food

The menu is made you of your typical cafe fare of burgers, pasta, fried items and a few special, with absolutely nothing a bit special or unique to offer. Nothing really caught my eye so I settled on the steamed salmon with steamed vegetables, grilled polenta and mustard sauce ($21). The salmon was fresh and moist, and of a good size. Because there was no marinade or anything added to it, you really get to taste that fishy salmon goodness. The polenta was grilled to perfection. But - and I blame myself for ordering a steamed dish - the carrots and beans were watery and tasteless, and the mustard sauce thinned by the water content of everything else on the plate. It was ok, but not great, but not bad. At least it was healthy.

Maybe I should have stuck to the more simple cafe fare as the burgers and fried calamari did look good. The pasta wasn't very appealing though, and they pitch themselves as an Italian joint?

There was a group there who was having some sort of set menu though, and that looked really good - seafood platters, pasta, garlic bread, crumbed prawns... so maybe we just ordered wrong.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

The last time I was here was in late summer, we dined Al Fresco and it was lovely. This time, it was very cold, windy and raining, so we sat inside. There was no protection from the element though, except for some clear plastic sheeting, which didn't really shield out the wind. The heaters were all facing the wrong way, so it wasn't a pleasant experience to stay.

A long counter alongside the bar area displays an array of cakes and slices. A very shiny TV plays silently in the corner. There were a lot of lunch groups. The special group also got tablecloth instead of the wooden tables and uncomfortable chairs we got.

Rating - 1

Service

They were quite good, knew just when to come to take orders. The food arrived in pretty good time and they asked us how we were. The only gripe from me was that they just assumed the male was going to pay. Even though I asked for the bill they delivered it to a male. When I handed them my credit card they handed it to another male in the group to sign. In this day and age I think they could pay a bit more attention to that aspect as it can get pretty embarrassing to assume who was paying.

Rating - 3

C-factor

We paid for Evelyn's meal so it worked out to be $25 pp. Maybe if the weather was better it would be ok. We didn't want to stay in that surrounding and got out of there pretty quickly. For what they are doing, I can think of a lot of places doing it better for a better price.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10.5

Info

Level 7
MLC Centre
Corner of King and Castlereagh Streets,
Martin Place
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9221 0527

Catalina Rose Bay

I've heard about Catalina for yonks, and even though it sounded nice, I could never justify going there because the food is in the $$$$$ range. If I was going to pay $50 for my main meal I would rather go to a 3 hats restaurant and not just for the location. So when the meal was company sponsored, I was very happy.

We were transferred by limos to the restaurant from the city. The restaurant was booked exclusively for this event, so we didn't have to share.

Food

On arrival, we were greeted with Bollinger and caprioska. I went for the potent stuff, and I have to say, they were very good. The quality of the vodka was top rate and the lime and sugar hit the spot. While downing my drinks, we were also offered a selection of canapes, the highlight for me were the fresh shucked oysters.

The bread roll that was placed at every table, like they do at functions, was nothing to write home about. The signature dish of Catalina house smoked salmon with a salad of avocado, blood orange and dill ($27.00) was great, ripe avocado mixed with a smoky salmon that really sings with flavour. The other entree was Vitello tonnato: veal fillet on potato gratin with tuna mayonnaise and rocket ($27.00) - also quite good, although the potato gratin was not as thin or crunchy because of the ingredients that were placed on top of it.

After some speeches from people I've never met about things I have no idea about, the mains arrived. The Roasted snapper fillet with potato and garlic mash; lemon caper butter ($40.00) was a bit colder and a bit more cooked than I would've liked, but I guess that is the way things are at functions. I have to say, for a seafood leaning restaurant, I thought this was pretty average. The fish was pretty high quality, but bland, and the mash didn't really go with the fish. The Grain fed beef tenderloin, sauteed baby spinach, chilli jam and onion rings ($39.00) suffered the same problem, the beef was only warm, the beef more cooked than I'd like, but the tenderloin was tender. The Steamed green beans ($8.00) were excellent, crunchy and buttery, ditto for the Rosemary roasted potatoes, crunchy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside.

More seat swapping and the first Christine Anu performance followed, before some great looking desserts arrived. The Vanilla Parfait with Poached Rhubarb and Kadaif ($17.00) was very creamy, and topped with that Persian fairy floss that people started calling hairballs. The Chocolate mousse with chestnut cream and chocolate sorbet ($17.00) came with some brown floss, so that looked even more like hair. The chocolate was very good quality, and this one was very very creamy too. They were washed down with some very good dessert wine.

By this stage the festivities were at full swings, with table hopping frequent. People started filling the dance floor to Christine's 2nd set. Waiters took our coffee orders, and my Vittoria Espresso Coffee Cappuccino ($4.50) was of the more bitter variety than the robust flavour I enjoy, however it was great accompaniment to the very sweet Petit Fours.

All in all, not spectacular food, but pretty great for a function style event.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

If it's not food you pay for here, it must surely be the view. Catalina is basically a pier with huge glass windows where you can look out at the water towards the city skyline. The restaurant was smaller than I thought, giving it an intimate feel. On this cold cold day, there was a real fire burning in one corner, a small illuminated bar, a dance floor that a couple of people made good use of, and a small area where Christine Anu (of Why Don't you Come Join my Party and My Island Home fame) and her 2 guitar accompanist played.

Everybody was dressed in their finest, the mood was upbeat and celebratory, and even the dreaded song, My Island Home sounded better as an acoustics version.

Rating - 3

Service

Other reviews often criticise Catalina on their service, but since this was a function, all the staff had to do was deliver the meals, and make sure all our drinks were filled. They did a commendable job on that, as you should for this type of restaurant. No one particularly good looking, so maybe all the stuck-up ones were fired?

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

If we ate here normally I would have to say that the experience isn't really worth the price - go to est or Tetsuyas instead! But seeing this was a free event, where I got to meet all new people, and having the whole restaurant to ourselves, it made you feel extra special and fabulous!

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 16

Info

Lyne Park
1 Sunderland Avenue
Rose Bay
NSW 2029
Phone (02) 9371 0555
Website

Ta Fong Noodle House

This is our "regular" and I am actually quite surprised I haven't been back until now. But on this hot Saturday, we could think of nowhere better than some good old reliable Asian fare.

Food

We started off with the old favourite, Rare beef noodle soup (pho) ($7.00). The stock has great depth of flavour and the noodles are thin and slippery. Add onions, bean sprouts and some beef, and it's proof that simple is often the best. Next came the Chicken rice Hai Nam style ($7.00). This one was not the best, the rice being oily and the chicken fatty, but that great Hai Nam taste was a bit faint. Pretty soon, the Fresh prawn and vegetable fried noodles ($9.80) arrived. I was surprised that a few prawns came with this, as well as an assortment of tin veges (bamboo shoots, mushrooms, baby corn). The noodles were fine, but the sauce too oily and rich, overpowering the dish. Well, they've saved the best for last, the Vermicelli sheet with fried braised pork and salad ($8.50) was even better than we've last tasted. You take the crispy and juicy pork grilled over coal, wrap it in lettuce, add an assortment of mints, carrots, cucumbers and vermicelli, and pour a liberal amount of the sweet and sour nuoc cham sauce over the mix. And bite!

We washed all these down with their signature homemade soy-bean drinks. I prefer the nutty taste of the black bean while Slokky likes the mild taste of the white bean.

Stick with the Vietnamese offerings and you will be rewarded. I can also highly recommend their hot pots.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

This is one of the more spacious place on the joint. It's certainly cleaner than its neighbours, but there's usually a crowd. Turnover is quite quick however so that shouldn't be a problem.

Decor is the usual cheap Asian chic, with wooden laminate tables, a huge assortment of condiments and utensils fight for table space with the thermos tea jugs.

There's an assortment of people here, families, couples, singles. All seem to enjoy themselves, and when it quiet downs, you can usually hear some soppy canton pop playing in the background.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The staff speak multiple languages. They handled our requests for small bowls, drinks...etc without any fuss. They were also very willing to explain how to eat the vermicelli wraps to us too.

Rating - 3

C-factor

All up, the bill came to $40.20. It's not the cheapest Asian around but they always offer above average food and pretty good service. That's why I keep going back. Add good company to that - bliss.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13

Info

12B Henley Rd,
Homebush West
NSW 2140
Phone (02) 9746 5486

Arnotts Chocolate selection

Taste

This mixed pack from Arnotts is made up of:

• Tim Tam
• Gaiety
• Mint Slice
• Chocolate Teddy Bear
• Chocolate Monte
• Caramel Crowns

My favourite is the Gaiety because of the layers of crunchy wafer and hazelnut cream, combined with smooth milk chocolate, just ashamed about the name. The least favourite is the Caramel Crowns because of well...the caramel. Overall though, a very good pack of biscuits.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Quite seductive, all dark and chocolaty. The biscuits are neatly divided in sections. The only problem? How to reach the ones on the other side of the opened end!

Rating - 2

C-factor

$6.61 for 400g. Worthy for an occasional treat.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Nestle Caramel Drumstick

Taste

I was a bit apprehensive when I went to Coles to stock up on Drumstick specials. However, when we got there, only the caramel flavour was left. First of all, readers of this blog will know that I am not a big fan of caramel, secondly, what's wrong with this flavour in that there's so much of this stock available but nothing for the other ones?

Luckily, I was surprised. The caramel was sweet, but it was crunchy and added great contrast to the smooth and creamy vanilla ice-cream.

Rating - 7.5

Look

I am not a fan, but the box does its job of keeping the ice-cream in good shape. I think over the years they've developed the packaging to a point where it is the easiest to eat an ice-cream cone.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

475 ml for $2.75 on special. Very good!

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

water, milk solids, sugar, vegetable fat, flour, glucose syrup, skim milk concentrate, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, emulsifier, malodextrin, vegetable gum, potato starch, flavours, malt, salt, mineral salt, colour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Kellogg's Cereal

Taste

Out of all of Kellogg's cereals, I only ever really liked Just Right. On my most recent tasting however, I've had a change of heart. Sustain now takes out the honour of the best Kellogg's cereal I've tasted. The reason for me is that both Just Right and Sustain are pretty similar (as you can see from their ingredients), but just sultanas are so boring. I don't know what it is with Corn Flakes, it is a bit like eating cardboard. They are bland and not even that crunchy. And they're not even that good for you! Special K is actually better than Corn Flakes, but only just. At least it's actually low fat.

Rating - Sustain - 6.5, Just Right - 6, Corn Flakes - 3, Special K - 3.5

Look

The packaging of each is distinctive of course, but really, there are much sexier packaging out there. And my pet hate is, you can never keep the cereals in the box once it's opened anyway.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

I never really got why cereals are so expensive. Maybe it's the large amount of processing the ingredients go through? For a large-sized box they cost between $5-6. I'd rather pay more for some wholesome muesli anyday.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - Sustain - 8, Just Right - 7.5, Corn Flakes - 4.5, Special K - 5

Ingredients

Sustain
cereals (69%) (wheat, corn, brown rice, rolled oats), fruit (14%) (sultanas, currants, dried apple), sugar, malt extract, sliced almonds (3%), wheatgerm, honey, salt vitamins, mineral, preservative
Just Right
cereals (69%0 (whole wheat, rolled oats, triticale), sultanas (17%), sugar, dried apricot piece (3.5%), malt extract, salt ,honey (0.1%), mineral, vitamins, preservative
Corn Flakes
corn (90%), sugar, malt extract, salt, vitamins, minerals
Special K
cereals (62%), [rice, wheat], wheat gluten, sugar, wheat flour, minerals [calcium carbonate, iron, zinc oxide], salt, barley malt extract, vitamins (niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folate)

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Chestnut Glutinous Rice "fruit" cake

Taste

We got pretty addicted to mochis when we were in Japan, so have been looking for a fill ever since we got back. However, the ones imported from Japan were all very expensive, so we decided to try the Taiwanese product instead. The outer was a bit tougher than the Jap ones, but still pleasant. I can't really taste the chestnut filling, but the sweet sticky mess was ok, blending nicely with the glutinous outer.

Rating - 7

Look

Not as cool as the Jap version, the colour scheme is just tacky, and the drawings aren't cute enough! However, they still came individually wrapped for convenience.

Rating - 2

C-factor

300g for around $8, still expensive, but believe me, a lot cheaper than those made in Japan.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

black glutinous rice, sugar, maltose, jams, sorbitol, starch, natural flavours, emulsifier

Available At

Asian stores

Connoisseur Peachy Mango Perfection

Taste

Yet another supermarket product aim at the "high-end" of the market. The range from PB Foods also include ice-creams and desserts. I am a fan of their ice-cream, but I was very disappointed with this yoghurt offering. The peach flavour tastes very fake, the yoghurt was not thick or creamy enough, and there was so little of the peach and mango in this product! Very disappointing. The only thing that is good is that it is not as sweet as some other fruit yoghurts on the market.

Rating - 5.5

Look

Sexy black container with a curvy font. The twin-pack made it very easy to eat.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

2 * 150g for $2.60 at Coles. I wouldn't buy this at full price.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

milk, peach mango fruit sauce 17%, cream, milk solids non fat, sugar, thickener, flavour, halal gelatine, emulsifiers, colours, cultures

Available At

Coles
Website

Michels Patisserie Cake

Taste

For a farewell today, we had a White Chocolate Celebration ganache from Michels. First off, just in case you haven't figured this out by now, let me get this out. I don't like white chocolate! So that's one strike for the cake. The outside is covered with cream, then with little white chocolate button. The inside is a vanilla pound cake. The cake was average - not quite dense or light, not quite dry but not that moist. If you pair it with the chocolate outer it gives a pleasant texture. The problem was, the cream and white chocolate was just revolting, really sweet, with none of the melt-in-your-mouth quality to the chocolate. What's more, it made you feel quite full after 1 slice because of the heavy cream.

On a b'day celebration, we had the Caramel Mud Cake which is more my cup of tea. In my opinion, it's the best cake from Michels. The sweet caramel topping mingled with buttery and moist mud cake. It wasn't as heavy as the cream, but one slice is definitely enough.

The next occasion, I tried were the Carrot cake ($26), very dark in colour, with a great nutty taste, and the cream cheese frosting was top rate. The Baked chocolate cheese cake ($24) was not too cheesy or chocolaty, a good cake to please everyone, but not me!

And another farewell, this time I got to choose the cake. My choice of the Apple & Rhubarb Crumble ($14.90) was the best thing I have tasted from Michels so far. The crumble mix was so crunchy and buttery, and the filling was not too sweet but still moist. The Chocolate Vanilla Deluxe Mousse Cake ($25.90 for medium) – chocolate and vanilla sponge with layers of chocolate mousse was not so great. It fell to the too sweet category again, and the sponge was really try and tasteless

Rating - Celebration - 3, Caramel - 7, Carrot -7, Chocolate Cheese - 5, Apple Crumble - 7.5, Mousse - 3

Look

The White Chocolate Celebration was not the most imaginative, white icing with shavings of milk chocolate in the centre, as well as a red rose. It certainly looked better than it tasted though.

The Caramel Mud Cake came with that nutty creamy colour, with Happy Birthday written in chocolate and little chocolate pieces on top, a winner.

The Carrot Cake was huge, and smothered with cream cheese and flakes of almond>

The Chocolate Cheese was beautiful, a swirl of brown and white.

Rating - Celebration - 0.5, Caramel - 1, Carrot - 1.5, Chocolate Cheese - 1.5

C-factor

$19.90 for a large sized Celebration, and $23.90 for the caramel Mud, $26 for carrot and $24 for chocolate cheese. $14.90 for the crumble and $25.90 for the mousse. Ok only 'cos it's free.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - Celebration - 4, Caramel - 8.5, Carrot - 8.5, Chocolate Cheese - 6.5, Apple Crumble - 9, Mousse - 4

Available At

Michels Patisserie
Website

Glico Poare - Banana Custard

Taste

To the uninitiated, a Poare is a thin wafer stick, a bit like a straw, with the hollow inside filled with a chocolate like substance. This one, a banana custard, was the best of all the Poares and Pockys flavour I've tried, with the exception of black sesame of course. (See my Pocky Ranking). The custard has this sweetness that is very appropriate, and the smell of vanilla really complements the flavour. As always, I love the crunchy outer shell. The only problem is, once you eat one, it's hard to stop until you've finished the whole pack.

Rating - 8

Look

All Japanese products come with their cleaver packaging of course, and this one is of no exception. The cardboard box opens to reveal 2 individually sealed foil packages. So not only do they taste great, they look great.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

We got this 68g pack in Canada, which imported it from Japan, so I guess it's travelled a long way to get to my stomach.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

wheat flour, sugar, lactose, vegetable oil, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, dried egg yolk, condensed milk, shortening, salt , dextrin, soya lecithin, flavour, sodium bicarbonate, natural colour, citric acid

Available At

Large Asian and Japanese stores. Failing that, try just about any shop in Japan.

Pocky Chart

After our quest to try all the Pocky flavours in Japan, I've compiled this list of favourites.

CC

1. black sesame
2. poare banana custard
3. Mens
4. poare chocolate custard
5. soy
6. coconut
7. green tea
8. melon
9. almond
10. taro
11. pine

Slok

1. melon
2. black sesame
3. Mens
4. poare chocolate custard
5. green tea
6. milk
7. almond
8. coconut
9. soy
10. pine