Walkers Fruit & Lemon Biscuits

Taste

These Walker's biscuits are really scrummy. There's a fresh lemon tang and some juicy raisins, with crunchy and crumbly biscuits. It's not shortbread but I may say it's even better!

Rating - 8

Look

It comes in the trademark red and black checkered box. The biscuits are contained in their own compartment, then sealed in foil. The biscuits look all lemony and cute with little specks of raisins.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150 g for $5.95 from DJs. A bit exy but they are imported from Scotland.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

wheat flour, sugar, currants (13%), butter, vegetable oils, lemon peel (3%), skimmed milk powder, raising agents, lemon oil, salt

Available At

David Jones Food Hall
Website

King Island Surprise Bay Cheddar

Taste

This is not that strong, not that salty, not that sweet, quite middle of the road really. One thing I command them for is the great balance in flavour they have achieved.

Rating - 7.5

Look

This is covered in a pleasent looking red wax. The cheese itself is very light in colour.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$29.99/kg is quite expensive for the type of cheese it is.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 9.5

Ingredients

pasteurised milk, salt, enzyme (rennet), cultures

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Hastings Valley Dairy Country style Yoghurt

Taste

I tried a few different products from their range. The lemon myrtle & honey set the precedence. The subtle sweetness of the lemon myrtle combined well with the honey and vanilla yoghurt. It was a bit different, tasting a bit like ice-cream. The honey & walnut met my high expectations. The walnut a bit more subtle than lemon but adding a bit of spiciness. Lastly, the country biscuit reminds me of cookies & cream ice cream. The sweetness of the biscuits went quite well with the creamy yoghurt. The yoghurt itself was thick and creamy, but this is helped along by the addition of gelatine.

Not long after that, I had the pleasure of trying some non-Australian flavours, Apricot lite - which was not very spectacular at all, tasting like all the other apricots, except thankfully, less sweet, and Vanilla and Hazelnuts which had very little hazelnut or vanilla taste at all. I was disappointed after such success with the Aussie flavours.

Rating - Aussie flavours - 7.5, Others - 6

Look

The yoghurt is set in its own tub, and looks quite creamy. The lid is reseable, but I finished all of mine in one go ;p

Rating - 2

C-factor

200g $1.30, quite good value for a "boutique" yoghurt.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - Aussie flavours - 10.5, Others - 9

Ingredients

lemon myrtle & honey

whole milk, cream, skim milk powder, sugar, honey (5%), thickener, gelatine, vegetable gums, dried lemon myrtle, live culture

country biscuit

whole milk, skim milk powder, sugar, cream biscuit preparation (sugar, rolled oats, coconut desiccated, oat bran, malt extract powder), thickener, natural identical flavours, vegetable gums, gelatine, food acid, natural colour, live culture

Apricot

skim milk, whole milk, fruit preparation, skim milk powder, thickener, nature
identical flavours, vegetable gums, gelatine, food acid, natural colour, live
culture, min 5% apricot

Available At

Coles
Website

Castellini Hungarian Salami

Taste

Very strong, almost overpowering. There is a sharp sour taste, with fat distributed throughout. The pepper kick is quite strong.

Rating - 6

Look

This comes like a fat sausage, it's hard to slice into pieces, and harder to keep once it's opened. The deep red of the meat looks very inviting though.

Rating - 1

C-factor

300g for $4.99. Not great.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 7

Ingredients

meat (96%), salt, soy protein, spices, dextrose, lactose, food acids, mineral salts, antioxidant, sodium nitrate, starter culture

Available At

Harris Farm Markets
Website

Quadrant Restaurant

We were off to see the lovely Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Opera House. Being a Sydneysider, I'd never tried the row of restaurants along "the toaster". On this occasion though, I thought I would show off Sydney. There was a storm brewing, so I chose to sit indoors instead, so that's how we found ourselves at Quadrant Restaurant.

Food

We decided to take up the Pre-Theatre Menu, of 1 course + glass of wine for $35. There were only 3 choices on the menu, so we picked the beef medallion with sauteed spinach on a potato puree, which had the most tender beef I have tasted for a long time, although it was cooked a bit passed the medium I specified, with a lovely rich wine reduction sauce on the potato puree. Viv's pork fillet, caramelized apple, prune and armangac was equally lovely. The pork was tender, the meat sweet and mild, so that the stronger accompaniment of apple and prunes was not overwhelming the pork.

Our accompanying wines were fine but not anything flashy. The bread roll was a safe choice of a soft white roll, but some good butter.

We were having such a good time discussing everything that we decided we had time for dessert. We shared the coconut and mango bombe alaska, raspberry coulis ($16). Those who know me will know that I am not a fan of meringue, so I automatically have a dislike of the outer shell of this dessert. In saying that though, it looked so spectacular with that white dome with browned side sitting in the middle of a pool of red sauce. The inside filling tastes, I have to say, like a weiss bar. It was a bit too sweet for my taste so I'm glad we shared.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Well, we did dine on a Monday night, aka "stay at home night", so the restaurant was very quiet. The only other people out and about were tourists. Towards the end of the night we did see a couple of family groups around, but that was it. The restaurant is quite small but very nice, all white tablecloth and formal service, somehow it didn't fit with the type of people going there though.

We were seated in a corner besides the window, where we got a view across Circular Quay and was a great spot for people watching.

Rating - 2

Service

Very polite and "correct". Well, considering they had two waiters serving a room of about 10 people, I expect them to be on the balls. We had no problems with anything at all.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

$35 for a main and wine, is ok considering the location and that they are using good produce. A normal main course there costs >$30 normally. Enjoying the time with an old friend I haven't seen for a long time? As they say, priceless.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 14

Info

Level 2, Quay Grand Suites Sydney
61 Macquarie Street
East Circular Quay
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9256 4000
Website

Janani 2

I am actually quite surprised that I haven't been back here again until now, but so many restaurants, so little time, and so little money...but better late than never, so here I am!

Food

It's great to see that every time I come they seem to add more on the menu, but I decided that it was time to revisit an old favourite. The Masala dosai ($6) was as good as I remembered it to be. A crunchy lentil pancake encases some seriously morish spicy potato mixture. The silver tray also contained - green yoghurt stuff, orange sauce, 2 soupy thing. All accompanied of course by my favourite plain lassi ($3.50). Dad picked his usual Vegetable Thali - Palin rice & Puri with 5 Vege. curries curd,pickle,pappadam and other specials - ($8.50) offering. The curries were great as usual, the standout this time was actually the one with cheese! The food was a standout as usual.

Rating - 8

Atmosphere

Well, it looks like thsoe renovations have finished. There is now a plasma in the room showing those Bollywood movies instead of that small TV! Otherwise, things are the same. We chose to sit outside this time, and got to see the guy sitting behind us consume 2 entrees, a main and a Naan all by himself. Considering how huge the meals usually are, it's an amazing acheivement!

Rating - 1.5

Service

Well, it was busier this time, so we found the service pretty slow. The food was a bit slower than usual (but was still only about 10 minutes). Service is not one of their strongest points but I am so familiar with this palce that I can almost serve myself, almost.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Still cheap as chips for good hearty food. Dining al frescho was great, and the best thing is watching everyone else eat.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

32 Burlington Rd
Homebush
NSW 2140
Phone (02) 9763 2306
Website

Bond Cafe

Bond is an old favourite for the work set, I come here regularly for coffee. It's the first time I've tried lunch though.

Food

Bond actually pitches itself at the high end of the cafe market, with main course prices in the mid 20s. I ordered the tuna ($27.90), which was actually quite beautifully cooked, to medium as requested. The tuna rested on top of a bed of crunchy potato mash, with a creamy orange and green sauce. We accompanied this by some ordinary white Woodfire bread served with extra virgin olive and balsamic ($4.50) - which I can't believe we had to pay so much money for so little quality. The Potato fries ($6) were shoestring, so not my favourite, but were passable. At least they were crunchy and not dried.

The others seem to like their mains, so it has led me to conclude that the mains are good, but they skim on bread...but since I love bread so much, not performing even adequately in this department means that I have to dock points from them.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

This place is always filled with corporate types. The setting is very casual, white laminated tables, quite closely placed together, with the only section offering a bit of privacy being those seated on the banquettes near the semi-open kitchen. There is a footpath dining section, but that gets filled pretty quickly too.

The furnishing is very safe, and looks like other typical cafes, I wish they'll go for more though.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Well, the staff do a lot of things wrong, like making our table too small to accommodate 7, forgetting my order, to not knowing the etiquette. They redeem themselves though, by fixing any problems quickly and apologising sincerely whenever something happens.

The regulars here also get special treatment, and everyone always seem happy about the place. It certainly helps a lot if you are having a bad day.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

The mains are about on par. The coffee and the extras are too expensive, especially for a casual place in the city, and with so much competition around.

Having lunch with great company though was all worth it, especially when I can delay my return to evil boss and hell work.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

111 Phillip St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9223 9332
Website