Monday, April 30, 2007

Boost Juice 4

Taste

The Chilli Raspberry is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I think the hint of chilli really adds something extra special to this, and of course it’s extra warming. My only issue with this is that it's more icy, like a slurpie really, than a smoothie.

Rating - 7

Look

Sensationally deep pink in colour, otherwise, like all the other Boost products really.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

R.R.P. is $5.50, but only for a limited time.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9.5

Available At

Boost Juice Bar
Website

Ratu Sari Indonesian Restaurant

Anzac Parade Kensington is the little Indonesia of Sydney. We wanted to eat at Ayam Goreng 99, but it was packed to the brim, so we headed next door, to the much more upmarket, and (hence) less packed Ratu Sari instead.

Food

The food contains your typical Indo dishes, as well as some more unusual offerings. We’d already fuelled up a bit beforehand, so were only looking for a light feed. There are items on the menu to cater for all. I chose the Soto Ayam ($8) – sliced chicken, potatoes & sprouts in a unique coconut milk soup. The serving was smaller than I expected, and tasted very much like a gravy like broth. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but there was not really any complexity in flavour like Thai cuisine. The chicken was a bit dry and tough, but was ok once you soften it in the broth.

Slokky’s Lontong Sayur ($10.50) – rice cakes with taucho tofu, lodeh vegetables, peanuts & egg in spicy coconut milk, served with rending beef. Don’t ask me what “taucho” tofu and “lodeh” vegetables are, because I can’t really tell. The sauce on this one is better, with some spicy and sour notes. The rice cakes are really that, like glutinous rice stuck together, and were not very big on texture or taste. There were only 2 mouthful of rending, and that was pretty tender and the sauce was good, if only there were more.

All in all, the food was ok, just very unexciting. They got some pretty good reviews from SMH though, so maybe we just ordered wrong? Well, I'm not going to find out as there are just too many other restaurants to try.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Well, it’s basically like a low-class restaurant trying to act high class. What I mean is that they try to create the designer look (square white plates, stainless steel, decoration), but they used such cheap imitation, it just looks tacky. I think I would accept this place if they were really bare and basic, as I would take it as it is. It was trying to be upper class, with the prices to match, but the quality just isn’t there. Above all, it doesn’t matter whether you are the most expensive restaurant or the cheapest, serving stuff on chipped plates is NOT acceptable.

If you want to escape the student crowd though, you’re better off choosing this place, as there were more "older" people and families here. For me, give me the atmosphere of the students and the prices to match any day!

Rating - 0.5

Service

Well, they weren’t rude, but they weren’t polished, pretty much reflects the atmosphere of pretending to be something better than it is.

Rating - 3

C-factor

It’s a pretty cheap feed, but the portions aren’t very big and the quality not that great.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10

Info

470 Anzac Pde
Kingsford
NSW 2032
Phone (02) 9662 8788

Scorpios Taverna

Slokky’s mum has been raving about this restaurant for ages and ages, so I was pretty excited to go along…

Food

This is very traditional Greek stuff, with nothing out of the ordinary on the menu. We started off with 3 starters, but because of their small sizes, actually had to order more. One of the things that was raved about was Tzatziki - natural yoghurt, garlic & cucumber dip ($8), accompanied by aniseed bread. Before we’d even got the dish though, the waiter asked if we wanted more bread to go with the dip, so they obviously knew that there wasn’t enough bread included. Why do people do that? Why don’t they just supply the right amount of bread? The dip itself was good, with a tangy hit of yoghurt and fresh crunchy cucumber. The bread was excellent, fragrant with aniseed and fresh from the oven.

As we’d polished off that dish so quickly, we ordered the Taramosalata - fish roe and potato dip ($8), this time with added aniseed bread ($3.50). This one was actually my favourite, not too salty and also not too fishy either, it has a creamy taste.

The rest of the entrees were made up of marithes - white bait seasoned and lightly fried with oregano & extra virgin olive oil ($12) - the batter was average, the whitebait not that fat, but the serving was very small. The BBQ Octopus - marinated octopus barbequed ($15) was chargrilled just right so that there is a bit of "char" coating the outside. It’s nice and juicy, not too chewy inside.

The mains were not as good as the entrees. Another rave dish, the Scorpio's Greek Lamb - tender portions of seasoned lamb slowly roasted served with lemon oregano potatoes, vegetables and a side serving of tzatziki ($24), was a disappointment. I was expecting some very soft lamb that fell off the bone, instead, I got some soft lamb in an average tasting sauce. I wasn’t a fan of the lemon potatoes – what’s the point? The rest of the vegetables were sweet.

The Oregano - chicken pan fried with white wine, lemon & oregano served with grilled eggplant with a cream and mushroom sauce ($23). Well, the chicken was totally overpowered by the very creamy sauce. It wasn’t too bad as the chicken wasn’t that special and the cream sauce was nice. I prefer my food to taste more like chicken than just the sauce though. The eggplant was soft and melting.

The best of the bunch was the Moussaka - layers of eggplant, zucchini, potato, minced beef, béchamel sauce and kefalograviera cheese served with side salad. It was simple, classic stuff, and I could taste the "Greek" in it.

We had no room for dessert, after the birthday cake. We sampled their cappuccino ($3.50) which was nothing to write home about.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Situated at the end of the shopping strip in Annadale, I really like the fitout of this place. The place is modern yet warm, with candid pictures and random objects scattered around the room. Apparantly it has been newly renovated, and it shows. There is a small but smart bar at the front, also a semi-stage where they have a band playing on Friday and Saturday nights. On this particular Tuesday the restaurant was about a quarter full, with locals and small groups. Everyone was having a very good time and there is certainly a buzz about the place. When the band plays though, you can’t hear a thing as the room is only small.

Rating - 2.5

Service

I don't know if it's the Greeks or what, but this is definitely not a place to go to if you want some privacy. It’s a family run restaurant, but they were trying just a little too hard. I don’t think it’s appropriate to not only ask my age, but all the other personal details on the first meeting. They were way too enthusiastic on the birthday singing, and managed to get themselves in about five of the “family photos”. There was definitely major sucking up going on, and I can tell Slokky’s mum lapped it up. Of course she liked them because they kept praising her on her family and work. I, on the other end, can see through their ploy. I can’t stand people who are not sincere.

Rating - 3

C-factor

It’s a neighbourhood restaurants, but the prices are certainly not cheap. I just can’t believe I travel all that way for Greek when I could have got much better closer to home. If it was my local though, I would go there occasionally, when I don’t feel like driving somewhere for better Greek.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 12

Info

125 Johnston Street
Annandale
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9660 7245
Website

Friday, April 27, 2007

Lotus Brand Tapioca Chips

Taste

They are a bit oily, even for chips. However, the texture and flavour are certainly superior to normal chips. They are thicker, and has a slight chilli taste. The chips also has a bit of sweetness to it.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Exciting, a bit deeper than normal chips, these have a golden tint with a hint of burnt brown on the edges. The packaging is slightly upper class too.

Rating - 2

C-factor

275g for $2, is an ok price to pay.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

tapioca, salt, cooking oil, chilli

Available At

Asian grocers

Alpine Natural Goats Milk Yoghurt

Taste

Not everyone’s cup of tea, I know. I had some excellent Sheeps Milk yoghurt before, so was very keen to try this. There is definitely a very strong goats taste, but the yoghurt is not as smooth or creamy as I would like, probably has something to do with not using any artificial ingredients. At least I know it’s very good for me.

Rating - 6.5

Look

It’s set in tub as well. The yoghurt is quite white and a bit watery. The label could be a bit more attractive.

Rating - 1

C-factor

500g for $6.99, I think is too expensive to pay, goodness and all.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

whole goat milk, live lactobacillus acidophilius, difidobacteria and s.
Themophilus cultures

Available At

Harris Farm Market
Website

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Breaka Iced Coffee


Taste

I was quite surprised, since this iced coffee from Parmalat is made with UHT milk instead of fresh milk, but it flared much better than their fresh counterparts.

Rating - 6.5


Look

In an easy to carry, easy to consume popper pack. Being UHT means there’s no refrigeration needed either, but it tastes so much better cold.

Rating - 1.5


C-factor

250mL

Rating - 1


Swiss Points - 9



Ingredients

whole milk (95%), sugar, coffee powder (0.5%)


Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Farmers Union Greek Style Natural Yoghurt


Taste

I wasn’t impressed with their European style yoghurt but this is much better. This is pretty creamy and thick and suitably sour.

Rating - 6.5


Look

Boring, the box is not at all attractive, and the lid doesn’t sit very well. The yoghurt itself is a slight off-white. They really should try to sex this up.

Rating - 0.5


C-factor

500g for $ 3.39

Rating - 1


Swiss Points - 8



Ingredients

skim milk, cream, milk solids non fat, live yoghurt culture


Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Jackman & McRoss Bakery


This is my favourite bakery in the whole world. I would, and have in the past, travel to Hobart especially for this place. I was only here for a short short visit, but there’s no way I’m going to leave without visiting, and taking away a bunch of goodies too.

Food

There’s a small lunch menu, as well as blackboard specials, with pies dominating, and it should, as they make the best pastries ever. I wanted to get the scallop pie but unfortunately it wasn’t on the menu, so I settled for the blackboard special of Braised rabbit pie topped with prunes and nuts stuffing ($8.50). This came in a ramekin, with pink pieces of soft rabbit (a little bit more gamey but otherwise is like chicken) and a top overflowing with a sweet and crumby topping.

PM enjoyed the steak & Guinness pie ($6.50) which he declared was ”The best pie I’ve had for a long time”.

For takeaway, I stocked up on:

  • quince and pomegranate tart ($6.50) - contained a heavenly pie crust that was not too soggy but not too hard. The custard filling was scented with vanilla and matched the sweet and sour taste of the poached quinces that still had bite. More importantly, it looked spectacular!
  • polenta special ($6.50) - a cheesy polenta tart smeared with bitey pesto, topped with a raw capsicum with bite, roasted pumpkin, sweet juicy Huon Valley mushroom and a piece of great cheese. Tasmania at its best.
  • honey and seeded rye ($4.60) - nutty flavour with a hint of sweetness, the brown crust has been coated in toasted sesame seeds and the inside is still fluffy and soft, and a bit dense.
  • biscotti ($5.50) - they use very good quality ingredients. You can actually taste the difference. The almond come in bigger pieces than usual. This one is something you really have to dunk to get the full effect.

Rating - 8.5

Atmosphere

This is located along the pretty Hampden Rd, lined with restored historic houses. Jackman & McRoss is in one of those restored houses. The front has been painted black, with one room holding the front counter of their amazing cake displays, as well as the freshly baked bread, muffins, brioche, and their tempting varieties of pies. The adjoining two rooms contain little round tables, much like a Parisian café. The whole setting is of posh country town. There were several people walking their dogs, and various locals, as well as businessmen, who all stop by for a break, relaxing in the open dining room.

We took a seat by the window and watched the local traffic walk by, and people who have left their dogs outside.

Rating - 3

Service

They are almost constantly busy, but it’s one of those places. The service was very prompt. In fact, we’d only just sat down and started looking at the menu when they came to take our order. Otherwise, it’s very casual, you have to go to the counter and pay, and it’s cash only.

Rating - 3

C-factor

It’s certainly not cheap. With bread starting at around $4, pies and tarts from $6, but the quality is certainly top rate.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 16

Info

57-59 Hampden Rd
Battery Point
TAS 7004
Phone (03) 6223 3186

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Cadbury Eden Assorted Chocolates, Milk, Hazelnut & Dark Chocolate Selection


Taste

This is Cadbury’s attempt to enter the high class chocolate market, and they failed spectacularly. The chocolate outside tastes just like Cadbury Dairy Milk, and the filling, well, I couldn’t tell the difference between the dark and the milk, and the hazelnut had more sugar than nuts. I’ve read some gushing girly mags reviews about this so I was very disappointed, especially considering the price.

Rating - 3

Look

Well, it certainly looks more sophisticated and grown up, with its dark brown box and seductive wrapping. Unfortunately, it’s a case of not judging a book by its cover.

Rating - 2

C-factor

138g of 9 pieces of chocolate for $9.95. It’s actually more expensive than some Belgium stuff. Save your money.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 5

Ingredients

Milk Chocolate (44%) (Sugar, Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Malt Powder (Barley), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, 476), Salt, Flavour), Milk Chocolate Centre (24%) (Milk Chocolate (75%) (Sugar, Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Malt Powder (Barley), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, 476), Salt, Flavour), Vegetable Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)), Dark Chocolate (21%) (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk Solids, Cocoa Powder, Flavour, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, 476)), Hazelnut Chocolate Centre (11%) (Milk Chocolate (50%) (Sugar, Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Malt Powder (Barley), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, 476), Salt, Flavour), Hazelnut Paste (45%) (Hazelnut (83%), Sugar, Cocoa Powder), Vegetable Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)). Milk Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 32% Milk Solids 26%, Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 59%

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Ricola Swiss Herb Drops


Taste

These new herb drops from Ricola are advertised as sugarfree and contains 13 natural swiss herbs. I don't know how beneficial this was for me, but I taste quite a bit of lemon in the Elderflowers. It is certainly much better than a cough drop and is not bad as a lolly. So if it's good for me? All the better. The cranberry was great too, somewhat different.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Healthy, I suppose, it's orange brown in colour, and the packaging is purple with all these herb looking plants.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

This was a trial pack.

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

elderflower

isomalt, acid,k extracts of elderflowers and Ricola's herb mixtures, concentrated lemon juice, sweeteners, flavourings, fruit and plant preparations

cranberry

Isomalt, acid, concentrated cranberry juice, extract of Ricola’s herb mixture, concentrated black chokeberry juice, sweeteners, flavourings

Available At

Yarragon Country Style Bakery Potato Bread


Taste

There were quite a few appealing choices available, including some delectable looking hot cross buns, but I thought that since I was in potato country, I might as well get the potato bread. This soft load was baked to golden brown, with a very generous dusting of maize. The bread has a little nutty caramel taste, but no particular potato taste. This is very scrumptious!

Rating - 8

Look

As described, very beautiful. And getting this from a traditional bakery in a little country town makes it that much more special.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$2.70 for a round loaf, is actually very good value!

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 12

Ingredients

Available At

Yarragon Country Style Bakery
127 Prices Hwy
Yarragon
VIC 3823
Phone (03) 5634 2722

Neesie's Cafe Grill

This was our first foray to eat real food (i.e. not fast food) at World Square. We settled on Neesie's Grill because of the huge grill display they have at the front, and because this looked like a casual place with lots of seatings!

Food

The food was surprisingly good for a casual cafe place. The menu consists of standard cafe fare but with a leaning towards grill items, obviously.

I had the Flame Grilled Scotch Fillet - served on a freshly baked baguette with lettuce, tomato and 1000 island dressing with Caesar salad ($15.95). The meat was juicy, a bit more cooked than I like, but it was still tender. Most importantly, it had that charred taste. This came on a soft white roll, with a Thousand Island type dressing. The Caesar salad contained some generous pieces of chicken, crunchy croûtons, but the sauce was kinda like the thousand island one again, nice, but I wanted something more.

Slokky ordered the Chicken Burger with cheese and chips ($6.95). Again, another winner. The soft white bun was softly grilled, the chicken fillet was marinated in a slightly spicy mix and grilled to perfection. The meat was still juicy. The chips were not too fat and not too thin and not too exciting.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Casual and cool. You can watch grilled meat if that's your fancy. Little ottomans and funny shaped stools make up the decor, with white laminate tables and a banquette along one side. There are a few (not many) mags and newspaper to keep you occupied.

Rating - 2

Service

I won't call them the waiter, but the girl behind the counter was just a little rude. She was ok, she had to assemble the salads herself. There's not too much thought that's gone into the service. They delivered the food but didn't give us cutlery. Then they didn't offer us sauce to go with our chips, so we had to get it ourselves. They didn't offer us any water at all. These are little things that really makes a difference.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Quite cheap for the food you get. I guess there's much more competition down this side of down.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

World Square
Cnr George and Liverpool Streets
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9283 0043
Website

Saturday, April 21, 2007

France Soir


This place came highly recommended from a Melbourne colleague, and on this Easter Sunday, as we were driving along Toorak Rd and saw that there were some empty tables (this place is usually fully booked), we knew it was faith.

Food

France Soir was awarded one hat in The Age Good Food Guide 2006. We were keen to try this place out for a couple of reasons:

  • the recommendation
  • to compare hatted restaurants in Sydney to the same ranking in Melbourne
  • there are no good traditional French in Sydney
Let me elaborate on the last point. Oh, Sydney does modern French quite well, in fact, a lot of our hatters, Bilsons, Claudes, Marque, are all French. But if you are hankering for that piece of classic (or cliché as some might put it) French bistro style dish, all you can get is The Little Snail, and you all know I don't have good things to say about that place.

Like a typical French bistro, we were delivered some baguettes with butter as soon as we walked in the door. The bread was soft and crunchy, quite well done. We began our French experience with Duck foie gras (50g) with toasted bread ($35). We'd never tried foie gras before. It was pretty great. The "meat" was very gamey and has that wild aroma. The texture is very smooth but not jelly like. It's hard to describe really. This was served on some small pieces of toasted white sandwich bread. There wasn't enough bread to share around the richness of the foie gras. In the word of Iron Chef, and now the verdict. Would I pay that price for foie gras? No.

For the other entree, we went with the less extravagant Tripes au riesling ($17.50) - Tripe in a tomato & Riesling sauce. The tripe was cooked until soft but still with a bit of bite, the sauce was garlicky and aromatic, a perfect foil with the tripes. So simple and done so well - which sums up the experience really for everything that follows.

The Filet de boeuf béarnaise (250g) ($32.50) - Thick eye fillet with béarnaise sauce was a classic and a winner. The beef was of good quality, charred to medium-rare as requested, and well rested and juicy. The béarnaise was a classic. A little sweet and a little sour, this paired perfectly with the steak and was sublime with the crunchy French fries.

The waiter recommended a special of pork cutlet with a potato galette ($43). A massive piece of pork chop arrived, with a fantastic stock-based sauce. The meat was medium and succulent, and the potato galette cheesy and creamy. There was a little bit of greens there for decoration purposes more than anything, as I am sure I ingested enough calories to last me the week, but it was definitely worth it.

We thought there weren’t going to be enough vegetables so we also ordered Green Beans ($7). We need not have worried about the vegetables, and the beans were good but not great.

Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to fit in one of their classic French dessert…

Rating - 8

Atmosphere

Typical French bistro feel. The place was dark, with a huge front bar, displaying desserts as well as bottles, occupying the room. Luckily it was not that busy a night as the tables were VERY VERY close together. We had to squeeze in between the tables and even then, we could hear the conversation a few tables away (and no they weren’t shouting). Maybe it’s because of this, and those waiters, that lends a certain “je ne sais quoi” kinda charm to this place. There are a few French memorabilia around the room, posters of old French movies and old champagne bottles. Menus are written on the mirrors (in French only) and the music is very cool.

Rating - 2

Service

All the wait staff (who, incidentally, are almost all male) are French, or at least speak French. You have got to love a waiter with a French accent, even if they don’t provide the service you want. Luckily these waiters not only sound good, they do their jobs.

Not as well as you would expect from a one-hatter admittedly (water not refilled, dishes not cleared on time), but I think everyone probably writes it off as being French. All part of the experience really.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

For the massive and tasty meals and the fun, it was worth the money. It’s certainly cheaper than eating in Sydney.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 15

Info

11 Toorak Rd
South Yarra
VIC 3142
Phone (03) 9866 8569
Website

Friday, April 13, 2007

Vaalia Yoghurt


Taste

It's been awhile since I've had Vaalia, as my last experience wasn't that good, and of course it took me a long while to come back, but on this try, I was pleasantly surprised. The passionfruit and mango - was a bit light on the fruit, with it all tasting a bit artificial. I was impressed with the great consistency of the smooth and creamy yoghurt. The vanilla blueberry was better, the blueberry being less sweet (although not that juicy) and allowing the natural vanilla taste to shine though.

They are low GI and contain live cultures.

Rating - 6

Look

In the distinct green and cream packaging, they can't be mistaken for any other yoghurt on the shelf. The twin-share packs are quite handy for traveling or to consume in one sitting.

Rating - 2

C-factor

4 * 150g packs for $4.19

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

vanilla blueberry

skim milk, milk, milk solids, sugar, water, blueberry (3%), insulin, maize thickener, gelatin, flavours, food acids, live yoghurt cultures

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Jarrah Chocolatte


Taste

I thought this might be another one of those watery chocolate mixed drink. Well, yes and no. Yes - the texture was thin, not like the thick creamy velvety feel of real hot chocolate. No - there was a rich chocolate taste, with little chunks of chocolates. I was surprised that this only contained cocoa powder.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Great. Lovely package, easy to use. Rip and mix, no mess and no fuss. The end result was creamy and

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

1 serve of 11.5g

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

milk solids (49%), glucose solids, cocoa (17%), vegetable oil, mineral salts, salt, vegetable gum, sweetener, flavour, antioxidant

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Fresh cuts Baby Mesclun Blend

Taste

We got on a "seasonal" mix, some baby spinach and various lettuce. Not that much variety, but at least it was fresh. Taste itself, both of these leaves are more of the tasteless variety. They hold dressing quite well, and it was all bite sized.

Rating - 5

Look

All cleaned and sealed in a plastic bag, just cut open, pour, add dressing, toss, and serve. It looked fresh in the pouch.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

120g for $5.99. You pay for the convenience I suppose, but I don't think my time is worth that much, considering you can pick up salad mix for $16/kg at Harris Farm.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

selection of seasonal salad vegetables

Available At
Supermarkets everywhere

Centre Bakery

Taste

Our first 2 choices weren't available, and everything else didn't sound very appealing, but because we'd already started to order and I was extremely hungry, I had to get the vegetable pastie ($2.90). The pastry was soggy and the filling was extremely dry and tasteless, I had to force it down with some artificial tasting tomato sauce. The mexican pie ($3.20) was at least a bit wetter, with some sort of beans and cheese filling, but it suffered from having the same dull pastry.

The only good thing about this place was the iced coffee ($3.90) because they put in a scoop of real ice-cream and it wasn't sweetened.

Rating - 3 (only 'cos of the coffee, otherwise it would be a 1)

Look

The bakery is situated in the old Methodist Sunday School and the outside looked really nice. Inside it's a traditional bakery selling your sliced bread and cakes.

Our pie and pastie looked like the machine made variety, everything was very uniform.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

It's kinda expensive for that quality but on par with the local bakeries I suppose.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 5

Available At

103 Cunninghame St
Sale
VIC 2131
Phone (03) 5144 1202

Port Albert Seafoods


Taste

This place sell fresh seafood caught from the boat. Their fish & chips menu is limited compared to your normal fish and chips, as in they don't have your fisherman's basket and combos. I think that is better, as you can pick and choose what you want. We went for the basic flathead ($5.50) and added chips ($2). The flatheads were extremely fresh, and the batter was not too thick and had a nice texture. The chips were creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The wait was certainly worth it.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Right by the wharf, on the tip of the island, with 270 degree water view. You can pick up your food and eat by the water on one of the many tables around. It certainly has that holiday charm.

The packaging is white cardboard boxes and with brown paper bags over it. It was too hard to see what the food looked like.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

For this quality, the value was excellent. We got 2 pieces of small fish and enough chips for 2, or 1 Slokky.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11.5

Available At

The Wharf
Port Albert
VIC 2131
Phone (03) 5183 2432

John West Tuna Tempters


Taste

Ahhh, tuna, a travel stable. These days, they have so many different varieties available, you won't get bored. I have already tried a couple of flavours of the tempters from John West. The

  • light chilli - actually had real bite. I was surprised to see real chilli, including one whole one. There was a strong chilli heat without the oiliness. It's quite good if you can take hot, except it masks the taste of tuna a bit.
  • sweet seeded mustard - was wonderful, a bit sweet, with the wonderful texture of little mustard seeds. This complements the natural tuna taste very well.
  • oven dried capsicum and Chilli - was very good. Sweet capsicum with a little bit of spice.
  • light springwater with lemon - quite mushy and just sour, disappointing
  • light lemon and cracked pepper - yummy. Funny that with added pepper, the taste of the tuna really sung out.
  • light onion & tomato - yummy. This was beautiful. The tomato was sweet and the onion added aroma, tasted just like the "full fat" version.

Rating - 7.5

Look

In handy ring pull cans, although I always find them a bit hard to open all the way, and once you do, a bit hard to get all the stuff out of them...

Rating - 2

C-factor

100g for $1.70. These are really cheap.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

light chilli

Flaked tuna (53%), springwater, sugar, chilli (3%), salt, spices.

sweet seeded mustard

Flaked tuna (49%), Springwater, Canola oil, Seeded mustard (10%) [Water, Mustard seeds, Salt, Sugar, Food Acid (acetic), Herbs, Spices], Vinegar, Natural flavours, Lemon juice, Sugar, Spices (contains wheat), Mustard powder

oven dried capsicum and Chilli

Flaked tuna (61%), Springwater, Canola oil, Oven-dried capsicum (2%), Chilli (2%), Spring onions, Garlic, Salt, Spices

light in springwater with lemon

Flaked tuna (70%), springwater, lemon juice (2%), salt

light lemon & cracked pepper

Flaked tuna (53%), springwater, lemon juice concentrate (1%), salt, sugar, spices, cracked pepper, food acid, natural lemon flavour.

light onion & tomato

Flaked tuna (45%), onion (24%), springwater, vinegar, tomato paste (3%), sugar, spices, salt, garlic powder

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Darrell Lea Milk Chocolate Soft Nougat Egg

Taste

I'd never been a fan of Darrell Lea, but lots of people are, I always found their products a bit sweet. This egg, I have to report, was exactly that. The chocolate was the milk variety, a bit sweet but not of bad quality. The nougat actually would be great if there was less of it, but because it had to fill the inside of half an egg, there was too much nougat compared to the amount of egg available.

Rating - 4.5

Look

Mine was a pink foiled wrap 1/2 egg in a pink cardboard container, with a little yellow chicken attached to the box? The inside of the egg is filled with a white and yellow nougat filling, like an egg right? A bit different I suppose

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

150g

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

cane sugar, milk chocolate (24%)[cane sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifiers, flavours], wheat glucose syrup, desiccated coconut, water, egg albumen, honey, flavour, salt colours, food acid ,mineral salt

Available At

Darrell Lea
Website

Arnotts Dark Chocolate Wheaten


Taste

I'm not a big fan of digestive/wheat biscuits, but I found these quite pleasant, probably because of the dark chocolate coating. They only used a thin layer, a perfect amount.

Rating - 6

Look

4 rows of biscuits are separated in a plastic tray. The biscuits don't look very attractive at all, and neither is the packaging, but it's the taste that counts right?

Rating - 1

C-factor

R.R.P is $2.79 for 200g.

Rating - 8

Swiss Points - 8

Available At
Supermarkets everywhere

Arnotts Quattro


Taste

  • hazelnut delight - a very pleasant hazelnut taste, with fresh roasted nuts, and a good ratio of chocolate too. It's a little too sweet but it's because of the quality of the chocolate.
  • fruit & nuts - tastes just like the chocolate bar except with a bit of crunch coming from the biscuits. I think it's an improvement on the chocolate bar. The fruits (only raisins as far as I can tell, why do they call it "fruit & nuts" and not "raisin & nuts"?) were plump and juicy

Rating - 7.5

Look

It looks rough rather than polished. Again, the biscuits are divided into compartments so they travel well.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

You don't get that much in a pack, about 8 biscuits in all, but I guess the biscuits are big as they weight 200g, which is the same as a pack of Tim Tams

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

hazelnut delight

sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, milk solids, hazelnuts (8.5%), cocoa butter, rolled oats, cocoa mass, vegetable oil, golden syrup, cooca, raising agent, emulsifiers, salt, flavouring

fruit & nuts

sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, fruit (sultanas (5%), currents (5%)), peanuts (4%), milk solids, cocoa butter, rolled oats, cocoa mass, golden syrup, cocoa, raising agent, emulsifiers, salt, flavouring

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Oak Iced Coffee


Taste

Considering Oak and Moove are both produced by Dairy Farmers, I expected this to be very sweet like the Moove, but I think Oak is aimed at the "grown-up" market, so the sugar is much more restrained, and the coffee flavour more intense. I found this quite pleasant, but doesn't really replace an iced coffee.

Rating - 5.5

Look

Retro packaging, a smooth light brown colour.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

370 ml

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

milk, sugar, coffee extract (5%), flavours, colour, vegetable gum

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Australian Fresh Apple & Passionfruit Juice


Taste

This beauty from Australian Fresh is more apple juice than anything else. However, if you add more passionfruit it would be too overpowering. The apple is of the cloudy variety, although I would like to know what the other 0.1% is made up of?

Rating - 6.5

Look

I really like their packaging, it's bright and happy. The screw-top lid ensures that this is easily kept in the fridge.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

1L for $3.59. Great for fresh juice.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

apple juice (95.4%), passionfruit juice (4.5%)

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Monday, April 02, 2007

Arnott's Coconut Slice


Taste

I am definitely a fan. I've been a fan of the Mint Slice and the Mandarin Slice for ages. I was a bit comprehensive about this, as most things that contain coconut are usually overly sweet and wreck the taste of coconut - case in point, Bounty. I am glad I gave this a go though, as this was absolutely luscious. The coconut lend a fragrance to the chocolate instead of overpowering it.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Lovely and delicious. It's packed in individual portions.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

200g for $2.79. At least they don't try to rip you off like the Tim Tams

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, cocoa mass, milk solids, coca butter, cocoa powder, coconut (1.5%), emulsifiers, raising agent, salt, colour, flavouring

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Aji Ichiban Dried Mango

Taste

Aji Ichiban is very popular in Asia, with several stores selling dried goods and lollies. One of my favourites is definitely the mango. They are juicy, chewy but not hard, although they are artificially sweetened.

Rating - 7.5

Look

I love Asian packaging, this comes in a resealable bag. The mangos are projected by a plastic tray. The mangos are very orange compared to the ones here, and I don't think they are artificially sweetened...

Rating - 2

C-factor

500g packs are quite expensive. Luckily I usually get them as presents!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

mango, sugar, preservative

Available At

Asian countries

Koala Brand Original Macadamia Butter Shortbread

Taste

Koala Brand is basically what greets visitors in Australia. It's not too bad for a shortbread, it doesn't offend anyone. Moi on the other hand, likes something with a bit more butter and a bit more macadamia, bring the fat on, I say.

Rating - 6

Look

More Australian than most in its packaging I suppose, it doesn't say very good things for Australian designs though. The biscuits themselves? Pale cream and uniform, that's about it.

Rating - 1

C-factor

20g packs a handy as a snack.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 7.5

Ingredients

flour, butter 28%, sugar, macadamia nuts

Available At

Hotels, airlines and other tourist places