Tartufalba Salsa Tartufata

Taste

We got these goodies during our visit to the Moderna Fair. The pack comes with 3 truffles products from Tartufalba. This one is a Mushrooms and truffles sauce. I think there are some very tiny specks of truffle in there. If you just eat the truffle speck you don’t taste anything, yet as you taste the sauce, you can taste the unmistakable aroma. This is truly something you need to cook with beautiful pasta, as just the sauce itself doesn’t really bring out the aroma of the truffle.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Sexy, as only the Italians can do it. A dark blue label with a gold lid. The inside is a dark sauce with tiny little black specks.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

80g and costs us an arm and a leg. Worth it? Probably not for us as we don’t know what to do with it.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

mushrooms ,e.v. olive oil, summer truffles 8%m broth cube, spices, aroma, anchovy paste, maize starch, emulsifier, acidifying

Available At

Moderna Fair, Italy
Website

Hans Old Style Liverwurst

Taste

I think this liverwurst from Hans just wins out over the Don Latvian Liverwurst. There is a bit more depth and liver flavour, but otherwise, it’s a good well rounded product, perfect for a Vietnamese pork roll!

Rating - 7.5

Look

There’s a bit of that old style feel to the packaging, with a mainly black and white motif. Once you’ve opened it it’s best to finish as soon as possible though.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

250g for around $2.50

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

pork (59%), pork liver (22%), water, salt herbs, spices, dextrose, mineral salts, milk solid non fat, vegetable oil, antioxidant, flavour enhancer, egetable powder, sodium nitrate, natural onion flavour, red wine

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Don Latvian Liverwurst

Taste

A bit less intensive than the Hans Oldstyle but this one is actually from Don, and is not bad either. It’s more creamy and spread like, with a milder liver taste.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Yellow and red being the main colour, otherwise, it looks just like the Old style one.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

100g for $1.59

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 9.5

Ingredients

meat (94% including 31% liver), salt, whey powder, hydrogenised plant protein, spices and spice extracts, dehydrated vegetables, gelatine, dextrose, antioxidant, wheat flour, flavouring, sodium nitrate, flour enhancer

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Chinta Ria Temple of Love

I’d wanted to check out the Sydney branch of the Melbourne institution, Chinta Ria, for awhile now, so on my “wedding lunch”, the guys thought it would be appropriate to eat at the “Temple of Love”.

Food

Choices! I oohhed and aahhed, but finally decided on the Roti Kari ($17) - Roti with a choice of chicken, lamb or beef curry. I chose to pair mine with the Curry Lamb (Red) (normally $23 as a meal) - Diced loin of lamb, curry, potatoes and coconut milk.. I was very happy with my meal. The roti was flaky and crunchy (but unfortunately went cold quickly), although with not very many charred sections, the curry was very fragrant with its cardamom, slightly spicy, and the meat was tenderised in the thick dark sauce. I found there wasn’t enough sauce for all the roti, but that could be me scooping all the sauce up in the beginning!

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

I love it. It’s such an original design and such a breath of fresh air. You are greeted by the huge happy buddha at the entrance. Inside, the colourful plastic bowls and chopsticks grab your attention. You can observe the chefs at work in the open kitchen, and you can also sit in the beer garden outside if you choose to (but make sure you book if you want to). The restaurant was pretty empty when we visited on a Tuesday lunchtime, but it gets pretty packed on the weekends.

Rating - 3

Service

Well, we had about 3 waiters just serving us. They were really keen to clear up everything as soon as we’d finished it, but they didn’t bother filling our tea up or pouring it…All the waiters seem to be genuine South East Asian, with the cool accents to match.

Rating - 3

C-factor

The prices are pretty good for Darling Harbour, but of course you could get much cheaper Asian elsewhere. I didn’t appreciate them charging 3 person $2.50 each for tea when they only gave us one teapot and only 2 people drank from it.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 14

Info

Cockle Bay Wharf
Level 2
201 Sussex St
Darling Harbour
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9264 3211
Website

Pier 26

Pier 26 is an old favourite from way back. It was a great place to please the foodies and the alcoholics alike. I was really looking forward to this, but I was really disappointed today. They have changed their menu this year (although their website still displays the old menu), and it seems like they have decided to stick with the pub menu of fish and chips, schnitzel and burgers. All their interesting choices like fish and lamb shanks and stuff have all been replaced.

Food

Well, the only thing that was remotely interesting left on the menu was the kangaroo fillet ($17), served with couscous, roasted vegetables and balsamic salad. It was on the Specials menu (which was also boring!) and was favoured by a lot of other punters. It turned out to be one of the better choices on the menu, my colleagues’ fish and chips, curry and tasting plates were all below average.

My kangaroo fillets were generous and thick, and was served virtually raw, so it was still quite juicy. However, the meat was very chewy and the char flavour just was not there. I have no idea what happened, but at least the balsamic dressing was nice and helped me wash down the salad. Maybe it was because I expected so much more for this place, but I just couldn’t believe how badly they have got it now.

Well, they have revamped their drinks menu too, but they still had some interesting choices. Unfortunately, my blueberry mojito ($15.50) looked better than it tasted. The ice was piled on like a snowcone, and the blueberries added spectacular colour. Unfortunately, the blueberries were a bit tasteless and there was a bit too much ice so the drink was a bit diluted!

Rating - 5

Atmosphere

This place is always popular and packed, and on this Friday lunchtime, it was the same.

You walk up a flight of stairs to reach the bar. There are a few couches and a fireplace inside, but you never find anyone sitting there, instead, they are always out on the spacious balcony, under the heaters when it’s cold, and observing life on Darling Harbour. Just don’t look the other way and you won’t see the Cahill Expressway. It gets pretty noisy too, the rowdy drinkers shouting above the road noise.

And, to top it off, it’s a meat market, especially in summer. So, I think this has everything you need!

Rating - 2

Service

Pretty flat, I think it has gone down a little. There was a really long wait at the bar to order food, and another long line for drinks. It’s never good to keep hungry and thirsty punters waiting. And after we ordered, we had to wait for our food, but they were pretty quick considering the hordes they have to feed.

Rating - 3

C-factor

They are a bit expensive, but they were ok considering the food and the location, but now that the food has gone down and they have jacked up their drinks prices to one of the most expensive in the city, I can come no longer.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 10

Info

1 Wheat Road
Darling Harbour
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9268 1126
Website

Heaven Real Hot Chocolate

Taste

I didn’t follow the instructions – yes I’m a rebel. Instead of making this with just milk, I used half milk and half cream. The result of this tastes like those velvety smooth hot chocolate you get at the good cafes. My only gripe is that the chocolate was way too sweet, and because I added cream, was just a bit too heavy for a drink.

Rating - 6

Look

Really easy to make and works very well too. You pop the little pallets in with the milk and microwave. Stir, add more milk and microwave some more, then stir and drink. The tin looks very smart and will look great on your office desk, if other people don’t pinch it first!

Rating - 3

C-factor

240g for $6.49

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

sugar, full cream milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, vegetable oil, emulsifiers, flavour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Nescafe Café Menu Coffee

Taste

Nestle has launched a few flavours from their Café Menu range. I tried the:

• mocha macadamia - tastes very strange, and too watery. I couldn’t taste macadamia at all, and the coffee wasn’t good
• hazelnut latte - I was surprised, but this one is quite nice, with some froth around the top, and a sweet caramel flavour
• cinnamon latte - a real hint of cinnamon, but probably a bit sweet for me
• vanilla latte - tastes very similar to the hazelnut latte if you ask me…
• cappuccino - yuck, tastes like instant coffee, with a sprinkle of chocolate
• latte - is quite sweet

Rating - 5.5

Look

It’s very easy to use, just cut the packet, mix with water and stir. The result looks almost like a real coffee.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

This comes in packet of 10s for $3.99 on special.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

mocha

sugar, milk solids, vegetable oil, soluble coffee (12%), maltodextrin, cocoa (3%), flavours, stabilisers, salt, anti-caking agent

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Bankstown Hotel

This is what happens when you go drinking with Slokky. While I had the vodka cranberry ($5), made with Skyy vodka and very nice, he had the banana smoothie ($5) – banana, honey, soy milk, and vanilla yoghurt. The barman did look at him a bit funny but he made a smashing smoothie, I would come back to here just for that.

That’s not the only thing going for it though. After our last visit here, the service has continued to be excellent, with all the staff engaging in friendly banter. They were also extremely flexible, allowing me to get $5 off my zen cocktail ($10) – zen green tea liquour, modori, pineapple and lemon juice - which was really great, their barman is truly excellent.

The hotel itself is pretty relaxing. You can go for drinks or a full meal or snacks, and even breakfast (yeah, the smoothies would be great then). There was poker on the Sunday we visited, although no one was playing yet. The whole place has been fully refurbished. You can relax on the very very comfy couches and watch sports on the plasma screen. And if you get bored, there’s always those sharks…

Info

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

Tomoya Japanese Restaurant

Slokky came here previously and said the food was excellent. In fact, everyone on eatability raves about this place too. However, what I didn’t read was that for a Japanese restaurant, it was actually their small collection of Korean food that was the standout… yeah, the sizzling bimbimbah at the next table looked really really good!

Food

Even though it’s a Japanese restaurant and the menu is mainly your typical Japanese, the restaurant is run by Koreans, and they have a small selection of interesting Korean dishes.

Being in Strathfield, even Japanese restaurants give you the sides dishes of pickles. This time we had 4 small plates: kim chi (ok), radish (my favourite), bean sprouts (overrated) and spinach (spicy).

I decided to go Korean as I saw the beef bone soup ($11) on the menu. I was expecting a lot of flavour, but the soup was very mild. There were quite a bit of beef in it, but the beef was kinda tough and tasteless. There were some thin rice noodles too, they had no taste because the soup was so mild. The waiter advised me to put lots of salt and shallots into the soup though, so I guess it’s a matter of adding your own flavours…What I didn’t get was, why did my meal also include miso soup (stock standard) and rice(didn’t eat it because I was full from the noodles!)

Slokky had the unagi set ($19.50). He didn’t get any miso soup for his meal! But it had 2 fried gyoza (average), sushi (a prawn and tofu one but I didn’t try), sashimi (average, not that fresh), and eel (they were very generous and the eels were plump, and actually quite nice as it wasn’t drowned in sauce) on a bed of lettuce, and rice.

I also tried PJ’s chicken teriyaki, which was also generous, but tasted only average.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

They have decided to go a bit over the bare walls and table look flavoured by most places, they have gone for the traditional Japanese look. There is even a small sushi counter.

The plates aren’t as pretty as a normal Japanese restaurant, and there are all these Korean touches (like those silver spoons they always use, and the water bottle). It’s located in a shopping centre but you really wouldn’t know it.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The waiter was pretty good, and explained some things to us. When they delivered our meals though, they just plonked it down wherever, and didn’t ask who’s dish was who’s, but we’re ok with that.

I left my scarf there and they were so nice about it!

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

It’s not the cheapest Japanese or the cheapest Korean around. Their food is ok but their servings are pretty generous.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

Strathfield Plaza Shop
Level Ground, Shop 34, The Boulevarde
Strathfield
NSW 2135
Phone (02) 9746 8877

Thai on 1

Cheap meals at the big boys end of town is hard to come by, so off we went to the NSW Leagues Club for their Thursday lunch special.

Food

There is one dish on the menu that is $8 on a Thursday, this week it was the green curry beef. Since I am actually a fan of the green curry, and I didn’t want to make the decision any harder, I decided to just go for it.

Well, I don’t know about the rest of the dishes, but I definitely would not pay $8 for what I got. Basically it was a plate with half a bowl of rice and some watery vegetables and very dry beef in a sweetish sauce. The quantity was not huge but it was ok, but it’s the quality I was appalled about, especially the extra soft rice – even if they can’t cook curry, all they had to do was get a rice cooker for the rice, but they couldn’t even do that. I don’t know if I was biased, but the lemon, lime & bitters wasn’t too crash hot either.

Rating - 2

Atmosphere

I think this one has undergone some sort of refurbishment also as part of the smoking ban. I have to say it wasn’t really to my taste. They tried to make it look futuristic, but it was done with cheap, tacky furniture. The result is something pretending to be something it’s not.

Rating - 1

Service

You have to order at the kitchen. The poor lone waiter was so run off her feet, but she still managed to take my order and give me the buzzer. She wasn’t very helpful though, and only because my colleagues already told me about the special, I was able to find out about it.

Well, my meal arrived faster than I could get my drink, whereas the people who ordered in a group had to wait awhile.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Way too expensive for some below average Thai.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 6

Info

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

Clover Hill Romano

Taste

This is one sharp cheese. It’s not overly powerful or smelly, but the taste is very distinctive. I probably would not use this cheese in cooking, as the flavour is too obvious, but it makes a good eating cheese.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Very boring, but with some rustic rough edges.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$18.99/kg. It’s a little expensive for what it is.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

pasteurised milk, salt, starter culture, non animal renet, calcium chloride, lipase

Available At

Harris Farm Market
Website

Pastabilities Chilli Noodles

Taste

I love Pastabilities, having had many of their filled pasta in previous years. This time I tried their Chilli noodles, which I was surprised, was actually very nice with chilli tones throughout. As usual, the pasta cooked up al dente, and just when you thought it’s like ordinary noodles, it goes and surprises you.

Rating - 7.5

Look

The noodles like wonderful, tinged pink because of the chilli, the whole thing is wrapped up in Pastabilities’ sophisticated packaging.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

300g for $7.45 is pricy, but that’s around the going rate for fresh noodles nowadays.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

durum semolina, eggs, salt, vegetable oil, red chillis

Available At

Organic Shops, farmer markets, good delis

Eatwell Gourmet Selection Sweet Thai Chilli Vegetable Sausages

Taste

I should’ve known better than to buy vegetarian sausages. I only have myself to blame. These sausages from Eatwell Gourmet were not that bad – if you think you are eating tofu. To call them sausages is a sin, as they have nothing in common with sausages, except their looks. The meat is dense and packed in, there is way too much seasoning to make it taste palatable, and the whole thing doesn’t fry up very well. An absolute failure in my book.

Rating - 3

Look

Like real sausages, except with more of a fake red tinge…more like the dyed sausages I suppose? They even come in one of those black trays like as if you were draining fat from it!

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got my 240g for $.50 because they were trying to get rid of them…and I don’t blame them!

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 5.5

Ingredients

vegetable (36%) [carrot, cabbage, potato, peas, zucchini], water, chickpeas, wheat flour ,textured soy protein, tomato paste, sugar, salt, dehydrated fruit & vegetable, maltodextrin, herbs & spices (chilli .25%), wheat fibre, food acids, flavour, spice extract colour, rice flour, spice extract, vegetable extracts

Available At

Organic Shops

Rocks Aroma Festival 2007

I had wanted to go to this ever since its reception, but because I have had to work on a Sunday for the last 10 years, I never got the chance. This year, being my first and last chance to make it there, I was determined. I was glad to hear that they have added chocolate and spices to the coffee and tea program.

We arrived at around 2:30pm, and the place was packed. There were very long queues around all the coffee carts, with some, such as Tobys Estate and Café Hernandez, that were extra popular.

I did a quick tour around, looking at the stands. The standouts were Turkish Coffee House with their belly dancers, the entertainers, for their fair-trade chocolate, Piazza D’Oro for their free hot chocolate samples. There were various other suppliers of oil, nuts and lollies for sample, but I didn’t want to wait in line for them. There were also a lot of people pushing chai-latte too, but again, I could not sample any of them so I can’t comment.

After the crowd died down a bit, I did manage to get my hands on a skim cappuccino ($1) at artecaffe, who are actually roasters of their own blend. I wanted to try something that was harder to come by and not at many cafes, that’s why I chose them. I went for the weaker stuff because I was hoping to try more, and this did not disappoint. The beans had a slight nutty flavour and I could tell was freshly grounded too. It’s funny how there’s such a big difference in coffee. I’m going to miss it when I go away. I couldn’t face the line, and so ended my coffee experience.

Bankstown Bite 2007

After the fun I had at last year’s event, I was super keen to come back for more. This year we were busy, so we only had time for one tour. Unfortunately, this year they have smarted up about the tours, and now only let you book half hour before the event – which I think is more fair, but everyone started pushing and shoving to try to get the tour that they wanted. Our first choice of Sweet Treats had just booked out, so we went to our second choice of European Eats.

But we had some time to kill before our tour, so we watched “Celebrity Chef” Iain Hewitson, or Huey as he’s affectionately known as, whip up a few dishes. Huey was extremely disorganised, and I am not sure if I want to eat any of his food, but he was certainly very charming.

We then toured some of our favourite shops, and got a freshly made Oregano Pizza ($2) from the roadside stall started by Habibs, the only stall that was a little bit different to the tataoki balls and gozleme that appears at every festival. Little did we know that if we bought the same thing at a shop, it would’ve cost us only about $1.20, which just goes to show really.

Our group was made up of some pretty cool people, some pretty wise up on the food front, but some completely clueless. Our first stop was Olympic Delicatessen & Butchery, a continental deli started the year of the first Australian Olympics, in 1956. We had always wanted to stop here, and missed out last time because they were already closed. Unfortunately Peter, the owner, was softly spoken and not very informative, so we didn’t have very much fun.

Never mind, because our second stop, North Terrace Seafoods, the Greek owner showed us how to fillet a fish, how to look for fresh fish, the types of fish that were in season at the moment, and how much fish a pregnant woman should eat. We got to sample some really fat and juicy king prawns, which we later went back to get more of.

Satisfied, our next stop was a deli of a different kind. The Plaza Deli serves Baulkan and Eastern European delights. We sampled some capsicum relish on bread, topped with a beautiful Greek fetta, Swiss cheese, kalamata olives and some home made sausages (all delicious). They explained to us all the different types of fetta (mostly variance in the salt and water content) and olive. We picked up some bargain lasagne sheets before we headed to stop 4.

We visited the Bankstown Hotel last year, but this year, we were actually given a tour! We looked at the sharks in their fish tanks, marvelled at their waterfall next to their pokies machine, got a free juice, and sampled a range from their catering menus, including spiced lamb cutlets with yoghurt dressing, marinated BBQ baby octopus, mushroom aranchini balls, Chermoula marinated chicken skewers, bruschetta, garlic crouton tomato & basil. We even got free drinks voucher too!

By this time, I was feeling pretty satisfied, so I was glad that our last stop was Bankstown Cellars, where we were poured drink after drink, all in the name of taste testing. The drinks all went by in a blur, but I can make out from my screwed notes that I had a Calsburg beer, Penfolds’s Thomas Hyland chardonnay, cab sav and shiraz.

I will certainly miss Bankstown Bites when I leave, but I hope this is the beginning of a long tradition that I will be coming back to in years to come.

Info

Olympic Delicatessen & Butchery

41 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 1669

North Terrace Seafoods

120 North Terrace
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 6851

The Plaza Deli

112 Bankstown City Plaza
Bankstown
NSW 2200
Phone (02) 9790 1948

Bankstown Hotel

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

Bankstown Cellars

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

Aurora Bar & Lounge

Apparently this is the place to hang out on the upper side of town, but on this Thursday evening, we actually had the place to ourselves. Upstairs is the Lounge (i.e. expensive drinks) and downstairs is the bar. There was some music pumping, but a distinct lack of people. Well, at least that meant we had our choice of seating. We settled into some funky red chairs, which were quite comfortable.

The service was also non-existent, we had to go upstairs to order drinks, and nothing bothered to ask all night whether we wanted anything. Since it was so difficult to actually drink here, I only had a cranberry juice… I wanted guava juice originally but they had none.

Info

Aurora Place,
Cnr Phillip & Bent streets
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9241 1911
Website

Café Deluca

Taste

I’ve walked pass many times and the place always looked pretty bare, so I presume that they must make good coffee. I had a skim cappuccino ($2.50), and while it was good, I found it pulled just a little long. I’m a fan of their Espresso de Manfredi beans, developed as part of the Piazza d’Oro empire , but here it hasn’t been executed that well.

Rating - 5.5

Look

It’s a very basic shopfront in the lobby of an office block. The counter has a display of some cakes and stuff, but the main trade is definitely coffee. There are a few sparse tables scattered around. It’s not too noisy but can get a little cold as it is exposed to the elements.

They have very cute coffee cups too, and their coffee do look pretty.

Rating - 2

C-factor

About on par with this side of the city.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8.5

Available At

Foyer Masu Group Building
225 Clarence St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9262 3933

RealFoods Corn Thins

Taste

I think these are quite nice, for crispbreads anyway. By that I mean the thing actually has taste… but it was still very dry. I tried the cracked pepper & lemon from the RealFoods range, and the hit of pepper is really appreciated. I think this would pair quite nicely with a sharp cheese or some smoked salmon.

Rating - 5.5

Look

It’s actually more yellow than normal, and is dusted with black pepper. Mine contained about 3 thin slices, wrapped in foil, which made it easy to take out as a snack.

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got my 22g 4 slice pack for free, but they average around $2.50 at the supermarket

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

maize (98%), sunflower oil, sea salt, black pepper, natural lemon extract

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Vovos Yesss Pandan Coated Wafer

Taste

Asians love their wafers. You can find all manners of flavours in the Asian grocers, with various degree of success. These pandan (or Eastern vanilla) flavour wafer aren’t so successful. The flavour of the pandan is too subtle to have any impact, and the wafer itself is not well made, not having much crunch at all. It was kinda like eating a piece of paper…

Rating - 3

Look

Really cool! I was hoping the biscuit would be green in colour, but it was only a creamy colour. Like most food produced in Asia, there is an over abundant amount of packaging, each wafer was individually wrapped, and the whole package gets wrapped again. So, convenient, but not environmentally friendly. As usual, the English made for some amusing reading.

Rating - 2

C-factor

150g for $0.5 USD at the airport, I am sure you can pick them up for peanuts in Malaysia.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 6

Ingredients

sugar, wheat flour, whey powder, vegetable fat, tapioca flour, salt ,vanillin, sodium bicarbonate, amonia, lecithin, vitamin C, pandan flavour and colour

Available At

Asian grocers

Wagamama TGV 3

Yeah I know, here I am again, and no, I didn't have a change of heart since last time, I came to use up by Frequent Noodler points!

Food

Since I have tried every single thing on the menu, I thought I would go for the most expensive items on the menu to get my money’s worth! This meant the teriyaki salmon ($18.50) - grilled salmon served on a bed of steamed baby bok choi with teriyaki sauce. Garnished with sesame seeds and nori. The salmon was nice and thick and quite good quality. It was cooked right, but I wish the skin is more crispy. The letdown is actually the teriyaki sauce, which was sickly sweet and marred the natural sweetness of the salmon.

We decided against the next most expensive dish of salmon ramen, as we really don’t like the ramen here, and instead, chose to have a dish that we have had some success with in the past, the kare lomen ($17.50) - a spicy soup made from lemongrass, coconut milk, shrimp paste, chillies, fresh ginger and galangal, served with ramen noodles. garnished with grilled king prawns, beansprouts, cucumber, lime and fresh coriander. Maybe my standards have gone up, but I found that the flavour has gone down. You can taste the curry, but I think they have certainly skimmed. For one thing, the prawns seem worse than usual and were not cooked very well. The curry sauce didn’t have any complexity at all, tasting like something from those packet mix.

Rating - 4.5

Atmosphere

The usual stuff, except I’d never been here on a weekend before, and I find the clientele are usually new to Wagamama, and are actually in awe of it. The table of girls next to us were having a catch up, and were so excited and even said this place was like Japanese yum cha! At least they kept us amused, and it’s certainly much more relaxing dining here on a weekend.

Rating - 2

Service

Unfortunately, it looks like Wagamama has decided to employ waiters who can’t even speak English now. Luckily we are such old hands so we knew exactly what was going on, because our server was pretty useless. I noticed that there is actually quite a bit of variance between the competency of their staff. Some were quite good, attentive and efficient, but others are appalling.

Rating - 2

C-factor

Well, I don’t think I’ve ever paid full price for a meal at Wagamama, and I will never fork out full price for this quality of Japanese.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 9

Info

level 1,
TGV
500 George St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9264 9155
Website

Sushi-Ya

The little strip next to Artarmon station is known as little Tokyo. There are 2 Japanese groceries, and Sushi-ya shares the food stakes with a noodle bar.

Food

As soon as we were seated, some Oto-shi (cooked bean sprouts) were delivered to our table. I enjoyed the highly fermented taste and soft texture while pondering the menu, consisting of mainly sushi and sashimi offerings, and all the typical things you find on a Westernised Japanese menu. Their specialty is sushi and sashimi, so that’s what we picked, but first, something to whet the appetite.

Out of about a dozen entrees, we chose the beef tataki ($8.90), which comes with either ponzu or “special” sauce. We chose the special sauce, but it tasted surprisingly like ponzu – citrus and sweet and sour. The beef was thinly sliced, and paired very well with the sauce.

Our sashimi main ($16.70) was great value for money. There was not a LOT of fish, but our tuna, salmon, kingfish, octopus and squid were all fresh and juicy. The presentation was pretty nice too. Well, the great presentation continued in the Special of dragon roll ($10.90), which was laid out on a curved path, with the sauce drizzled in lines around the plate. The flavour here is a bit more subdue, but that let the thick and juicy eel shine through in the roll. We washed it all down with green tea ($1 p.p).

Apparently the hot food is not so great, but with such good value sushi and sashimi, you really don’t need to order anything else.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Somewhere above a food court, but below a restaurant. The décor is pretty sparse, with little Japanese touches. The inside is quite small, and was packed as it was the coldest July for about 50 years or something, so we had to sit outside. They had the heaters going but it still wasn’t that warm, so we didn’t really hang around. On a less cold night though, the outside area would be a gem.

Rating - 1.5

Service

They were so quick! The beef tataki arrived within 3 minutes of us placing the order. The sashimi followed not long after, and the dragon roll arrived last, but was still faster than the speed of an average sushi place.

Fortunately, the food didn’t suffer because of the speed.

The waiters were super keen as well, they wanted to take our dishes as soon as we picked the last piece off it. Service was fine by us, speedy, efficient, but we didn’t get the Japanese warmness.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Great value for a local feed and for the great quality sushi.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

10 Wilkes Ave
Artarmon
NSW 2064
Phone (02) 9411 1377

Kim's Extreme Dark Chocolates

Taste

Kim’s pralines are 77% cacao, so of course they were good. But it’s not just because of the cocoa content. The chocolate was beautiful, and the filling actually enhances the chocolate. I had coffee, hazelnut, and liquor filled pralines, and they taste so much better than boxed chocolates available in Aust, and tastes even better than some hand made chocs here too!

Rating - 8

Look

Super cute! Each praline has its own shape of course, but looks really cute! The packaging is in a sexy red box with a red robbon tie too!

Rating - 3

C-factor

150g for $17.95, so it’s nearly as expensive as hand-made chocolate, but it’s really good for the price.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 12

Ingredients

sugar, cocoa mass, vegetable fats partially hydrogenated (palm, rapeseed, coconut, peanut and sunflower oil), cocoa butter, whole milk powder, hazelnuts, almonds, cocoa powder, natural flavourings, whey powder, butter oil, whet syrup, glucose syrup, condensed milk, cream powder, emulsifier, soy lecithin, pistachio, cocoa beans, sorbitol, raspberries, vanilla, colourings

Available At

Myer
Website

Snappa Head Caffe Bar

Taste

We ordered our coffees to be personally delivered to the office. I ordered a cappuccino but ended up getting a latte. Never mind, the latte was smooth and milky, made with Vittoria beans.

Rating - 7

Look

Not much to it, the standard takeaway cup. The café downstairs is quite inviting though, and not too expensive for a meal. Plus, you have to give it points for the name!

Rating - 2

C-factor

$3.50 for a large coffee, very good actually!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Available At

Shop 4, 31 Market Street or 111-113 York Street
Sydney, 2000
Phone (02) 9261 0961

Maffra Cheese

Taste

Maffra Cheese is a specialty cheesemaker located in Victoria. We picked up these 2 award winning cheeses from their range:

• Mature Cheddar - Made using the spring milk from a single herd of Holstein Friesians, Maffra Mature Cheddar embodies the richness of Gippsland's dairy country. Maffra Mature Cheddar is matured to a distinctive smooth flavour, with peak maturity between 12 and 18 months.

  Well, it certainly tastes better than other cheddar, with a great balance of sweetness and acidity.

• Red Leicester - Maffra Red Leicester has a tightly knit texture and buttery, mellow flavour. The cheese takes its colour from a natural dye found in the seeds of the South American Annatto plant. Try serving with celery, fig jam and a dry white.

  Hmmmm, dunno about the white, but I could eat this by the block. The walnut in this really enhances the flavour. It is a bit more subtle than some of the other Leicester around.

Rating - 7.5

Look

We bought wedges from their rounds, but their cheese looks like the natural colour it’s supposed to be.

Rating - 2

C-factor

$22.95/kg for the cheddar, similar for the Leicester.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

Mature Cheddar

milk, cultures, salt, rennet

Available At

Farmer Markets, specialty stores

Bay Swiss Sandwich

Taste

I chose from the variety of wraps, Turkish and French baguettes on order, and decided on these two for size:

• boccocchini ($7.50) - on a fresh baguettes, with pesto and salad greens
• salami and roasted vegetable ($7.95) - again, fresh baguette, the salami adding a kick and the vegetables were sweet and tasty

Bay Swiss is one of the best sandwich chains around.

Rating - 7

Look

I love looking at their enticing display. Everything is vibrant in colour, and set up very nicely. The sandwiches always look so yummy, and don’t get me started on their desserts…

Rating - 3

C-factor

You don’t get a lot for your money, so it’s quality not quantity here.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Available At

Bay Swiss Stores
Website

Ogilvie & Co Fine Food Merchants Plum Pudding with Spice and Butterscotch and Brandy Sauce

Taste

Of course this is not as good as the sticky date pudding I make myself, but in terms of puddings, this one from Ogilvie & Cois a little dry. It’s a little bit dense for a pudding, the texture resembling that of a fruitcake. There is an abundance of fruit and spices, and once it is paired with the sauce, it makes quite a nice snack.

Rating - 5.5

Look

The pudding comes in a white box with silver stars and fancy writing. You can pop the pudding straight into the microwave. The sauce comes in a separate container, you can’t heat the jar up though. Everything evokes the old world, hand made charm.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

80g pudding for $12.95. For the price there are some nicer puddings out there, try the Newcastle ladies one, it's more-ish!

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

Plum Pudding

dried fruit (24%) [sultanas, currants], wheat flour, sugar, whole eggs, margarine [animal fats and vegetable oils, water, salt, total milk solids non-fat, emulsifiers], food acid ,antioxidant, flavour, colour, citrus peel (8%) [citrus peel, sugar, preservatives], water, golden syrup, humectant, spices, colour, baking powder, flavour, preservatives

sauce

caramel fudge [sugar (41%), glucose syrup, water, milk, vegetable fats (13%), milk solids, thickener, acid, emulsifier], water, brandy essence [water, alcohol, brandy, brandy extract, colour] (6%), vanilla essence

Available At

Myer
Website

1919 bristot Cafe Coffee

Taste

I had another cappuccino ($3.00) which was excellent. The crema on top was nice and frothy and with just the right sprinkling of cocoa on top. This was certainly the best coffee around this part of town. As for consistency though, well, I’ve been here twice and the quality has been great.

I also talked to the owner, who informed me that they actually name this after the beans, caffe bristot, they use, and they have shops at a few places around the city, so I will definitely be on the lookout for their other outlets.

Rating - 7.5

Look

It’s another coffee place that does coffee and snacks only, not full meal, but it’s much more out of the way. Situated in the lobby of the Sun Building, with only a few comfy lounge chairs and table. It’s actually much quieter than a coffee shop and more pleasant!

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Yup, Martin Place standard prices, but at least their coffee is worth it!

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Available At

135 Philip St
Sydney
NSW 2000

B-d Farm Paris Creek Yoghurt

Taste

b-d Farm Paris Creek bills their yoghurt as organic and biodynamic, but I don’t know if this has contributed or is detrimental to the taste. I tried the raspberry, which had just the right sweetness, but I found the yoghurt just a little too runny. It was almost like the drinking yoghurt. I don’t mind if the yoghurt is not like solid cream, but this is a bit over. I guess it’s because it only uses very natural ingredients. So, taste is good, texture is so-so.

Rating - 6

Look

Set in its own tub like a lot of yoghurt these days, it’s quite easy to use. The packaging is nothing out of the ordinary.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

200g for $2. Not bad for organic yoghurt, but I would probably get Cyclop.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8

Ingredients

whole milk produced under biodynamic management, organic fruit puree (made with organic sugar), honey, cultures

Available At

organic shops

Attiki Yoghurt

Taste

I tried the country style reduced fat honey yoghurt from Attiki. It had a pleasant honey taste and not too sweet. A slight sour note and smooth and creamy. Attiki is one of the best around.

Rating - 7.5

Look

They have changed the packaging recently. It’s now much more contemporary, but their packaging is still behind some other, in that you can’t really reseal it after use.

Rating - 1

C-factor

200g for around $2.49. Not bad at all.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9.5

Ingredients

skim milk, milk solis non fat, honey (8.5%), cream

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

nudie yogie

Taste

I was keen to try the new yogie range from nudie, as I am a fan of their juices. However, the mango & passionfruitwas not very exciting at all, actually it was downright disappointing. They haven’t captured the creaminess of yoghurt or the freshness of fruit, instead presenting something that’s akin to one of those desserts with fruit flavouring. Yuck!

Rating - 4

Look

As cute as always, with that now signature nudie cartoon character, in an easy to use tub. The colour looks very nice too.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

180g for $2.79, a total rip off.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 6.5

Ingredients

yoghurt: milk (skim milk, milk solids, cream), cane sugar, water, corn starch, live yoghurt culture fruit:1/10 mango (12.5%), a squeeze of passionfruit (4.5%), cane sugar, rice starch

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Australian Red Cross Bake at Home Christmas Cake

Taste

This innovative bake at home kit comes from Nature’s Selection. I don’t know how much of this was due to my superior cooking skills (not), but the cake was absolutely wonderful. A mix of fruit and spices, it was deliciously moist and full of fruit. It didn’t look too bad either!

Rating - 7.5

Look

Almost everything you need is contained in the baking tin, including a Merry Christmas decoration. You just need to add eggs and oil and stir.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

800g for $6. It’s certainly a lot less effort than trying to bake your own Christmas cake, and part of the sale is a donation to Red Cross, what mroe could you want?

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 12

Available At

Harris Farm Market
Website

Weight Watchers Lemon Delight Steamed Pudding

Taste

It was a little dry, so make sure you dig deep to the bottom of the cup for the quite delicious lemon sauce to go with the quite light and satisfying pudding.

Rating - 5.5

Look

Remove the foil and pop straight into the microwave. Heat for about 30 seconds and serve. It’s dead easy really.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

2x 90g for around $3.50

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 8.5

Ingredients

water, wheat flour, sugar syrup, sugar, polydextrose, butter, egg powders, lemon peel (2%), lemon juice (1.5%), milk solids, cream powder, emulsifiers, maize thickener, acidity regulators, raising agent, thickeners, flavours, preservatives, salt, sweetener, colour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

McCain Healthy Choice

Taste

I don’t know what drove me to buy this stuff from McCains, maybe it’s the amount of time since I last had a ready-made meal from a cardboard box, because I’d forgotten how terrible they taste.Tender Beef in Seeded Light Mustard was pretty terrible. The potatoes were floury and the carrots and peas were tasteless and soggy. The beef didn’t taste like beef at all. The only thing going for it was the excellent mustard sauce, it had real bite, and you could use it to disguise the taste of the best of the vegetables I suppose?

The Honey Mustard Chicken was better, but not by much. The chicken was soggy, the rice was gross, at least the mustard sauce was passable…

Rating - 3

Look

The vegetables certainly looked very colourful and inviting, the beef was covered by a mess of sauce so you can’t really see anything. The chicken got pretty much the same treatment too.

Rating - 0.5

C-factor

310g beef for $6.19. It's not worth the convenience, buy some ingredients and cook!

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 3.5

Ingredients

Tender Beef in Seeded Light Mustard

potato, carrot, mustard sauce (20%) [water, mushroom, mustard, flavour, thickeners], beef (15%) [beef, water, potato starch, soy protein, dried glucose syrup, acidity regulators, salt, hydrolysed vegetable protein, sugar, yeast extracts, soy sauce powder, vegetable fat, maize starch, beef fat, flavours, colour, flavour enhancer, onion powder, spices, herb], peas, corn vegetable sauce [water, milk solids, whey powder, thickener, flavour, herbs, spice, acidity regulator]

honey mustard chicken

sauce (water, cream (milk solids, gelatine, thickener), onion, white wine (milk solids, egg) mustard (1.7%) (mustard seed, acidity regulator), thickener, parmesan cheese (milk solids, emulsifier, acidity regulator, flavour (milk solids)), flavour (salt ,sugar, maltodextrin, hydrolysed vegetable protein, herb & spices), vegetable oil honey (0.4%), garlic, emulsifier, cooked rice (water, rice) chicken (15%) (chicken salt, acidity regulator, gelling agent, potato starch, soy protein, sugar, hydrolysed vegetable protein, dried glucose syrup, whey powder, wheat flour, flavours, water, dextrose, vegetable powder, yeast extract, vegetable oil) carrot beans

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Ciel Rouge Restaurant and Lounge

After our high tea at The Victoria Room and our Life Drawing Classes, we continued our drinking here. We got there around 9pm, so had the lovely lounge area and the bar all to ourselves. Unfortunately that also meant there was no service, so we had to go to the restaurant to get someone to make stuff for us. The drinks were v nice though…or did that Tequila shot dull my senses? Their cocktail list had a few specialties martini, the chocolate martini especially sounding divine. No creamy drinks here, which is just the way I like it.

I had the Stacey martini - a little sweet, a little sour, with a salt rim. Very delicious and divine!

Décor wise, in keeping with the games, the colour scheme is red. The lounge is arranged around one corner, with some red velvet ottoman and dark timber tables, lighted by little tealight candles. By about 10:30pm, the place started to fill up, and gets quite lively. Even the guy who was trying to pick up was a bit less seedy than usual!

Info

Level 1, 292-294 Victoria St
Darlinghurst
NSW 2010
Phone (02) 9356 3255
Website

Lindt Easter Small Nested Box

Taste

You get three types of Lindor mini eggs:

• dark - my favourite as usual, not too sweet and oozing out goodness
• milk - nice and smooth
• white - good for white, but if they removed this it would be even better

Rating - 6.5

Look

The mini eggs come in a pretty egg shaped container that is filled with cellophane. You get 9 eggs, 3 of each flavour.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

50g for $9.95, a rip off considering you can buy Lindor block for $3.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

sugar, vegetable fats, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, lactose, butterfat, hazelnuts, emulsifier, dried malt extract, flavouring

Available At

David Jones Foodhall
Website

Miho Japanese Cakes

Taste

I used to love paper wrapped cake ($1) as a child. This one was very dry, but still had that light taste that I enjoy. Maybe I didn’t know better when I was young, but I think I would only buy this one for nostalgic purposes only, as I now prefer my cakes moist.

Rating - 4

Look

It is the obligatory yellow with a browned top, wrapped in paper that you peel away from the sides.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

You can get this cheaper in Chinatown, but $1 is still a good price for a snack.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 6

Available At

139 Church St
Parramatta
NSW
Phone (02) 9891 3391

Jindi Brie

Taste

Jindi brie is one of my all time favourite cheese. It’s quite surprising because I am certainly not a fan of their camembert, but their brie on the other hand, is a beautiful combination of creaminess and saltiness. The awards it has won include World Champion 2004, 2002, 1996.

Rating - 8.5

Look

In the gold colour foil wrap, with all the medals it has won printed on it. The creamy colour cheese absolutely oozes out of its white mould.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

210g for $6.99, worth it.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 12

Ingredients

pasteurised cows milk, salt, starter cultures, non-animal rennet

Available At

Harris Farm Market
Website

House of Anvers Chocolate

Taste

I picked up these goodies on a recent trip to Tassie.

Truffles:
• Rum-Raisin - alcoholic enough for my taste
• hazelnut mousse - smooth
• Ganache - This was MEGA yum, a fine mixture of cream and chocolate, simplicity at its best.
• strawberry - not too sweet but with distinct taste of strawberry
• mocha - with dark chocolate and smooth creme
• orange - a strong orange taste and matches very well with the dark chocolate

Fudge:
• mocha - sweet coffee taste but still retaining the chocolate smoothness

Chocolate:
• Dark Orange - dark chocolate so totally yum!
• Macadamia - not that much macadamia flavour but yummy nevertheless
• Praline - yum!!
• Mouse - dark chocolate Turkish delight. Very nice and not too sweet.

Rating - 7.5

Look

You can buy them pre-packaged but we chose from the display. It was all put in a little carry box and tied with your choice of colour ribbons.

Rating - 2

C-factor

Truffles were $0.70, Fudge $0.80, chocolate $0.90. Mega cheap for good quality handmade chocolate. At the factory shop, you can even buy broken pieces or 1kg truffles at a discount…not to mention all the taste testing.

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 11.5

Available At

House of Anvers
9025 Bass Hwy
Latrobe
TAS 7307
Phone (03) 6426 2703
Website

Uncle Tobys Plus Protein Mix

Taste

Overly sweet and mushy. I wasn’t keen on this at all. The fruit didn’t compliment the cereal, and there were just too many things going on here.

Rating - 2

Look

Like most of the Uncle Tobys range, this looked healthy and family oriented, with an easy to pour box.

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got this as a 35g trial pack. I don’t think I will be buying the full size anytime.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 5

Ingredients

corn, whole wheat, dried fruit (paw paw fruit pieces, pineapple fruit pieces, apple), sugar, wheat protein maize flour, rice flour, malt extract brown sugar, pear juice concentrate, salt, minerals, emulsifier, preservative, vitamin, natural flavour

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

The Victoria Room

The Victoria Room is probably the leader in high tea service in Sydney. Indeed, you have to book several weeks in advance to secure a seat. After my fun at The Loft, I was keen to try this out.

Food

The platter is divided into 3 tiers.

Top Tier - Afternoon Tea Sandwiches

The sandwiches here were so soft, and were a lot better tasting than The Loft, but there were much more savoury varieties

• Chicken & Wild Herbs - had the softest bread, with soft chicken and herbs
• Cucumber, Crème Fraiche & Dill - I love this one a lot. The cucumber were in very fine shivers, paired with some very fresh crème fraiche, which was enhanced by the dill
• Smoked Salmon w/ fresh Rocket, Lemon, Capers - I didn’t try this one, but apparently it was good
• Watercress, Celery & Goats Curd - I love goats cheese and this one was tangy and crunchy

Bottom Tier - Scones & Conserve

yup, I started here before the sweets, as I wanted my scones still warm. Unfortunately it wasn’t very warm, but they were still delicious!

• Date & Plain Scones served with Triple Berry Conserve & Chantilly Cream - I tried a date one. The date made it super sweet, but the texture was so light, and the cream so scrumptious, I ate the whole thing anyway.

Middle Tier - Assorted Sweeties

By the time I got to here, I was pretty full, but I had to keep going…, it was times like these where I actually wish for the fruit they serve at The Loft

• Mini Florentine - I am not really a big fan of these, but they use pretty good quality chocolate.
• Sticky Date Pudding - I had to get rid of some of the caramel icing, but the little date cake was again, very soft and moist.
• Vanilla Bean Cup Cake topped with Pink Icing & Confetti - this looked so fabulous, and was extremely buttery but still light. I wasn’t a fan of the icing though
• Passionfruit Yo-Yo - I love yo-yos, and I wasn’t disappointed with these…if only they weren’t so dainty!

And for tea, I thought this time I would go for a classic style, so chose the Queen Mary - a blend of Darjeeling & Ceylon teas, having a light amber colour and brisk aromatic flavour.. This tasted very much like your teabag tea in flavour, but was a bit more delicate.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

True to form, the room was very opulent…well, what you can see of it anyway. You walk through these industrial doors, up a flight of stairs, to arrive in a room lit by candlelight and lampshades only. We were seated in the corner, so we got some privacy. There are comfy leather and suede couches, beautifully upholstered chairs, mirrors…etc. The wallpaper were luxe green and red, with gold threaded throughout.

There were lots of girl groups, dressed up to their finest, and some token guys as well. It was quite loud, the chatter filling up the space.

Rating - 3

Service

Well, the waiters look like they were 15, and didn’t look like they had much experience either. They wouldn’t let us order until everyone got there, and actually asked everyone before they gave us water. When they delivered the drinks, they got everyone’s name wrong and were totally confused. They weren’t very quick in clearing our trays away to make more room for other stuff. They didn’t fill up our teapots enough and didn’t provide enough milk. They had a LOT of problem trying to fit all our tea and trays and plates, all on the little table. I put it all down to lack of experience, they will probably get better with age.

Rating - 2

C-factor

It was $30 for the tea, $40 for the royal (with champagne), and 10% surcharge on public holidays. Also, if you come in a big group, it’s an extra $3 p.p. The prices are about the same as all around, a little bit steep for what you get, especially the lousy service, but the surrounding really is surreal.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

Level 1, 235 Victoria St
Darlinghurst
NSW 2010
Phone (02) 9357 4488
Website

St James Hotel

I heard on the grapevine about the great value steaks here, so I did my duty and headed straight there for a roadtest.

Food

There’s your standard pub menu, as well as the All Day Specials. I ordered the 250gm Certified Angus Rump steak w/ mash & jus ($9.95). It came on a square plate with a little Angus flag on top. The steak was quite nice, with a very good charred taste. It was a little bit well cooked in the places where the steak was a bit thin, but for $9.95, I wouldn’t complain. It was very juicy, and the mash was divine, creamy and smooth, much nicer than even some of the expensive places.

I washed it all down with a Becks on tap. What more could you want? Well…maybe a salad…

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

The place has been fully refurbished. The street level consists of the main bar, with coloured liquor bottle lining the back wall, and plasma screens showing sport. The cream décor and cushion stools actually make it quite a change from the blokey places or the silvery “I’m too cool” places.

The downstairs bistro is more traditional. Hard timber chairs, a few pool tables, but everything is still very brand spanking new.

Perhaps reflective of the décor, there were quite a few normal looking women dining here, instead of the stick insects that frequent the shiny places, and some even came without the men!

Rating - 2

Service

Well, we were chatting so much, we actually forgot to pick up our drinks from the bar. It was an honest mistake, as we were given the buzzer after we’d been given our food that we forgot all about our drinks! The barmaid did mange to deliver it to us at the table, but boy she was cranky! Sorry, we weren’t trying to treat you as a waiter, we just forgot. Hey, we did give you a tip though!

The food is picked up downstairs at the bistro, where you can also help yourself to cutlery, sauces and mustards.

Rating - 3

C-factor

The food is quite generous. I was very full after going through my plate of mash. Superb value, even for a pub.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13

Info

114 Castlereagh Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9261 8277
Website

Galileo Restaurant

Old world charm, great food, impeccable service, I was looking forward to this meal, and, although the food certainly wasn’t as good as other One Hatters like Bistro CBD or Bistrode, the rest of the experience makes it one of the best nights out.

Food

You can go a-la carte, or opt for the whole experience, an 8 course or 12 course degustation. We decided, what the heck, we were paying heaps of money anyway, so went all out for the 12 course menu ($165):

• Egg Cocotte and Tasmanian Pacific Oyster with 12-year-old White Balsamic Vinegar - this was presented spectacularly. The egg was still runny, and the oyster was very fresh. The balsamic wasn’t as good as the ones we tasted in Moderna, but nothing is.
• Bread rolls - there were heaps of choices, and were so good, just warmed out of the oven, that we had quite a few…the tomato was the standout from the variety of shallots and plain with grain mustard
• Scallop and Asparagus tart - this one was extravagant, but didn’t blow me away. The presentation was again first rate
• Terrine of Champagne with mushroom salad, Salmon Terrine - talk about presentation, this one even topped the others, presented in an upside down martini glass, you actually had to turn the glass around, and place it on the special glass plate before you eat it. This one was nice too, the mushroom had a deep flavour and the salmon lightly smoked
• Fish of the Day, jewfish with basil sauce and fried zucchini flower on vegetable risotto - it’s been awhile since I’ve had zucchini flower. This one was just light and delicate enough. The risotto was also night, but I think I prefer mine creamier. The jewfish was cooked beautifully, and is also a light eating fish.
• Principal Plat 1 - spatchcock in salt crust - was very dramatic. The waiter comes over with the salt crusted bird and cracks it open in front of you. They then take it away to be plated before bringing it back to you again. So, very exciting. I have to say though, the bird was quite tender and not too tough, so I guess the salt did do something afterall.
• Principal Plat 2 - medallion of beef with truffled mash, Dutch carrot - tender beef, creamy mash, ok carrot
• Dessert Degustation - we had coffee gelato (yum), yoghurt (very yum), orange and jelly (a bit sweet but intense!), creme with topping (can’t remember this one, so must not have been that memorable!), biscotti (light, crispy)
• Fromage - an assortment of Gippsland cheddar (quite strong), Italian pecorino (like the real stuff), VIC half goat and cow brie (very creamy and I’m sure fatty), Spanish blue (intense) accompanied by candied pear, walnut bread, grapes and biscuits
• Green tea, flat white I was way too full by this stage, so decided to end the evening with some fragrant and refreshing green tea, since they had no suggestion for anything else. Slokky’s flat white was ok but not that remarkable

So all in all, definitely an experience. The price is steep but then you do feel like you’re rich and privileged to dine there.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

This is what money buys you. Situated in the 5 star luxurious Observatory Hotel, the room shouts luxury and opulence. Gold and chocolate dominate. The tables have double starched white tablecloth, the chairs are luxe armchairs (great to look at, not so comfortable for eating), all the plates, stemware, cutlery are first rate. There are pics of old France around the room, and you can look out through the heavily curtained floor to ceiling windows to the footpath outside.

The clientele? Mostly hotel guests. I am disappointed that not many Sydneysiders get the opportunity to discover this world of luxury.

Rating - 2.5

Service

We were served by the charming Christophe, the sommelier. Later on we were served by 3 other waiters, who were all extremely polite and efficient. They were knowledgeable on the food, provided some humour, and were really glad to see us use the entertainment book. The only thing they can improve on was to fill our glasses more often.

Rating - 5

C-factor

Our 12-course degustation was priced at $165 p.p. But we used their special 15th Anniversary promotion. It's buy one get one free degustation, valid Monday to Thursday until 31st May, 2007. For the quality that we got, this is a bargain!

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 16

Info

The Observatory Hotel
89-113 Kent St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9256 2222
Website

Vinamit Mixed Fruit Chips

Taste

These are a nice change to normal chips, especially if you’d always wished for sweet chips. Although they are quite oily, they sure are addictive (and very crunchy). Each fruit flavour is quite different.

• banana - very much like the normal banana chip, except much sweeter
• jackfruit
- these are very sweet, but with a sour tang
• pineapple - super sweet with a strong pineapple taste
• yam - more like your normal French flies, but sweet
• taro - the least sweet of the lot, fried taro, yum!

Rating - 7

Look

Like most Asian snacks, this one is beautifully packaged. The fruit look very colourful, vibrant and inviting - no idea how much food colouring went into it though.

Rating - 2

C-factor

500g for 35600 VND. i.e. around $2.60 AUD. Well, it’s expensive for food from Vietnam but if you buy it in Aust it costs around $5.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

fruit (banana, jackfruit, pineapple, yam, taro), vegetable oil

Available At

Asian grocers

Sky Phoenix

It has been a little while since I’ve been to the grandmother of the Phoenix Group’s restaurant. My recent outing to the baby, Rhodes Phoenix was quite good, so I was very keen to compare this to the original.

Food

We didn’t have long to wait, and were seated in a little while. Before we knew it, our table was full with plates and steamers galore. This time I didn’t see as many varieties as before, I think we came too late for the first lot, and too early for the second, but among the many things we sampled, here are the good and the bad.

highlights:

• bbq pork rolls
• honey pork
• fried red bean dumpling

lowlights:

• noodles
• dumpling skins

The food has actually picked up since last time, but I was very disappointed with the dumplings today, as usually this is one of the things they do best, their skin was just not up to it so they probably changed pastry chef since I was here about a year ago.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

The place was packed when we showed up, but we managed to grab a table. It was extremely noisy and you can’t even hear yourself talk!

In terms of clientele, mostly non Asians, business lunches and a few friends. This place is popular with Asian food lover who appreciates a bit of style and enjoys a drink or ten. This is the original on which all others are based, so feature wall, interesting lattice design, minimalist décor and mood lighting are the order of the day. I must say they’ve been very successful in that regard.

Rating - 2.5

Service

Usually Sky Phoenix has very good service so I have come to expect it by now. This time, a did get a few not very friendly trolley ladies, but nothing at all like Emperor’s Choice’s rudeness. They didn’t make a particular impression on me, which meant they did their job quietly but effectively.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

$20 p.p. We were pretty full but that’s because half our party didn’t eat much. Yes, you have to pay for style, but give me substance over style anyday.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 12

Info

Skygarden
Level 3
77 Castlereagh St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9223 8822
Website

Byron Bay Cookie Company Sticky Date & Ginger Cookies

Taste

This is a very hard call to make, especially since I love all the stuff from Byron Bay Cookie Company, but I think this is my absolute favourite of their range. Dates are one of my favourite fruit, and this cookie combined them with a caramelised based. But I think what pushed it just ahead is the ginger, which really really zings it up. I didn’t imagine this combination would work, but boy, was it good!

Rating - 9

Look

Beautiful. I’ve described their packaging too many times already.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

150g for $10.95. This is not too bad. Expensive, but worth it.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 12.5

Ingredients

dates (24%), rice starch, wheat flour, sugar, butter, glace ginger(13%), rolled
oats, walnuts(8%), eggs, maize cornflour, spices, flavouring, rising agent, salt

Available At

David Jones Foodhall
Website

Byron Bay Cookie Company Breadstick

Taste

Another indulgence from my favourite biscuit company, Byron Bay Cookie Company. I picked up their Roast Garlic & Cracked Pepper Breadsticks made with organic spelt flour from the Gourmet Savoury Collection. As usual, it did not disappoint. The breadstick was light yet crunchy, with the (not overpowering) aroma of the garlic, combined with the zingy pepper, making it very addictive. Yes, I confess, I went through the whole pack in one sitting.

Rating - 8

Look

These would not look out of place in any designer home or kitchen. The box is beautifully designed and each breadstick look like it has been handmade.

Rating - 3

C-factor

200g for $21.95. As I always say, very exy but you have to pay for quality.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

organic white spelt flour, canola oil, garlic (2.7%), cracked black pepper (2%), organic sea salt, yeast, vegetable gym, sugar

Available At

David Jones Foodhall
Website

Springs Smoked Mackerel Fillets

Taste

I was quite happy with this fish from Springs. The smoke flavour is a little heavy on the salt, but pleasant enough. The fish had a very oily skin that helped keep the fish moist. The flesh was of the firm variety, just the way I like it.

Rating - 6.5

Look

The colour is a beautiful coral, with a glistening skin. It comes in an easy peel back vacuum seel too.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

200g for $8.99 is actually not bad at all for smoked fish.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

European mackerel, salt, colouring, antural wood smoke

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Orizuru Sushi Bar

We’ve visited the Mures dock a few times before, and always watch people tucking away at their fresh seafood with glee. We had to choose between the seafood restaurant on the upper deck and the sushi bar, and decided to go sushi, as I’ve read some great reviews for the sushi bar, and you can taste the seafood best in its natural state. Boy was I disappointed. I think this can be included as one of the worst restaurants I’ve dined in in Tasmania.

Food

The menu consisted of the usual sushi offerings, nigiri, sashimi, hand rolls…etc, as well as some hot offerings and specials. We decided the best way to sample both sides of the menu was to get the:

• Soft Shell Crab Roll (4 pcs) ($11) – rolled sushi with deep fried crispy soft shell crab in large nori rolls - which, unfortunately, was the worst soft shell crab I’ve eaten. The crab was limpy, the serving was really small. The only thing it had going for it was the sauce, which helped it go down.
• Nigiri Special ($18.50) – common style and eight variety of nigiri, complimented by three pieces of maki - I was really looking forward to this, but I was so disappointed. The sushi looked horrible, all wrongly shaped, and they were being pretty stingy with the fish too. It was fresh enough, but the rice seemed like it wasn’t freshly prepared.

Everyone else seemed to have order a few plates each, but after those two lacklustre dishes, I decided that I would save myself for dessert somewhere else.

Rating - 4

Atmosphere

Well, it was quite busy when we came in, and actually had to wait before we could be seated. The place is quite small, and looks like your cliché sushi bar, all Japanese wall hangings and lacquer ware. The sushi bar was quite small actually, only allowing 2-3 people to sit there. Most of the people dining there were tourists, so I guess they don’t need to work hard on repeat business.

Rating - 1.5

Service

I have to give credit to the lone waiter. She was not very friendly at all, no smiles, all business, but at least she really means business. Her multi-tasking was first rate, as I watched her seat people, take orders, deliver food, clear dishes and settle the bill for everyone with great efficiency. Her work would probably take about 2-3 normal waiters to do. No wonder she has no time to smile, she doesn’t have enough time to breathe! I admire her greatly, and as far as I could tell, she didn’t make a single mistake!

Rating - 4

C-factor

Way too expensive for the small amount of food that we got. I won’t be back.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

Victoria Dock
Hobart
TAS 7000
Phone (03) 6231 1790
Website

makan @ Alice’s

We’ve heard the raves from all around about Alice’s for a long time, so when we were out at Pennant Hills recently, it didn’t make any convincing to get us all there for lunch.

Food

One of our party was a regular, so he knew exactly what to order. Slokky had the chai tow kuih ($9.80) – homemade radish cake fried with chai poh, egg, sprouts and chives. Well, what appeared on the plate was just like hawker style food really. A mess of blackened and browned noodle like substance, lumped together by egg was presented. Good thing that it tasted a lot better than it looked. You can really taste the wok-fried taste but I found the flavours a bit too strong for my liking. He washed all this down with a very expensive ich tarik ($4). According to the Malaysian expert, this wasn’t made the correct way as the condensed milk did not take up half the glass. I found it pretty ordinary myself, the brew wasn’t even frothed up by being poured at a dazzling height.

As usual, I used the har mee ($9.80) – noodles in lightly spiced prawns soup with prawns, pork, kang kong and egg as my benchmark on how good the food is, and fortunately, Alice does not disappoint in this regard. A bowl of orange mixed Hokkien and rice noodles, with some floating prawns and pork, garnished with fried shallots & spicy sambal. The soup had a nice seafood flavour, and it was definitely hot enough. The egg and sambal were excellent. The only complaint would be the tiny amount of prawns and the quality of the prawns.

And around the table? People seem to enjoy the meal, except some couldn’t take the heat (which I took as a sign of a good Malay restaurant).

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Casual affair, where you take a table number, place your order and eat. There were quite a few families and friends here from all nationalities, all enjoying their food. Quite a few of them looked very comfortable and were probably regulars.

Besides the vibrant front counter stacked with all manners of kuih (Malaysian cakes and desserts), and the letter from Maeve O'Mara from the Food Lovers' Guide to Australia, the rest of the room is pretty bare, with a side cabinet holding the utensils and menus the only thing disturbing the constants.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The waiters had excellent English and explained how the whole thing worked, from the seating to the ordering, that would be very useful for all first time visitors. They were able to advise on a few things on the menu too. All in all, a very smooth experience.

Rating - 4

C-factor

It’s a little bit more expensive than your takeaway, and certainly much more expensive than eating on the streets in Malaysia, but in Sydney, it’s priced correctly.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

Shop 3&4, Cnr Bellevue St and Pennant Hills Rd
Thornleigh
NSW 2120
Phone (02) 9484 8288
Website

Regal Restaurant

And so it begins, the wedding restaurant visit…

Food

Our purpose was 2 folds – firstly, to discuss the details of the wedding banquet and book, secondly to try out the dishes. There were some sesame walnut and salted cashew on the table, and I am telling you, they were addictive! They were a good thing too ‘cos the parents took forever to order.

Once we ordered though, the dishes arrived quite quickly. First off we tried a dish we would possibly have on the wedding banquet, steamed crab with egg whites and vermicelli. This was an excellent dish, the egg whites not overpowering the natural sweetness of the crabs but adding coating and infusing the flavour of the crab into the vermicelli.

We were still licking our fingers when the other dishes arrived. The oyster omelette ($26) had to be eaten quickly or the oyster will smell. But while it’s not, the omelette is heavenly, scented with that oyster aroma. The oysters themselves were big and meaty too.

The seasoned vegetables was probably a token gesture to get some vegetables in but were made well. The shan don chicken is one of the better ones on the market. The skin was nice and crispy and the meat had been browned due to the soy sauce.

I was pretty full by that stage, but dessert was still to come. First up, Chinese pastries (red bean paste and fried sesame balls), a bit oily but who can resist fried stuff, and fried sesame at that! Next was the red bean soup which arrived at the same time as our fruit platter of melon, oranges, watermelon, both of which were satisfactory but unremarkable.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

There was a big wedding on the day we were there, so the whole top floors had been taken up. In fact, it was a bit embarrassing as everyone walking into the restaurant can actually see you. Alas, I don’t get to do what I want at my own wedding anyway.

And so we were relegated to the dingy basement, where everything felt old and dirty, especially the toilets. The advantage of downstairs though is you get your own private room, even though the air con is absolutely freezing there.

Rating - 1

Service

Well, Slokky’s mum tried to sweet talk the guys into giving us a better deal with the wedding, but I don’t think she succeeded. The waiters were very professional and I quite like their services, they were able to offer a few recommendations to us and they handled the unreasonable demands of the parents too. We did speak Chinese though so I don’t know how all the non Chinese speakers fare though.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

The bill came to $222.40 for 7, which was not too bad at all, especially since we had crab.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

347-353 Sussex Street, Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9261 8988
Website

Big Italy at Leichhardt

Also as part of the Sydney Italian festival, we had the privilege of attending several other events. The first of which was the Flavours of Italy Seminar, held at Casa Italia in Leichhardt. A range of travel agents presented their tours to Italy and brought back many memories of our times there.

After the seminar, we browsed around the Italian Forum, which was really dead and half the shops were either closed or closing down, apparently the rent is horrendous there. The next stop was the extremely busy Norton Plaza, where we shoved along with the crowd at Norton Street Grocer.

After that exercise, we decided to get some freshly made gelato (even though it was freezing cold) at the famous glace ice creams & sorbets. The Quince and rose was a seasonal flavour but was absolutely wonderful, the rose really hits you but offsets the tartness of the quince nicely. The coconut sorbet was pure heaven. Not too sweet and with real coconut taste. Best of all, it wasn’t that expensive, $3.80 gets you a double scoop on good waffle cone.

Last but not least has been our pasta making classes at Studio De Luca. On our first class, we learned how to make Malloreddos, a Sardinian ear-shaped pasta, and Ravioli Galluresi, filled with orange scented ricotta, on our second. Each lesson was personally taught by Gavina De Luca, and included a demo, as well as getting our hands dirty to try it ourselves. The best part of the experience though, is of course in the eating! And true to Italian style, we sat at a big table, joined by the De Luca children, family and friends, drinking red wine and chinotto, while talking about all things Italy. Luigi, the gelato maker, also promised to let us try some of his banana gelato when he makes it in season. Can’t wait!

Info

glace ice creams & sorbets
27 Marion St
Leichhardt
NSW 2040
Phone (02) 9569 3444
Website

Studio De Luca
106 Norton Street
Leichhardt
NSW 2040
Phone (02) 9564 1127
Website

Benz On York

There are so many cafes around York street, but this one always seem to be packed, so today I joined the crowd to find out what the deal is.

Food

You get your basic café fare, including all day breakfast, as well as a few blackboard specials. It was cold, so I opted for risotto. Considering it’s so cheap, the seafood risotto ($13.90) actually wasn’t bad at all. Of course, it was no culinary masterpiece, but the sauce was tomatoey enough, there was just a smidge of frozen seafood to give it that flavour, and there was just a hint of cheese. It wasn’t the greatest risotto I’ve had by a long mile, with frozen vegetable and seafood, but it was warm and filling, and was satisfying enough for a Monday lunch.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

This is definitely more your canteen than restaurant. The tables and chairs have been cramped in, and there’s not much room to move. There are several booths that look like the best seat but were all full or reserved in advanced. The light is pretty dim and it gets pretty noisy there too.

In conclusion, I won’t come here on a date but for a cheap feed in the CBD, this is the place to be.

Rating - 1

Service

Pretty average, but this is by no means a posh place. It takes awhile for them to come and take your order, and it’s best if you pay at the counter too…

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

It’s more expensive than takeaway but cheaper than a normal café. I think it’s fair as long as you don’t expect too much. Plus, they seem to have their market figured out anyway.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

83 York Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9299 8583