Mayan Coffee Cappuccino

Taste

There was a stall set up selling Mayan Coffee and Chocolate products. We had the "organic", which is a mild blend. This is how it’s described:

The warmest of all of the seven coffee-growing regions, San Marcos also has the highest rainfall, the most intense rainy season, and the earliest flowering.

It's supposed to taste smooth and creamy. It smelt great in the packet, but I'm afraid the taste was a bit ruined with the making. It could be the inexperienced skills of the "barista"... the result would still be described as smooth and creamy, but it was pulled just a touch too long.

Rating - 6.5

Look

Extremely pretty as it was made by the hippies who run this market stall. They made one side of it chocolate and the other side cinnamon. This made it a bit too sweet but certainly looked beautiful. Their staff is also very hippy like, and I can’t pass up on the chance to taste chocolate any day!

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

To buy the coffee beans, it’s $13.00/250g or $45.00/1kg, so $3.20 for this special organic brand is quite ok considering we were in Newcastle afterall…

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Available At

Honeysuckle Market
McDonalds Road
Pokolbin
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 4998 6800
Website

Binnorie Dairy

Taste

We picked up two cheeses from this diary, although we had the opportunity to taste test their whole collection. These were our 2 favourites, with the marinated feta coming a close third:

• Duetto ($12.50) - creamy with a strong, but not overpowering hit of blue.
• Labna - a hit of sour yoghurt followed by a very smooth and tangy cheese, all held together by one of the best tasting oil I’ve had.

Rating - 8

Look

Absolutely fabulous. I love their packaging. Both are easy to carry and use, but they won’t last for very long.

Rating - 2

C-factor

The Duetto 135g for $12.50. We got the 1.6kg Labna for around $23 I think…

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

Duetto

cream, gorgonzola, salt, acid

Labna

yoghurt,olive oil blend, herbs, salt

Available At

Corner Hermitage Rd and Mistletoe Lane
Pokolbin
NSW 2320
Phone (02) 4998 6660
Website

Broun Espresso Bar

Taste

This is a new chain of Espresso Bar that has just started out in Australia, but I have no idea where the other chains are. My Cappuccino ($3) was very middle of the road. It wasn't bad, no not at all in any sense of the word. The temperature was not too hot and the coffee was pretty smooth. Somehow there is still something missing, maybe it's the blend of coffee they use, which they don’t seem to advertise.

On the next occasion, we tried the caramel cheesecake ($4.50), which was surprisingly very good. Not as good as the home-made variety, but it certainly tasted great. Not too sweet, nice texture, the biscuit crust was nice too. I paired it with a moccacchino ($3.50), which was not as good as a cap, but I blame myself for ordering that! The hit of chocolate was way too sweet instead of being subtle.

The third try was latte ($3), which again, was very middle of the road, but not burnt or anything.

Rating - 6

Look

I was really surprised when I walked into the space, the shop was full of Asian baristas! I know this is multi-cultural Sydney, but one thing that I haven’t seen before is an Asian barista!

The shop itself is spacious, with a front counter displaying all manners of cakes. There is a distinct lack of mags, so I guess they don’t really want you to linger. It’s not really an eating place, more a coffee and accompaniment place.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Average Town Hall end of town prices, certainly cheaper than Martin Place.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points -8.5

Available At

Shop 1/215-217 Clarence St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9262 6063

Orchid Hill Bakery Cafe Cherry Tart

Taste

Slokky received a cherry tart for his b’day party. It looked spectacular, golden yellow with red studded cherries throughout. The pastry was thick and soft, encasing an almond filling, and those slightly tart cherries. Yum! This is not too sweet as a dessert, and doesn’t give you that really full feeling afterwards.

Rating - 8

Look

I love the look, pieces of tarts are studded with gooey red cherries, it looked spectacular cut or whole!

Rating - 3

C-factor

We got it for free, but I dunno how much this would cost in the shop.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 12

Available At

Shop 248, Castle Towers
6-14 Castle Street
Castle Hill
NSW 2154
Phone (02) 9659 3900

Lurpak Butter

Taste

This has a much milder taste than the supermarket variety of butter. I can definitely taste the difference, being "purer" if I can put it that way, but it’s not as good as the home-made stuff we guy from the Good Living Growers Market. Well, Lurpak butter is the preferred butter for TV chefs (especially Jamie Oliver, who is routinely seen cutting huge chunks of the stuff).

Rating - 6.5

Look

Well, it’s a status symbol to buy this. And it does look good in its packaging. The butter itself is creamy soft too.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

250g for $3.75. Would a pay more than twice the amount for this? No.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

pasteurised cream from cow’s milk, fat min 82%, moisture max 16%

Available At

Specialty stores and some supermarkets

Ballotins Belgian Chocolate

Taste

There are 2 different chocolates. The dark chocolate cherry was absolutely beautiful. A thin coating of dark, more-ish chocolate, encased a slightly sweet and alcoholic :) centre, that has the fragrant of cherries. The milk chocolate toffee’s chocolate was also first rate. The centre is caramel and not that sweet. These are excellent!

Rating - 8

Look

Each is individually wrapped in red and gold foil, which sits in its own tissue box, which is contained in a gold box – so you can use them as table setting or bonbonnieres.

Rating - 3

C-factor

6 x 29g boxes for $9.99, excellent value really!

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 13

Ingredients

sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, vegetable fat, hydrogenated vegetable fat, glucose syrup, hazelnuts, skimmed milk powder, cocoa powder, milk fat, alcohol (0.5%), emulsifier, coffee, flavours, concentrated cherry puree, preservative, colour

Available At

Specialty stores and some supermarkets

Ferrero Kusschen

Taste

"Kusschen" means kiss. These are chocolate praline with hazelnut filling. The filling actually tastes just like the Ferrero Rocher inside, except these are surrounded by milk chocolate of course. I prefer Rochers, but these are much much cheaper and tastes pretty good too!

Rating - 7.5

Look

Individually wrapped pieces stored in an easy to get to box. The wrapping follows the white and orange theme of Ferrero products.

Rating - 2

C-factor

267g, which is 30 pieces, for $10.99. It’s pretty good for good quality chocolates.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

milk chocolate (31%) [sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, anhydrous milk fat, emulsifier, soy lecithin, flavouring], hazelnuts (27%), dark chocolate (15%) [sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier, flavouring], vegetable fats, sugar, whey powder, fat-reduced cocoa powder, flavouring

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Ivyhome Dairy Organic Skim Milk

Taste

We accidentally bought the skim milk instead of the full fat. Normally drinking skim milk is like drinking water, but I was really surprised as this one from Ivyhome, as it really has taste! The consistency is still very funny but at least it didn’t taste like water!

Rating - 6.5

Look

This must be what the rich people stock their fridge with – designer milk! It comes in a 1L clear glass bottle that won’t look out of place on the kitchen bench.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

1L for $4.50. Very exy, but you’ve got to pay for that bottle from somewhere.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

pasteurised non homogenised

Available At

organic stores

Sonoma Bread

Taste

Well, the last time I had Sonoma, I didn’t enjoy the bread, so I had been reluctant to give it another go. In this case, I am glad I gave it another chance. The Rye Spelt was absolutely beautiful. A strong and golden crust encased some beautifully textured bread.

Rating - 8

Look

Golden outside with a dusting of flour, this was a light creamy brown colour on the inside.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$6.50 for 600g. It’s on the expensive side in terms of boutique bread.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

40% organic spelt flour ,60% organic rye flour, leaven (fermented organic spelt & rye flour & water), filtered water, sea salt

Available At

organic stores

Luken & May Butterbursts

Taste

I picked up these Luken & May goodies after Christmas. The Basil & Parmesan savoury sticks were absolutely scrumptious. The biscuits were top quality and the parmesan very addictive. There was just enough basil to give it a kick along but not to overpower.

The Orange & Cardamom were on the other end of the scale. Sweet shortbread biscuits fragranced by orange. It’s only after you eat it that you get the hit of cardamom as an aftertaste. It’s very very addictive too…

These are certainly better than the , a par above Mother Meg’s and dare a say it, even better than Byron Bay!

Rating - 8.5

Look

These don’t only taste good, but they look good too! The savoury sticks were long, not too thick and not too thin, and look very sexy in their silver tin. The orange and cardamom were in little yellow star shapes and come in a beautiful red tin that will look great on any kitchen bench or office drawer.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

175g for $13.95, 175g for $15.95

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 13

Ingredients

Basil & Parmesan savoury

wheat flour, butter (28%), cornflour, parmesan cheese (8%)) [milk, starch, cultures, rennet, salt], spices, garlic, salt basil (0.3%)

Orange & Cardamom

wheat flour, butter (28%), sugar, cardamon (1%), orange oil, salt

Available At

Myer
Website
David Jones Foodhall
Website

Woolworths Freefrom Gluten Free Biscuits

Taste

From the range of Gluten Free products, I was expecting these to be not as good as the “real thing”, and by that I mean flour, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Orange and Poppyseed Choc Coated Biscuits were a bit more cakey than biscuity, but it actually suits quite well. The biscuit is dense, making the chocolate a very good foil for the biscuits. I love the poppy seeds, and chocolate and orange is such a classic pairing.

The Choc Coated Biscuits were great too, but I have to rank them below the orange and poppyseed. These have a much more chocolate hit, but otherwise the biscuits are pretty plain.

Rating - 7

Look

Maybe because they are gluten free, but more care seems to have gone into the packaging. Plastic trays separate the biscuits ensuring they don’t all stick together – good in theory but didn’t quite work in practice, my pack of biscuits all rolled to one side.

Appearance wise, they are very pretty, with chocolate decorations and in the case of the orange, beautiful specks of poppyseed.

Rating - 2

C-factor

I got my 200g packs as a sample from the Gluten Free Expo. They normally cost around $3.50 for 12 cookies inside.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 10.5

Ingredients

Orange and Poppyseed Choc Coated

compound chocolate (35%) [sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa, emulsifiers, salt], sugar, margarine [vegetable oils, water, salt total milk solids non fat, emulsifiers, flavour, acidity regulator, antioxidants, colour],potato flour, rice flour, maize flour, soya flour, hazelnut paste, sweetened condensed milk [sugar, milk solids], invert syrup, poppyseed (1%), golden syrup, whey powder, flavour [orange oil (0.2%)], raising agents, salt

Choc Coated Biscuits

compound chocolate (50%) [sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa, emulsifiers, salt], sugar, potato flour, rice flour, maize flour, margarine [vegetable oils, water, salt total milk solids non fat, emulsifiers, flavour, acidity regulator, antioxidants, colour], soya flour, hazelnut paste, sweetened condensed milk [sugar, milk solids], invert syrup, whey powder, raising agents, salt, flavour

Available At

Woolworths
Website

Chupa Chups

Taste

Ahhh, good old Chupa Chups. They seem to be a staple of childhood, and I’m glad to see them carry on for so long. They haven’t gone on without innovation though, as the rainbow of new flavours attest to. I tried the Apple, which was very nice. It captured that crisp, tarty sweetness of a green apple perfectly.

Rating - 6

Look

It’s always run to eat, recapture your long lost childhood. That pesky covering doesn’t come off any easier with age though.

Rating - 2

C-factor

One 13g stick has now gone up in price to about 50 cents… considering kids these days get about $50 pocket money a week, this is still extremely affordable.

Rating - 2

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

sugar, glucose syrup, food acid, concentrated fruit puree, apple

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Bavarian Bier Cafe York

Well, well, when I heard about their GET SCHNITFACED challenge:

Every Tuesday, pig-out and finish our Giant Schnitzel and the Schnapps is on us!

I knew I just had to go.

Food

For those unfamiliar, the Bavarian Bier Café is like the other European beer houses around, and serves Bavarian food and beer. In fact, their menu is very similar to The Lowenbrau, including the beer they serve.

We were only here for one thing though, the Löwenschnitzel ($23) - Giant Pork Schnitzel Served with French Fries. We ordered this at The Lowenbrau too, but I have to say, this one is much better! The batter was crisp and not too thick, the meat was tender and cooked well, pounded thinly but not too thin. Surprisingly, on one corner of our plate was a small but perfectly dressed rocket and radish salad! The accompanying tartare sauce was scrumptious, I wish there was more of it though, to dip with the delectable golden and crunchy chips. Regular readers will know that I am not a big fan of schnitzel, so this has really impressed me!

But did I finish my challenge? Let’s just say that there was nothing left on my plate at the end of it. Actually, it needn’t matter, as everybody gets a Schnapps anyway! For the challenge, they had 4 of their flavours available as part of the challenge, so it must be a sign, so we ordered one of each:

• studmeister – we couldn’t figure not the flavour, but Chinese medicine, licorice and aniseed come to mind
• butterscotch – smooth and just like butterscotch pudding, my favourite
• pfirsich (peach) – smells divine, has a strong kick and tastes like peach lollies
• sour apple – a refreshing taste that’s sweet and sour

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Well, it was Tuesday lunch so the place was about half full. It was half full only because of the schnitzel challenge, as the sound of the cow bell was reverberating all around each time the schnapps are bought out on those meter long pallets. This made the atmosphere a bit more relaxed. Otherwise, this place seems very slick and formal, even with their booths, giant wooden benches and plasma TVs… maybe it’s the serious attitude of the staff or those glasses hanging above the bar?

Rating - 2

Service

It could certainly be better, especially from a half full restaurant. No one showed us to a table so we plonked ourselves down. We had to wave around for a waiter to take our order – and then we were told that only certain waiters could take order, it seems some are just supposed to be the drinks girl. After ages, one of them finally came around to take our order. We got some sautéed vegetables to go with our schnitzels but that order never came. In hindsight it was probably just as well, but shame to the waiters for forgetting.

Rating - 2

C-factor

This was certainly a fun experience, and for $15 for a schnitzel and schnapp, it’s definitely a fun time out.

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

24 York Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 8297 4111
Website

Coles Caesar Salad

Taste

Well, the bacons were a bit small, the croûtons really hard, but the lettuce and the dressing was nice enough for a salad that comes out of a packet. Of course, making it fresh and with some home-made dressing is much better, but this is a good backup.

Rating - 6

Look

Really easy to do. Everything is contained in its own plastic bag. All you do is find a big bowl, (or fish and chips container in our case), empty, mix and serve. It’s definitely convenient, you don’t even need to wash or cut anything, but the ingredients do look a bit lifeless and limp.

Rating - 2

C-factor

145g for $4.99, again very exy considering you can buy a whole lettuce for much cheaper, but then the cost is in the effort.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

cos lettuce (68%), Caesar dressing (14%) [water, soybean oil, vinegar, sugar, egg yolk, salt, flavour, vegetable gum, mustard, lemon juice concentrate, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, food acid, parmesan cheese (7%), bacon (6%), croutons (5%)

Available At

Coles
Website

Coles Couscous Salad

Taste

I was surprised at how wonderful this tastes. The couscous was fluffy and had been soaked with the wonderful juices from the variety of roast vegetables. The vegs themselves were actually plump and juicy. They also managed to get the balance between vegetables and couscous right.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Packed in an easy to eat container. The colours were deep and attractive. No matter how you pack it though, couscous is always hard to eat.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

125g for $4.99. It’s quite expensive but I guess you get a lot for your money.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 10

Ingredients

couscous (45%), roasted vegetables (36%) [eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, onion, canola oil, white vinegar, salt, garlic, mixed herbs, brown sugar], basil pesto dressing (11%), semi dried tomato

Available At

Coles
Website

Fosterton Farm Bakery Bread

Taste

Fosterton Farm's bio-dynamic and organic breads only sells at selected stores and markets around Northern NSW, so we felt it was our duty to try it out. There wasn't much bread available, but they were doing a roaring trade. We picked up a Linseed sourdough ($4.80), corn sourdough ($4.80) and farmhouse sourdough ($4.80). They actually taste the same, the only difference being the texture. The linseed is crunchy, the farmhouse traditional, the cornbread was my favourite in terms of texture, being a coarser grain. Certainly not as good as the usual stuff I'm used to, but better than the supermarket variety. A nice sourdough aroma and nice crust. They actually got better and better with age.

Also on offer were some sweet and savory offerings. We picked up the pumpkin, feta and rice parcel ($3) - which I am sure is very good for you. For something very hippy-like, it tasted alright. It's a little bland and the pastry not that great, but it's not altogether bad.

Rating - 7.5

Look

The breads were beautifully presented and the colour was fabulous. The same for their small offerings too. It's a small family run business who do all the baking, packaging and selling, so I was all in for that.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

It's not outrageous but not cheap either. For Newcastle, the price is great as there is no one else selling these, but in Sydney you get so much more choice.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11

Ingredients

corn

Freshly milled organic maize meal and biodynamic wholewheat flour, rainwater, celtic sea salt and natural yeast ferment.

Available At

792 Fosterton Road
Dungog
NSW 2420
Phone (02) 4992 3408

Australian Regional Food Store & Cafe Coffee

Taste

I didn’t feel like eating anything heavy after too much wine and taste testing, but I was extremely tired from a restless night, so I really needed a coffee. The latte ($3.80) was terrible, it was very bitter and watery, and not complex at all. The cappuccino ($3.50) was pulled for a shorter time, but was also sweetened with cocoa, so it wasn’t bitter, but alas, it was still watery.

Rating - 5

Look

The shop is quite inviting, looking out to the stream and bush outside. Inside are some comfy chairs and magazines. We needed them too as it took over 10 minutes to make 2 coffees, even though we were the only customers. At least we could also look at the produce and books on display, as well as taste test some offerings.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

I couldn’t believe they were charging $3.80 for a coffee, that’s getting on par with hotel prices! Lucky we had a buy one get one free voucher, but still, that’s nearly $2 for some mediocre coffees.

Rating - 0

Swiss Points - 6.5

Available At

McDonalds Road
Pokolbin
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 4998 6800

Bliss Coffee Roasters Cappuccino

Taste

They are special bean roasters. Our cappuccino ($3.50) was absolutely wonderful. It was pulled just right, has an excellent crema, and was not bitter or overpowering.

Rating - 8

Look

The shop is very inviting. The décor is themed towards coffee, including the coffee clock which I have seen a couple of times at other places. The back wall displays coffee and tea products you can buy, while the front glass counter of cakes and pastries distracts from their gigantic shiny coffee machine. You can also buy the beans whole or grounded at the shop, or order online.

And the coffee itself? They did a lovely coffee art leave :)

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$3.50 is around average price around the Hunter and the CBD. It’s expensive but it’s good coffee…

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11.5

Available At

Hunter Valley Garden Village
Broke Rd
Pokolbin
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 4998 6700
Website

Hunter Valley Gold Washed Rind Cheese

Taste

Very much like the smelly washed rinds from France, except less expensive :). This one is a bit less complex in flavour, the texture is very smooth and the flavour very deep. It's an in your face cheese, not to mention, in your smell!

This has won a ASCA Gold Medal for 2005.

Rating - 7.5

Look

All gooey and golden yellow on the inside with a mouldy orange inside. It's called washed rind because the rind has to be wiped continuously throughout the maturing process.

Rating - 3

C-factor

$52.40/kg from the factory shop.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 11.5

Ingredients

100% cow's milk, vegetable rennet, salt & cultures

Available At

McDonalds Road
Pokolbin
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 4998 7744
Website

Twist Cafe & Bar

Since our first choice of Restaurant II, the only reputable restaurant in Newcastle, wasn't available, this was our choice out of those from Honeysuckle Wharf.

Food

Before I start to comment on the food, let me point out that all spelling were taken from their menu, and the spelling mistakes are not my own.

Anyway, after a long wait (which is the norm according to sis), our meals arrived:

• seared blue eye cod fillet in South Indian aubergine and potato curry topped with seared scallops and riata ($26) - is my pick of the bunch. The fish was moist and the vegetable accompaniment was well cooked and the sauce – not too complex but binded it all together.
• pan fried yellow fin tuna served on sauteed kiper potato, asparagus and sundried tomatoes with wild roquette, basil oil and essence of balsamic ($26) - after the waiter promised "sashimi grade" tuna, I asked for it to be cooked medium rare. When my fish arrived and I saw that the thin piece of fillet was on the well-done side of medium well, I already had comprehensions. One taste of the too dried flesh confirmed my suspicions. The delicate sweetness of the flesh and the melt in your mouth creaminess of "sashimi grade" tuna was non existent. Unfortunately, the accompanied essence of balsamic was more like sweetened sugar – missing all of the caramel tones of real, or even medium balsamic. At least the potatoes were cooked correctly … if it wasn’t, well, there wasn’t very much left on the dish.
• roasted whole spatchcock with french lentils, currents, speck and merlot glaze ($24) - I didn’t try the spatchcock, but the French lentils were on the charred side, but it imparted that lovely “burnt” flavour to the lentils.
• chargrilled bangalow pork cutlet with roasted parsnip and thyme mash, sauteed baby spinach and caramelised apple jus ($26) - at least the skin was nice and crispy, and there was a big layer of fat rimmed around the cutlet. The meat was sweet and flavourful. I found the apple sauce a little too sweet for my liking, but the parsnip and thyme mash was heavenly.
• seared atlantics salmon with beurre blanc, asparagus spear and potato rosti ($26) - a only had a taste of the salmon, which was actually cooked medium rare as requested, meaning it’s actually juicy. If only my tuna was the same…sigh…

A bit of an up and down experience. Unfortunately, even the up is only average. I really hope this isn’t the normal standard for Newcastle.

Rating - 5

Atmosphere

Since we had to leave by 8pm, all the people dining there were of the older set and people with young kids. Otherwise, the décor is supposedly to be for the "cool crowd", by that I mean, dim lighting, booths, candles, pink glow and funky lamps. It’s an ok hangout, but what atmosphere there was, was wrecked by mum’s constant complaints about how dark the place is, how loud everything was, and how the plates were so big and the servings so small, and so on and so forth…not a place to bring your parents no doubt.

Rating - 1

Service

They were booked out for the night, but I gave them credit for accommodating us, if we were going to be out by 8pm. With the parents in tow, I’m sure that won’t be a problem at all. Our waiter gave us the menus, and then said each of the specials were "really really good". She then went on to explain what "sashimi grade" was and "bangalow pork" is. I really hate waiters who say everything is really really good.

We didn’t really have a problem with the service, but did watch a table get their mains mistakenly delivered to them, in the middle of their entrees. The waiters weren’t really at a spot where you can see them, so it’s hard to get their attention. For those prices, you still have to do everything yourself.

Also, one of the waiter was my sis’s uni friend, who was apparently very bitchy to her patients. She didn’t serve us so I’ll let her be the judge of that.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Crap spelling, gushing waiter, long wait, not delivering to my order and having to listen to my mum yak does not an enjoyable dinner make.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 8.5

Info

N3 The Boardwalk
Honeysuckle Drive
Newcastle
NSW 2300
Phone (02) 4926 1766
Website

Saigon Pho Vietnamese Restaurant

And so I continue on my quest to try all the restaurants in Flemington. Having stuck on my favourite, Ta Fong, for ages, I recently ventured to Can Thang without much success. Saigon Pho always seem to be quite popular with the diners, so I went in with great expectations.

Food

The first dish is our gauge, used to compare the quality of other restaurants. Beef Noodle Soup (pho) ($7). Well, the soup as certainly very hot because the beef was very very well cooked. There wasn't a lot of bean sprouts, onions or shallots. The only thing that was kinda generous was the noodles. The accompanying plate of basil was small and looked dead, the lemon slice was really dry, and there were no chillies or nuoc chu sauce to be seen. The real test for good pho is of course in the stock. This one was ok, if a bit one-dimensional. They probably skim on the ingredients that's why.

I ordered the special fish with rice hot pot ($8.70) just so I can compare it with Ta Fong, the fish being one of my favourite dishes there. This one was not too bad. The sauce was more complex and flavoured with chilli. I would like it to be slightly hotter, but it went with the broken rice very well. The soup that came with it was pretty tasty.

seafood combination in fried noodles ($9) was typical, nothing to get excited about. The noodles didn't really have the wok's breath (I wonder if they just microwave?), but there was a good amount of seafood (not a lot mind you, but enough to justify it as "seafood" noodles.

All in all, this one is not as good as Ta Fong, but is miles ahead of Can Thang.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Certainly on different to any other restaurants there - laminated table, a tray with utensils, condiments and a box of tissues, the pour yourself teapot at the ready, specials stuck on the wall...This place is actually a bit less frantic than the usual, and there were quite a few Westerners there (enjoying spring rolls and crispy skinned chicken no less).

Rating - 1

Service

They came around straight away to take our order, but we'd only just sat down. I can actually understand, most people have a favourite which they order without having to look at the menu. We on the other hand, only had one thing we knew we wanted, so we needed more time. Once we had decided though, they came around quickly to take our order. Again, before we could even settle down, the beef noodle soup arrived.

Service is your typical Asian aloofness. They asked us if we wanted small bowls, and bought out and cleared away our dishes quickly. The only hiccup of the night came when they tried to deliver us another noodle, immediately after the first one was delivered...

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

The prices are about the same as the other restaurants in Flemington. The quality of the products are not as good, but it's not too bad at all for a quick feed.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11

Info

8/90 The Crescent
Flemington
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9746 1692

Can Thang BBQ Restaurant

In my quest to broaden my range around Flemington, I decided to give the favourite, Ta Fong a rest, and try out the rest of the offerings. There have been quite a few new openings lately, but we decided to try an old stayer. Can Thang was recently reviewed by SMH, so we decided we would compare notes.

Food

As the name says, this is a BBQ restaurant, but they also do Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and even some Malaysian. We decided not to go with the BBQ because everyone always line up at the BBQ place down the road, and we decided not to try the Vietnamese as they don't seem to specialise in it, so went with the Chinese Beef bisket noodle soup ($8) and Satay chicken fried noodle ($9). I don't know if we ordered right or wrong, but with what we tasted, we won't be back.

The bisket was in the tomato based sauce, the bisket was soft and gluggy, just he way biskets should be, but the tomato sauce was underwhelming, very oily and sour. The satay chicken was in even more oil, and the satay based sauce doesn't even taste like it contained any peanuts at all. I felt pretty sick as I finished my meal...

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

We were there for brunch, so really had the place to ourselves, except for one table having a family gathering, and a fat Western couple, who were eating around 4 dishes between the two of them. The antics of these 2 tables kept us occupied, as well as the ladies preparing vegetables and dumplings at another of the tables.

Decor wise, it's the typical restaurant style, except this one is actually quite spacious. There's also the added advantage of their BBQ counter, where you can watch dried animals being slaughtered.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Typical Asian nonchalance. If they want repeat business, they really should learn to smile, as I certainly won't be coming back for the food!

Rating - 2

C-factor

Prices aren't outrageous but I've had much better food elsewhere.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 10

Info

97 The Crescent
Homebush West
NSW 2131
Phone(02) 9764 5400

Heaven Ganache Macadamia

Taste

I’m a fan of magnums but I didn’t really like Heaven , but I wanted to give this a try. The results? Better than I thought, but still not as good as magnum. Let me elaborate. The ice-cream is a bit too sweet, but the addition of macadamia is most welcomed. The chocolate is not as thick and morish as magnums, it being a bit soft and sweet too.

Rating - 6

Look

Beautifully packaged, the chocolate is glossy, and the ice-cream is just the right size for an individual indulgence.

Rating - 2

C-factor

385ml for $3.99 on special. It’s about the same price as a magnum so I would have to say it’s worst value then.

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 9

Ingredients

cream, water, sugar, cocoa mass, macadamia nut pieces, vegetable fat, milk solids, skim milk concentrate, glucose syrup, invert sugar, mattodextrin, emulsifier, cocoa butter, flavours, vegetable gum, salt

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

King Island Diary Yoghurt

Taste

Definitely better than the usual supermarket stuff. This was much creamier. I got the "normal"Vanilla. I enjoyed it because we wasn’t too sweet and doesn’t taste like fake vanilla. The yoghurt was creamy (and fatty I'm sure) and very smooth.

Rating - 7

Look

Very classy. White tub with a blue lid, it really feels like you’re eating luxury. And of course the price tag helped too…

Rating - 2

C-factor

300g for $3.79. Very exy indeed for a “supermarket” brand.

Rating - 0.5

Swiss Points - 9.5

Ingredients

whole milk, cream, sugar, milk solids non fat, live cultures

Available At

Supermarkets everywhere

Penguin Market Cakes

Taste

We bought this off this lovely old lady, who’s been baking for years and has lots of awards to show. There were lots of varieties of old style cakes to choose from. Our pack contained:

• jellycake - just like lamington, except without the chocolates.
• lamington - a very soft cake and one of the best I’ve tasted.
• sultana cake - soft and sweet, just like the old fashioned cakes.
• chocolate slice with sprinkles - not very chocolaty, a bit too sweet.
• date slice - has a very gooey filling, the crumble topping is not buttery enough.
• fruit mix slice - pleasant, but I didn’t enjoy the sweet carrot glaze and sweetened fruit in the mix.

Rating - 6

Look

The Penguin Market’s claim to fame is being "The largest undercover Antique, Secondhand & Collectibles market in Tasmania". I don’t know their claim for large, but it’s a pretty way to meander away a morning. We didn’t find the stalls too exciting, but it’s more a country town kinda market than big city markets.

The cakes were lovingly made, with their homemade labels and all.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

$3.50 for our 6 pack of little cakes. Not too bad, especially if you are on holidays and want that country feel.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 9

Available At

Arnold Street
Penguin
TAS 7316
Phone (03) 6437 2935
Website

Betta Milk

Taste

Ever since I tasted this wonderful milk on holidays in Tassie in 2003, I’ve been searching everywhere for a similar experience. Alas, this didn’t deliver. This milk from Betta, a Tasmanian based company, was basically the same as the milk in NSW and VIC. What do they do to these milk to make them taste worst than its original form?

Rating - 5

Look

Pretty ugly. It’s milk I suppose.

Rating - 0.5

C-factor

300ml

Rating - 1

Swiss Points - 6.5

Ingredients

100% Tasmanian milk

Available At

supermarkets in Tasmania

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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