Archives for : sydney

Ben Gongs Tea and Bakery : Burwood

Recently randomly stumbled upon Ben Gongs Tea and Bakery in Burwood. The place looks great, very modern aesthetics and clean looking. It seemed very popular so I decided to give it a shot.

 

I decided to try one of their Strawberry buns. Other flavours were also available.

 

However, unfortunately looks are very deceiving. Most would imagine biting into something rather sweet,  but in this case it was failed. The bun was a bread bun, not a sweet pastry bun , was plain and unflavoured. The cream was not a sweet whipped cream, or sweet cream but rather a plain yoghurty tasting yoghurt. I’m not sure who creates this and thinks people will want to eat plain yoghurt on plain bread?

 

 

The tea was nothing special. Just plain tea with some fruit thrown into it.

Ben Gongs is aesthetically pleasing but in terms of taste, it falls very short.

Aria – Persian Sandwiches

Anyone who is into mega sized sandwiches with options catered to the adventurous needs to try Aria in Merrylands out. I stumbled upon this place accidentally, as I never venture towards that particular side, as it doesn’t seem like much is happening on that particular end.

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Aria - Persian Sandwiches

Aria – Persian Sandwiches

Sandwiches are well priced, and very filling.

Brain and tongue

Brain and tongue

Unfortunately the final product looks nothing like the photos, but fortunately they do taste good.

La Mesa – Philippine Cuisine

WP_20160422_20_47_16_Pro WP_20160422_20_47_54_ProLa Mesa is a Filipino restaurant located in Haymarket Sydney. It isn’t a hugely poular cuisine in Sydney, so naturally I went and tried it.

WP_20160422_21_11_12_ProBistik – Beef strips marinated in soy and lemon juice. I found it to be pretty salty, but bearable when paired with plain rice.

WP_20160422_21_12_22_Pro WP_20160422_21_12_42_ProSizzling Sisig – sizzling dish of pig head parts. This was easily one of my favourite dishes on the night. Nice balanced flavours.

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CRISPY PATA – “signature dish; Tender pork leg deep fried to make its skin and meat crispy, served with a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and…” Nice texture and crispiness.

WP_20160422_21_19_25_ProCHICKEN ADOBO – “A most popular Philippine dish of tender chicken fillets cooked in sugar cane vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and black pepper” I was pretty keen to try this but was unfortunately disappointed. The chicken was cooked pretty well. But in terms of flavour, it just tasted like plain chicken with soy sauce – literally.

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HALO HALO – “Sweetened exotic fruits, topped with shaved ice, milk and ice cream.”

I expected this to be overly sweet as I saw it arrive at the table. But surprisingly it is well balanced. You taste something different with each spoonful. Reminds me of other Asian influenced deserts – similar flavors.

 

 

 

 

Aaboll Cafe – Ethiopian Cuisine

Aaboll is a hands-on food experience discovered out west. It is conveniently located next to the train station for all you non-drivers.I have not been to any other Ethiopian restaurants – so can’t fairly compare. But thus far, I have really enjoyed eating here.

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Very cool decorations, and an area for a coffee ceremony.

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Above is the Aaboll combination. It includes Injera bread, Doro Wot Chicken, Lamb Tibs, Kye Sega Wot, Alicha, and Vegies.

Bau Truong Canley Heights

Bau Truong is a Vietnamese restaurant in Canley heights.. Probably one of the lesser frequented restaurants by locals. More reason to try it out 🙂

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Inside is suprisngly very clean and colourful.

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Salmon Pho with a generous amount of dill on the top. Not sure any other place in Canley heights that does this? Could be the only one 🙂

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Pennywort Drink Pennywort is a plant. Not really sure how to describe the taste. I like it 🙂 I find it refreshing.

Eat Love Pizza

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Eat Love Pizza is located in a prime location in Darling Harbour right next to the Imax Theatre. Strangely enough its prime location does not help in bringing in customers unfortunately. As you walk around the bend from Darling Harbour to Cockle Bay Wharf you tend not to see the rest of the restaurant. I have walked past this restaurant many times, and just assumed that it was some kind of take out place.

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We decided to give this place a couple weeks ago, and thought that the decor was much nicer than we had anticipated.

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Arancini Balls. These tasted ‘breadier’ and drier than the usual arancini balls I have had in the past. The added sauce is a necessity in this case. I wasn’t blown away. Perhaps a different kind of sauce rather than something that is essentially Tomato Sauce would raise it up another level.

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Frittata. Nice and light, and the salad complimented it very well.

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Gamberi  Tomato base, garlic tiger prawns, chilli, wilted spinach & sweet chilli sauce

I really enjoyed this pizza.  Although I think it could do with a little more chilli/spice as it is listed in the ingredients.

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Peking Duck Tomato base, marinated duck, chilli, toasted sesame seeds, rocket, orange & hoi sin.

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Rose & Vanilla Panacotta 16.00 With spiced marsala blueberries & biscotti

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Gelato & Sorbet  With biscotti.Chefs Selection. Cookies and Cream, Coconut and some fruity one. The cookies and cream tasted pretty standard, the coconut tasted like coconut milk you get out of a can. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the flavour of the fruity one, but it tasted a lot like Fruit Tingle Lollies. Awesome.

 

 

Tetsuyas – Tasting Menu

WP_20140905_20_13_02_ProTetsuyas can be found in the Sydney CBD behind giant iron gates, and within a massive house. From the moment you enter it is all very posh. But for $220 per person for the tasting menu you would expect that.

WP_20140905_20_15_43_ProPart of the menu (I will need to upload the rest of it when I find it)

WP_20140905_20_10_49_ProSome Oysters they upsold me at the start. Were they good? mm, they were ok.

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The service was great, the staff were very attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. However I do feel as though the service style does lack character and personality.But in saying that, it’s understandable. Working in a world renowned fine dining restaurant with the occasional snotty customer would be like walking on egg shells.

Unfortunately I can’t accurately recall how each meal tasted since this was around fathers day last year.  However I do remember really enjoying the food, and would definitely recommend it .

 

 

 

 

 

Sabu: Contemporary Japanese and Sushi.

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Sabu is located within the main food precinct of Parramatta.

WP_20140511_13_08_40_Pro WP_20140511_13_05_07_ProQuite nice looking inside.

WP_20140511_13_09_24_ProJames Ninja -mixed berries  and sweetened apple juice.

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GREEN TEA COOLER 
A summer infusion to refresh the body with apple
juice, green tea, mint, strawberries and cucumber.

I liked this one very refreshing.

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CHERRY BLOSSOM
This lush blend of fresh pink grapefruit and
cherries served tall with orange and mango nectar
will help you kick those shoes off and unwind.

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Mixed Vegetable Tempura
Mixed seasonal vegetables with blue cheese espuma.

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Scallops
Seared scallop with pickled seaweed, shiitake and rich dashi espuma. 2

I think the sauce was overbearing. Way too much of it. The scallops were okay, but would have been better if they were a little more seared/browned on the outside.

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Mushroom Skewers
Mushroom and zucchini skewed with truffle mayonnaise and tarragon.

Sauce was nice. Vegies were a little overcooked though.

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Pork Belly
Slow cooked pork belly, carrot purée, pop pork skin, cumin crumble and ginger
glaze.

The carrot puree has quite a sweet flavour, which is quite a common pairing when it comes to Pork Belly dishes. In this instance, it did not work for me (subjective). The Pork Belly was okay.  It could do with some sides to balance to dish a little better.

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Kasuka

Crispy brick pastry with strawberry Ice Cream, chocolate soil, assorted nuts and rasberry anglaise shot.

Quite a unique and pretty looking dessert.  Could do with a little more strawberry ice cream, to compensate for the generous chocolate soil provided. Could do with a little more fresh berries.

Overall

The staff are super friendly and helpful, however unfortunately I do find the food does need a little refining. I think simplicity is the key in this instance. I would rather eat something basic and well cooked rather than something that is confusing and complicated…

Perhaps my experience will be different next time round, but for now it was just okay.

 

 

 

 

Paparich: Parramatta

Finally Paparich opened a restaurant in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.

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Expect to wait a while to get in. So make sure you dress warm.

WP_20140801_20_20_58_ProPaparich uses a buzzer style system of ordering accompanied with a sheet of paper.

WP_20140801_20_20_45_ProBasically you write down the menu number (which is listed on the menu) , quanity, table number, and number of people, press the button and a server comes and collects it off you.

WP_20140801_20_28_11_ProMango Mania. Basically a fruit Frappe, with Lychees on the top.

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Ribena Melon. Fruit frappe with fresh lychees, jelly, and melon balls.

WP_20140801_20_46_04_ProWe started off with Hainan Steamed Bread & Kaya. Kaya is a sweet creamy, coconut spread. Nice dish, wish it was a little less soggy though.

WP_20140801_20_46_18_ProVegetarian Dim Sum.

WP_20140801_20_39_40_ProRoti Canai, Tandoori Chicken. Delicious. Should’ve gotten another serve of Tandoor Chicken.

WP_20140801_20_42_40_ProBiryani Rice with  Vegetarian Curry Mutton..

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Biryani Rice, Grilled Prawns, Fried Chicken, Sambal Eggplants. The Sambal Eggplant is delicious.

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Macha Soya, red bean, and green tea ice cream. Classic combination of asian flavours. Very nice.

WP_20140809_20_44_43_ProIce Blended Bandung with Glass Jelly. Banddung is condensed milk and rose cordial.

WP_20140801_21_28_28_ProWe finish off with 2 plates of Banana Fritters. We were stuffed by the end of it, and realised we should have just ordered the one plate. They have an option to get the ‘premium’ ice-cream. The standard option is more like a soft style ice cream.

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Watkins Family Farm

WP_20140803_11_33_21_Pro WP_20140803_11_33_29_ProWe made a visit to Watkins Family Farm on the Weekend.

WP_20140803_11_34_09_Pro WP_20140803_11_37_12_ProPeople come here to pick their own Mandarins and Mushrooms.

Basically you pay $10 for a bucket. Fill it up and put it into a bag at the end.

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Most people fill their buckets higher than this. But since we took our One year old and had two buckets it would have been a little difficult.

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Little man giving it a go.WP_20140803_12_18_30_Pro WP_20140803_12_18_41_Pro WP_20140803_12_20_06_Pro WP_20140803_12_20_14_ProAs you can see there is plenty of fruit to pick.

WP_20140803_12_21_41_ProGetting there is pretty easy. Just follow Old Northern Rd all the way until you get to Singleton Road. Be careful on the drive back on singleton rd though. The road barely fits two vehicles, and for some reason – some drivers wont move to the left.

The farm is currently open on weekends.