Category Archives: Australia Food Guide

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Flower Child Cafe, Chatswood

November 12, 2018 Talyssa 12 Comments

The Verdict

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

For lovers of Victorian antiquity!

A garden oasis in the middle of a shopping centre…that serves food? Welcome to Flower Child, a Victorian Conservatory styled cafe that’s sure to create a memorable dining experience, even in a shopping centre!

Setting And Atmosphere

If I have to be honest, I’m not too fond of cafe’s that reside in shopping centres…I don’t know, I find them slightly claustrophobic, the artificial light gives off a sterile vibe that I don’t like eating my food under, and I miss the fresh air and natural sunlight of open windows…In saying this, I have to admit Flower Child managed to change my mind.

Hidden amongst Westfield Chatswood’s bustling shopping centre, there’s a secret garden oasis perfect for any introvert to carve out a little piece of tranquility and quiet. Styled with the antiquity of a Victorian conservatory, a rustic blue interior is complimented with distressed wooden accents and a myriad of hanging plants. It’s beautifully inviting and instantly calms the senses. In fact, where can I get one?

The seating area is perfectly situated in front of a glass windowed wall, ensuring full sunlight filters through. It was lovely to sit under. In fact the only negatives were that our table, along with a few others were particularly wobbly, making the dining experience a little dubious – no one wants a cup of coffee spilled all over them because of an unsteady table!

Food

The food at Flower Child is wholesome, rustic, beautifully presented and delicious. Each dish is filled with natural, well balanced flavours that work well together.

For brunch I had the Prosciutto and Asparagus Soldiers, because I am a mad fan of prosciutto and always get a little bit excited when I see it on a brunch menu. Served with a poached egg covered in burnt butter hollandaise, buffalo mozzarella, tomato dust and a freshly baked croissant, my first thought was…”it looks a little dry and flavourless…doesn’t it?” Regardless, I ushered a spoonful in my mouth and was pleasantly surprised. This dish wasn’t nearly as dry as it looked and the flavours complimented each other well. It was simple, yet tasty.

Next on the brunch menu was The Vegan Bowl..and boy was this dish a winner. Presentation, tick. Tastiness, tick. An excellent serving size, tick, tick, tick!!! The saltiness of the haloumi (added for $4 extra but totally worth it if you’re not vegan) in this scrumptious dish suited the sweetness of the beetroot hummus perfectly and these two elements alone made the dish a winner. Perfectly tender roast dutch carrots, moist falafel balls, avocado, cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes accompanied the haloumi and beetroot hummus on a bed of quinoa. The dish was garnished with toasted almonds and crispy chickpeas, providing the perfect amount of crunch. Overall The Vegan Bowl was delicious, fulfilling and healthy! I’d go back just for this!

The drink menu was also great – the lychee and mint shake caught my eye and it was delicious. For coffee lovers, Flower Child proudly serves The Grounds Coffee.

Review: Flower Child Chatswood - The Vegan Bowl — The Vegan Bowl (v), (gf) – House made falafel, quinoa, avocado, truss tomato, baby spinach, sweet potato, crispy chickpeas, roasted Dutch carrots, toasted almonds, beetroot hummus, radish, sesame seeds | $19 ( add haloumi +4 / egg +3 )

Review: Flower Child Chatswood - Prosciutto and Asparagus Soldiers — Prosciutto and Asparagus Soldiers – Poached egg covered in burnt butter hollandaise with shaved prosciutto, charred asparagus, buffalo mozzarella and tomato dust served with a freshly baked croissant | $20

Review: Flower Child Chatswood - Cappuccino — Regular Cappuccino | $4 Lychee & Mint Shake (not pictured) | $8.5

Service

Flower Child doesn’t take bookings, so when we arrived, there was a waiting list. Turn over was fast however and the owner/floor manager was really friendly and took care of us while we waited. He seemed to really care about his customers.

Value for Money

In Sydney, I’d have to say a brunch for $20 is average, if not slightly erring to the expensive side of things. In saying this, the serving sizes at Flower Child were really decent and we left the cafe feeling full, which is always a bonus. Overall the food was delicious and we had a lovely brunch experience, so it was worth the price.

The Details

Where:

Westfield Shopping Centre Chatswood, Shop 391, 1 Anderson St Chatswood.

Contact:

lisa.k@flowerchildcafe.com.au

Opening Hours:

MONDAY – SUNDAY: 8AM – 5PM

( Kitchen closes at 3PM Weekdays, 3:30PM Weekends )

OPEN LATE THURSDAY: 8AM – 8PM

Walk ins only

Find Them Here:

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Indigo

October 7, 2018 Talyssa 26 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Slightly more special than your regular lunch!

It’s always a sure bet that any place that blends Modern Australian with a little bit of European cuisine is going to be good. Plus, since Indigo is touted as Double Bay’s best-kept secret, we knew we were in for a treat! Boasting the ultimate dining experience, Indigo seeks to blend the best of both cultures when it comes to serving the finest quality food, coffee and service…well let’s just hope the service is a little more Australian than European…if you’ve been to Europe, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about ;)

Setting and Atmosphere

Nothing gets more European than alfresco dining does it? There’s just something really nice about sitting outside along the street, while eating a delicious meal and ~~silently judging~~ watching people pass you by. If you’re listening to this and wishing about being whisked away to Europe, then you’ll be happy to know you can get your own slice of alfresco dining right here. Indigo has a really beautiful outdoor set up in the heart of Double Bay, perfect for the warmer months. Think sunshine, trees, a great meal, fresh air and the gorgeous Australian weather.

However, if the outdoors are not really your thing, you can choose to dine inside. Indigo’s interior is modern, topped off with marble tables – yaaaassss, I love when my food is served with a side of extra!

And would you really expect anything less of Double Bay? Indigo is effortlessly chic and stylish and so too is the crowd it draws. Speaking of crowds, this place is always packed. Every day. So I’d say “Double Bay’s best kept secret” is out of the bag and has been for a while now. Sorry Guys!

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Alfresco Dining — Image from Concrete Playground

Food

Indigo’s menu has an extensive selection of breakfast and lunch time dishes, which really makes it the ULTIMATE brunch destination. I found myself wanting to try everything on the menu…including the numerous Asian inspired dishes? Not that I’m complaining, I love Asian food, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from a Modern Australian and European menu.

The dish that immediately caught my eye was the King Prawn Bruschetta. I’d never seen a similar dish offered in any Sydney cafe’s I’ve been to so far and I am a mega prawn lover.

Served on a slice of garlic Levain Bread, topped with avo mash, cucumber, tomato, onion, king prawns and a dollop of dill aioli, the flavour combinations were absolutely delicious. This has got to be one of the best brunch dishes I’ve tried; it was unique, delicious and very impressive to look at. I’m super judgey when it comes to prawns and I feel like 90% of restaurants can’t get them right. The result: rubbery prawns. But not here! These were succulent and perfectly cooked!!!

Keeping with the bruschetta theme, we also ordered the Mushroom Bruschetta from the “Specials” menu. Served with mixed mushrooms, garlic, truffle oil, Parmesan, basil and poached eggs on grilled Levain bread, this dish just missed the mark for an equally great dish – or maybe I’m just biased towards my King Prawn Bruschetta. In terms of flavours, there was something missing that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and overall I wish the dish had a little more of the truffle and garlic flavours shine through.

Because we couldn’t resist, we also ordered the Korean Pork Belly sliders – they sounded amazing with pressed and fried confit pork belly, pickled cucumber and ssamjang glaze. Unfortunately they were a little disappointing and didn’t really bring out the Korean flavours I was looking for. Maybe some Kimchi or Korean plum syrup mixed with gochujjang would have helped to give a more authentic Korean flavour.

Finally, we washed it all down with some freshly squeezed juices.

Review: Indigo Double Bay - King Prawn Bruschetta — King Prawn Bruschetta – Avo mash, cucumber, red capsicum, truss tomatoes, garlic butter, red onion with red vein leaf & dill aioli, served on garlic Levain bread | $27

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Korean Pork Belly Sliders — Korean Pork Belly Sliders – Confit pork belly pressed and fried, picked cucumber, ssamjang glaze & baby spinach on brioche buns | $18

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Mushroom Bruschetta — Mushroom Bruschetta – Mixed mushrooms, garlic, parsley, truffle oil, Parmesan, baby basil & poached eggs with grilled Levain bread | $21

SERVICE

Service here was very friendly and reasonably quick considering how busy the place was!

VALUE FOR MONEY

This is Double Bay, so expect Double Bay pricing. My King Prawn Bruschetta set me back $27 for one slice of bread. Yes I was still hungry after….but man it tasted good. Otherwise, majority of the dishes on the menu are around standard brunch prices ($15 – $20) with the lunch items costing a bit more $25 – $30. Definitely great for a ‘slightly more special’ than your regular lunch!

THE DETAILS

Where: 6/15 Cross Street Double Bay NSW 2028

Contact: (02) 9363 5966

info@indigodoublebay.com

Opening Hours:

Mon – Sat: 7AM – 4:30PM

Sun: 8AM – 4:30PM

Find Them Here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

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Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Spice Theory, Turramurra

July 28, 2018 Talyssa 6 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

3.9

OVERALL SUMMARY

Modern Indian Cuisine

With no other cuisine using more spices than the Indian cuisine, it’s quite fitting that Turramuurra’s new kid on the block Indian restaurant is named “Spice Theory”. So what can you expect from Spice Theory? A sensory experience that celebrates Indian culture, flavours and hospitality. The exotic menu aims to showcase the very best of Modern Indian Cuisine, so let’s see how the experience was!

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Stepping inside Spice Theory, the first thing I noticed is how incredibly modern and chic it is – very sleek and minimalist in style. The restaurant is relaxed, cosy and not too loud, making it perfect for an intimate dinner for two and some good conversation!

To add to the cultural experience I would have loved to see a little more culture in the decor!

FOOD

Spice Theory’s menu is extensive and exotic filled with traditional dishes I’d never heard of, to fan favourites (like butter chicken mmm!) all with notes of modern twists. Not knowing where to start, Kailash happily suggested some of the restaurants signature dishes. I had brought my boyfriend with me – who is vegetarian – and we were very impressed with the variety of vegetarian options on offer.

To start we were served the Dahi Poori Chaat, the Mini Masala Dosa and the Mini Keema Dosa. Living up to ‘providing a sensory experience’ the dishes were a treat to the eye as much as they were to the tastebuds. The presentation of dishes at Spice Theory is one of the best I’ve seen amongst the Indian restaurants I’ve been to and all three dishes were flavoursome. The Dosa’s were perfectly crisp with a flavoursome filling and the accompanying chutney’s really made the flavours sing.

The Dahi Poori Chaat was definitely a highlight. It was a really unique dish and reminded me of a traditional Indian streetfood I’ve had. It was great to see how Spice Theory transformed this traditional Indian streetfood into a modern, restaurant-worthy dish.

For main, the vegetarian curry Paneer Saag was definitely a highlight and I absolutely loved Kailash’s suggestion to pair it with a Peshwari Naan – something I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. The sweetness of the Naan worked with the vegetarian curry beautifully and I am a definite fan of this combo! We were also served the Chicken Tikka Masala, which was missing the ‘wow’ factor for me in terms of taste, but I appreciated that Spice Theory did not hold back on the heat for this curry! (And for non chilli fans, don’t worry, you can ask for your curries to be non spicy).

Too cool the palette we finished with two deserts; the Rose Panna Cotta and the Payasam. These deserts were the perfect way to finish the meal being tasty and light for our already full bellies. The Panna Cotta was perfectly creamy with a light rose fragrance and the Payasam was subtly spiced. Both beautifully presented and delicious!

I would also like to make a special note about the house wine – I’m not a huge wine fan and I loved this one!!

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Dahi Poori Chaat — Dahi Poori Chaat (V) – Small crispy puffed bread mixed with boiled potato, chickpeas and topped with chilled yoghurt and various chutneys | $10.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Mini Masala Dosa — Mini Masala Dosa (V) – Crispy pancake filled with a traditional potato masala served with lentil broth, fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney | $11.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Mini Keema Dosa — Mini Keema Dosa – Crispy pancake filled with minced masala lamb served with lentil broth, fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney | $12.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Main Dishes — Peshwari Naan (back) – Desiccated coconut, sugar and sultanas | $4.00 Garlic and Cheese Naan | $4.50 House Wine – Bud Burst Barossa Valley

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Paneer Saag Curry — Paneer Saag (V) – Cubes of Paneer in purée of English Spinach | $16.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Chicken Tikka Masala — Chicken Tikka Masala – Tender morsels of boneless chicken marinated in a blend of freshly ground herbs, baked over charcoal, then cooked in the chef’s special masala sauce | $19.50

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Rose Panna Cotta — Rose Panna Cotta – Rose-infused panna cotta | $6.00

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Payasam — Payasam (V) – Traditional south Indian rice pudding | $8.00