Category Archives: Australia Food Guide

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: The Royal Hotel Paddington

April 27, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

While I usually avoid the cold and winter like a snowman would avoid the summer, one good thing about the changing seasons are….AUTUMN MENUS!! And as good menu’s go, today I’d like to share with you The Royal Hotel Paddington’s brand new Autumn Menu.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

Loud and bustling, there’s nothing short of elegance at The Royal Hotel Paddington. Sit yourself down at one of their white marble tables and enjoy the provincial French decor and luscious floral displays that adorn each and every table.

Dim lighting accompanies your dining experience, which is great for an intimate night, but the worst when it comes to a blogger event – we need the light for our photos!! All in all though, dining at The Royal Hotel Paddington is a pleasure and the attention to detail helps the night feel just that little bit more special.

Food

★★★★

The Royal Hotel Paddington - Autumn Menu — Elderflower Rosé Punch – Le Chat Rosé, St. Germain, vanilla syrup, lemonade, blueberries, strawberries and lime,

Royal Hotel Paddington - Autumn Menu — Beef Carpaccio w/ olives, green tomato, rocket and sourdough toast | $19

Starting with entrees, the highlights on the palate were the Parmesan and Truffle Fries and the Tuna Tartare. While the other two dishes were also nice – the Vine Ripened Tomatoes were deliciously sweet -they just lacked a little flavour and seasoning.

For Main, we were served the Beetroot Ravioli, the Spanner Crab Linguine and the Lamb Shoulder. Starting with the Beetroot Linguine one thing I can say is that if you’re a nut fan like me, this dish will be a highlight for you too. The best thing about this dish was it’s uniqueness and with all elements combined – blue cheese, beetroot and walnut cream – it tasted delicious.

Moving on to the Crab Linguine, I was slightly disappointed. It’s a nice pasta dish, but considering the price sets you back almost $30, I was hoping for more crab (there were only tiny little strings of it), and I really wanted to be able to taste the bold garlic flavours as described on the menu. As a result, the dish fell a little flat.

Visually, the Lamb Shoulder was gorgeous and for most guests, this dish was the favourite of the night. For me personally, I didn’t quite enjoy the flavours, however the lamb was cooked really well.

Finally, to sweeten our tastebuds we were served the Rhubarb Bombe Alaska and the Chocolate Lava Cake for desert. With it’s strong rhubarb and tart flavours, rest assured rhubarb loves, this Bombe Alaska will satisfy all your rhubarb needs.

I’ve never been a huge fan of chocolate, and usually when I see chocolate desserts on the menu I can’t help but think “boring.” I was surprised to find, however, that I quite enjoyed The Royal Hotel’s Chocolate Lava Cake which was the perfect balance of chocolate flavours and decadence without being too rich.

Service

★★★★

Service was good and attentive, but lacked a personal touch – which is not something that bothers me personally.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★

Over all, the prices for the dishes are average. I felt that a few of the dishes were overpriced though.

The Details

Where: 237 Glenmore Road Paddington
NSW 2021, Australia

Contact: (02) 9331 2604

Opening Hours:

Mon–Fri: 11am–12am
Sat: 10am–12am
Sun: 11am–12pm

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Please note that this was an invited event courtesy of Ningjaeats

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Sonoma Bakery, Rose Bay

April 10, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

Enter through elegant glass doors and find yourself inside the local Rose Bay hot spot that is Sonoma Bakery. Here you’ll find feel-good food, great coffee and a sprinkle of happiness. Whether you’re looking to treat yourself for breakfast, a quick coffee or a loaf of your favourite sourdough, Sonoma has something that’ll tickle your tastebuds.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★.5

Sonoma Bakery is a bold, open-spaced setting filled with a lively crowd. It’s slightly noisy and busy, but I found that the size of the place absorbs most of the noise, so you don’t have to shout over you friends when speaking. All in all, you get to enjoy the perks of a energetic atmosphere without having to compromise on good conversation!

The dominating colours of black and white suit the interior perfectly, and with matching black tables and crockery, the vibrancy and colours of the food really stand out on the table.

Food

★★★★

Sonoma Bakery French Toast — Morning Bun French Toast with Greek Yoghurt, Lemon Curd and Berries | $12

Sonoma Bakery - Scrambled Chili Eggs and Feta Tartine — Scrambled Chili Eggs and Feta Tartine | $16 – Also added Pancetta which is an additional cost.

Sonoma Bakery - Baked Eggs — Baked Eggs with Merguez Lamb, tomoto, chilli and potato served with Greek Yoghurt, herb salad and sumac

Sonoma Bakery - Hot smoked salmon Tartine — Hot smoked salmon, Avo, Kale and Poached Eggs Tartine | $18

Sonoma Bakery Tartine — Hot smoked salmon, Avo, Kale and Poached Eggs Tartine | $18

Sonoma Bakery - Hot Chocolate — Belgian Hot Chocolate | $5

Built upon humble beginnings, Sonoma is founded on a simple desire to make great bread. It is bread that Sonoma prides itself on and as a result it’s the hero in many of the dishes on their menu. I would definitely describe the food here as rustic, yet modern and homely with generous portion sizes – you won’t go leaving hungry. Each plate served up boasts excellence, care and detail – a quality Sonoma prides itself on back all the way back to it’s roots.

Everything made at Sonoma is created with fresh, wholesome ingredients. Sonoma’s signature flavours came out in every dish with my personal favourite being the Scrambled Chilli Eggs and Feta Tartine. This was a bold dish and the flavours explode in your mouth. There was a hit of chilli, texture from the crispy pancetta, saltiness from the feta cheese, silkiness from the scrambled eggs, sweetness from the roasted tomatoes and freshness topped off with spring onions and parsley. It was a winner dish that was a hit amongst all us bloggers (ningjaeats, phillxiaaaaa and willxia1).

Next, for the more health conscious, try your hand at the Chilli Smoked Salmon Tartine. It’s fresh and light flavours are jam-packed with super foods like kale, salmon, avo, eggs and seeds. What I would have liked to see on this dish would be some kind of lemon vinaigrette drizzled over the dish. I feel it needed something to help marry all the flavours together and balance the dryness of the dish.

For the sweet-tooths and dessert breakfast enthusiasts you can’t go past the French toast. Not being a sweet-tooth, the flavours on this dish packed a serious punch! It’s not your typical French toast, and I’m assuming this is because of the type of bread used. I also couldn’t really taste if it had been dipped in egg. Because of this I found this dish a little too “bready,” but the flavours will definitely satisfy the sweet-tooths.

Finally, I found the hot chocolate delicious and rich without being overly sweet.

An important thing to note is that not all Sonoma franchises have the same dishes. We found that some dishes that took our fancy on Sonoma’s Instagram account, were only available in other stores.

Service

★★★★★

Okay so this was an invited event, and naturally during invited events bloggers really do get VIP attentive service. But the guy who served us went over and above any kind of service I’ve ever seen. He knew the deal with bloggers, he knew, for example, to bring our drinks at the same time as our food so that our coffees don’t get cold and stay looking their best for the photos. So many times we go to cafes and the drinks come out way before the food ever does, so you’re left with cold drinks and destroyed coffee art.

Not only this, he gave us insight into the dishes that taste really great but don’t get as much love as they really should. He was very attentive to us and to our neighbouring tables.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★.5

The portion sizes are fantastic and flavours are delish – although some dishes can be a bit of a miss, so choose wisely. Sonoma is on the pricey side of things, so I wouldn’t say I could make dining a regular thing, but I’ll definitely be returning when I deserve a treat!

The Details

Where: Shop 1, 779 New South Head Road
Rose Bay NSW 2029

Contact: (02) 9371 0635

Opening Hours:

Mon–Wed: 7am–5pm
Thurs–Sat: 7am–9pm
Sun: 7am–5pm

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Please note that this was an invited event courtesy of Ningjaeats

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Petal Met Sugar, Woolloomooloo

April 7, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

With all the Instagram hype I finally made my way to Petal Met Sugar! I’m sure everyone has seen images of their decadent desserts against floral tabletop backdrops. So, without further ado, welcome to Petal Met Sugar, a cosy and intimate cafe x florist x patisserie, tucked away in the streets of Wooloomooloo.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★

What I liked about Petal Met Sugar was the inside space. It’s white, crisp and elegant. To one side, watch behind large glass windows a theatre-like performance of the patissiere’s at work, and to the other, browse the flowers freshly arranged by the florist.

Petal Met Sugar is a workspace first and then a cafe. They primarily take cake and floral orders, but if you’d like to have a sweet treat, there’s a seating area located outside (no tables are located inside). It’s a simple arrangement and not as flash as rising cafes nowadays, but it does the job. The cute floral posy’s add a nice touch on the tabletops.

But what disappointed me the most was the state of the tables. Ningjaeats and I arrived quite early in the morning, around 10AM, and the place was not busy at all! The two free tables were really dirty and the young guy at the counter seemed to be more interested in his conversation with his co-worker, than his potential customers…but more on this later.

Food

★★★★

IMG_1986-5 — Tasting Trio | $10 | From left to right: Peach Oolong – yoghurt mousse, Lupicia peach Oolong tea brulee, blood peach compote, coconut macaron, coconut glaze (Gluten-free) | Chocolate Candy Bar – chocolate flourless sponge, burnt butter ganache, praline feuilletine crunch, sprayed milk chocolate mousse | Eclair

Petal Met Sugar - Terranium — Terrarium passionfruit finger lime panacotta, cocoa nib soil, baby lemon balm, edible flower garden, Callebaut 29.5% white chocolate | $10.50

IMG_1971-1 — Smoked ham and gruyere croissant | $6.50

My goodness. The food here is beautiful! I really love the way that all the dishes look like an artwork. For our tastebuds we ordered the Tasting Trio which included the eclair, peach oolong cake and chocolate candy bar; the ever famous Terrarium and the smoked ham and gruyere croissant.

The peach oolong cake was by far my favourite on the plate. Yum. I would have ordered a whole slab if I knew how delicious it would be. Definitely the highlight of the Tasting Trio, it’s light in its flavours, fruity and not too overly sweet. Also it’s gluten free! I actually recommend you order this standalone as the other two treats on the plate didn’t excite my tastebuds nearly as much.

Secondly the Terrarium is not just a pretty face – it also tastes really good. A little on the sweet side, the trick to eating this is to destroy it – literally. If you try to eat it piece by piece, you won’t get the full combination of flavours as you would smashing the delicate white chocolate globe and grabbing a chunk of cocoa nib soil, passionfruit panacotta and white chocolate all in your mouth at once. All elements together balance perfectly to create a delightful array of flavour combinations on the palate.

The smoked ham and gruyere croissant is fairly standard and tasted like a regular ham and cheese croissant. It was a good accompaniment to reset the palate from the sweetness.

The menu here is limited and I would definitely not go here looking for breakfast or brunch. This place is strictly best for a sweet treat or a small snack, with the only savoury options being a selection of croissants. It’s the perfect place for morning or afternoon tea.

Service

★.5

I feel so terrible having to recount a truthful experience that is so negative, but above all, I promise my readers the truth. I’m sure every other day, Petal Met Sugar has a wonderful person on the service desk, but the young guy in service on this particular morning was terrible.

Okay. There are only 3 tables at Petal Met Sugar and when they’re not busy, I expect them to be clean or soon to be cleaned.

Upon arrival, the young guy at the front register pretty much ignored us. No warm friendly welcome or a “Hi, how are you?” “Where would you like to sit?” or even a “Can I help you?” He knew we were there, we stood literally in front of the register, but he was too busy having a conversation with his co-worker.

So after some time, I gave up on him and decided to take a seat at one of the horribly dirty tables. I grabbed ourselves some menus (after searching for them on the front counter myself – the guy was still in conversation) and took them back so we could order. Once we decided, I went back to order and he seemed almost annoyed that he had to serve me?!!? What?!?! Not only that, I had to clean my OWN table with a napkin.

I went back and asked him if he had a bin to put the napkins in (there were also napkins on the table left from the previous customers). He looked somewhat disgusted at having to touch the napkins with his bare hands, to which I assured him that they weren’t all mine and belonged to the people before me. He reluctantly took them away, making sure to pinch the very far corner of each one so as not taint himself with germs.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★

The prices here are really reasonable and the portion size is good.

The Details

Where: Ground Floor, 68 Sir John Young Cr, Woolloomooloo

Contact: hello@petalmetsugar.com.au or 9360 6226

Opening Hours:

Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 8.00am – 4.30pm
Saturday 9am – 5pm | Sunday 9am – 4pm

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

A Day Out With Spotted Cow Cookies

March 17, 2016 Talyssa 1 Comment

Once upon a time in the industrial wonderland known as Alexandria, lived a bunch of crazy cookie eaters, tucked away in a quaint little cookie making warehouse know as “Spotted Cow Cookies”. They spent their days endlessly creating and tasting cookies, and so it went on until they discovered the secret formula to the perfect cookie – nothing too fancy but always delicious and filled to the brim with love.

One day, Tahnee, the leader of the crazy cookie eaters came up with a wondrous new invention – the brookie, bringing together the two most decadent treats known to mankind – the cookie and the brownie. To celebrate, she decided to open her cookie warehouse to a select group of very lucky cookie enthusiasts, one of those cookie enthusiasts being me, courtesy of ningjaeats!

IMG_1667-6 — Brookies – Brownie X Cookie filled with peanut butter cream or vanilla cream.

The day was a mixture of cookie making classes (yes I have the secret recipes, and maybe I’ll share them), a tour of the factory and a feast that would make the cookie monster jealous – you’ll see what I mean later on.

Upon arrival, we were greeted to Spotted Cow’s new invention – the brookie. A combination of a brownie and a cookie, the brookie is soft, chewy and filled witha peanut butter or vanilla cream centre. And yes, it’s everything you’re imagining – rich, decadent and yum.

We were soon herded (heh heh get it since we’re at spotted COW cookies) into the room we would be cooking in, and it was set up like a Alice in Wonderland tea party! Sweets and treats dressed the table top and had everyone’s mouth watering!

First, we made our own stuffed cookies – don’t worry I’ve spared you the photos of my creations. We were able to stuff the cookies with anything available on the table. There was chocolate, salted caramel, smarties, peanut butter, Nutella, coconut and more!

IMG_1669-7 — The cute, bubbly and ever-so talented, Tahnee, owner of Spotted Cow Cookies

After we made our cookies they were put in the oven and in the mean time we took a tour of the factory. It was really fascinating learning everything involved with making a cookie. Spotted Cow Cookies really care about the ingredients they use and even take the time to assemble some of the cookies by hand too!

After the factory tour, we were taken to a room to unveil Spotted Cow’s newest range of cookies:

COOKIE. MONSTER. WORTHINESS

Please don’t get jealous over what I tell you next. Not only did we get to help ourselves to the delicious spread, we also got to take anything we wanted home, plus 5 bags of cookies!!!!!!! You can see everything I got to take home below!

So where can you get your hands on these cookies? You can order them online here or find them randomly stocked in places – I recently saw some at Event Cinemas!

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: New Shanghai, Sydney

February 15, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

Drool-worthy dumplings? Yes please! Be transported to the colourful streets of Shanghai and while you’re there, let your tastebuds dance on ancient flavours for the ultimate Shanghainese experience.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★.5

Stepping inside New Shanghai is like stepping onto the streets of Old Shanghai and exploring the otherworldy charm of a back alley tucked away behind the bustling city streets. The setting is gorgeous and really a pleasure to dine in. It’s vibrant, it’s alive and it’s unique and while you’re there, experience first hand the art of traditional Shanghainese cuisine with a live dumpling-making theatre or simply enjoy the ambiance of such a beautiful setting with great company.

Food

★★★★.5

New Shanghai Pan Fried Pork Buns | $11.8

Pan fried pork bun – 8pcs $11.8 | Shallot, smoked ham and sesame puff – 6pcs $4.8 | Pork and Chive Dumplings Steamed – 10pcs $10.8

While the setting says “Old Shanghai” the food says “New Shanghai” as the restaurant puts their own modern take on traditional recipes passed down through the generations. And with good reason too – the food here is Měiwèi!! Everything tastes good and trust me when I say that once you’ve been dining here, you’ll be speaking Chinese too. As an avid fan of dumplings the ones here are up there with some of my faves. The pan fried dumplings are crispy on the outside with moist meat on the inside. The steamed dumplings are juicy and tender and finally the sesame puff’s pastry is flaky, crispy and melt-in-mouth perfection.

Though I have to say the highlights of the night for me were the Rainbow Beef with it’s gorgeous outer crunch and perfect chewy texture as well as the Braised Beef soup with it’s light and subtle flavours – a perfect contrast to wash down with the heavier dishes.

Service

★★★★.5

Wonderful prompt service and super friendly staff. Why then not a 5 star? Sometimes the service was a little too attentive that it felt a little rushed.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★

Really great prices, especially considering the quality and portion sizes of the dishes.

The Details

Where: Westfield Sydney, Shop 1017-1020, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 11am – 9:00pm

Website | Facebook

*Please note this was an invited event with the ever so lovely ningjaeats

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Passion Tree, Chatswood

February 1, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

Welcome to the sweet tooth’s haven that is Passion Tree cafe. If caramel popcorn waffles, honey bread, and hero dishes: pineapple, watermelon and melon bingsoo, sound like your cup of tea, then read on!

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

White, bright and with bursts of colour, you could call Passion Tree an Instagrammers haven. Oh and let’s not forget the suspended chairs hanging from the ceiling. While the decor compliments the food and crockery (which is delightfully brightly coloured against the white tabletops) the only question I had was “why the hawaiian flower decorations on the chairs?”

Food

★★★.5

Passion Tree Cafe — Rockmelon Bingsoo | $20

Not having the biggest sweet tooth in the world I have to say I enjoyed the deserts here. Let’s start with Passion Tree’s signature dessert “BingSoo.” The great thing about this dessert is that it’s light, fresh and full of summer. Another bonus is that if you’re not a sweet tooth like me it’s not overly sweet either. I only had the chance to try the rockmelon bingsoo (I’m not a huge fan of rockmelon) and it wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’d definitely be keen to try the watermelon and pineapple flavours since I liked the Oreo Bingsoo! If you have a major sweet tooth though, you might find the bingsoo’s a little bland.

Next the waffles. These were gorgeous, particularly the caramel popcorn flavour which I did not expect I would like. The waffles were crispy, light and the caramel popcorn topping was the perfect amount of sweetness without being overly rich.

Not being the hugest fan of honey bread, Passion Tree’s honey bread tastes as good as all the other ones I’ve tried. So if you’re a fan of honey bread, I’m sure you’d like these – particularly since them come in a wide variety of flavours!

Lastly my Oreo Passionccino was delicious and they were not stingy on the oreos! Amongst all the sweets, I couldn’t manage to finish it so if you’re planning on hitting the sweets hard you might want to settle with some tea to keep you palate balanced.

Service

★★★

The service was fast and quick, with dishes well presented. Staff are not overly friendly and leave you to yourselves which can be either a win or lose depending on your preferred dining experience.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★ . 5

Overall the prices here are standard – $15 will get you a pretty big dessert to share and $20 will get you a whole watermelon bingsoo. Personally I die inside a little when I think about spending $20 on a dessert…but you are getting a whole watermelon and if you share with 5 people it sets you back $5 each!

The Details

Where: Chatswood Interchange, T67/436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 11:30am – 10:30pm | Sun: 11:30 – 12am

Website | Facebook | Instagram

*Please note this was an invited event with the ever so lovely ningjaeats

Run by two travel and lifestyle bloggers, The Hidden Thimble focus’ on creating truthful and in-depth travel guides, food & beauty reviews. Enjoy drool-worthy photography from around the world!