Category Archives: Greatly Terrific Food Outing

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Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Social Brew, Pyrmont

December 19, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Artmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

3.9

OVERALL SUMMARY

Stylishly Hipster

For an oasis of good food, coffee and vibes you’ve come to the right place. Located in Pyrmont, Social Brew cafe brings a stylish cafe spot accompanied by great service.

Setting and Atmosphere

Social Brew’s dark interior really stands out amongst the burst of greenery from the trees that frame the verandah to the bright red chairs that line the street front. With an open air feel, you’ll be able to enjoy the summer breeze through the large windows at the front of the cafe, or if you prefer, pull up a picnic rug – provided by the cafe of course – and enjoy brunch outside on the grass.

If sitting inside is your vibe, industrial decor awaits with low hanging vintage light bulbs, posies of wild flowers and even a vintage bicycle.

Food

Breakfast goers and brunch fanatics, you should definitely include Social Brew on your list, the dining experience was really pleasant.

Overall the food at Social Brew was tasty and well presented.

The Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board was a great choice for brunch and we happily smashed into smooth avocado, creamy buratta cheese, tomatoes, prosciutto and mushrooms a la grecque in Social Brew’s delectable Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board, served with a soft boiled zatar egg to add some well deserved spice. A great dish for sharing; pick, choose, mix and match flavours as you like.

The only miss on this dish for me was the mushrooms a la grecque which tasted a bit too much like it was just mixed with pasta sauce – mushrooms are so aromatic and flavoursome when cooked and it would have been a great opportunity to really get some some special flavours in those mushrooms, particularly with that gorgeous Buratta cheese served on top!

Next on the menu was the Apple Cider Eggs Benedict, which I was really excited to try. Overall, a good Eggs Benedict, but I was really looking forward to tasting the apple cider flavours.

To lighten the palette the muesli of burnt fig works a treat. The poached pear, nectarines and peaches were delicious. Thirsty? Wash it all down with some freshly squeezed juices!

The Brew Brekkie Deluxe Board: Buratta Cheese, smooth avocado, organic truss baby tomatoes, prosciutto, mushrooms a la grecque and soft boiled zatar egg served with olive and rosemary sourdough | $20

Apple cider Egg Benedict with wilted spinach and choice of crispy bacon or black forest ham on brioche | $16

Muesli of burnt fig, cinnamon & almond, natural yoghurt, and seasonal fruit | $11

Service

Very friendly and helpful staff, food was a little slow (only a tiny bit!) but it was a very busy morning so it’s to be expected – we’re not all superheroes!

Pricing and Value for Money

Overall, I think the value for money is quite good. I was happy with the price with 2 out of 3 of my meals. I found the breakfast board a little pricey for $20.

The Details

Where: 224 Harris St, Pyrmont NSW 2009

Contact: (02) 9571 8792

Opening Hours:

Mon – Sun: 7am – 4pm

Please note that this was an invited event I attended on behalf of ningjaeats.

Greatly Terrific Food Outing, Japan, Japan Food Guide

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

October 7, 2016 Siree 9 Comments

The Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku is now closed.

Update: April 2022

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Not just Insta-worthy – it’s tasty as well!

With its dripping liquid walls and psychedelic colour scheme, The KAWAII MONSTER CAFE plays perfect homage to the flamboyant, the sweetest of sugary treats and the oh-so fun nature that is the Harajuku district and the signature world that is the creative mind of Sebastian Masuda. Don’t expect a simple dine-out experience here! As the “Monster Girls” navigate you to your table, let’s see what this Alice in Wonderland has to offer.

Setting and Atmosphere

ver the top and sinfully fun. The interior of the KAWAII MONSTER CAFE feels like a shrine to Harajuku’s crazy and excessive nature in fashion and style, but what if I told you it was actually the stomach of the restaurant’s mascot, “Mr. Ten thousand chopsticks” or simply “Choppy” for short? Bet you would have never guessed, right?

Before entering the discotheque labyrinth that is this monster’s “belly,” you have a selection of 4 rooms or “zones” to choose from: MUSHROOM DISCO, MILK STAND, Bar

Experiment, and Mel-Tea ROOM. Since I arrived pretty late that night the MUSHROOM DISCO zone was only available but turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it was right in the middle near the restaurant’s most entertaining features: the “SWEETS GO ROUND” carousel and the area where the DJ was playing.

Each zone’s aesthetic matched well to its theme with plenty of photo opportunities for patrons to freely enjoy taking photos but the details don’t just stop there. The restrooms were also worth a photo visit too! Check out the photos:

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The “SWEETS GO ROUND” carousel

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Table Setting

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The “MUSHROOM DISCO” zone

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The “MILK STAND” zone

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melty

The “Mel-Tea ROOM” zone

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The “Bar Experiment” zone

bar

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The Restroom

Food

dmittedly, I must confess that when I saw the food menu my first thought was, “Is this really gonna taste good or be some kind of mediocre mush?” because the food seriously looked like it came from a Play-Doh set rather than something you should eat and put in your mouth. But oh, how wrong I was!

The first dish was the “Painter” version of their Colorful Rainbow Pasta dish and the dish does live up to its name. The rainbow spaghetti arrived on a painter palette shaped dish with the “paint” being an assortment of different sauces to cover your spaghetti in.

What amazed me the most was that each sauce had its own unique flavour from basil pesto to a garlic kind, offering many different taste variations to choose from. The garlic sauce was bomb and was my favourite!

The final dish I ordered was called the “TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT,” and it was literally a meat bag – a variety of different meats of your choice tossed in a sauce and mixed in a big ass bag for your inner carnivore. The meat was well-cooked to juicy perfection in the Cajun sauce but it also came with an assortment of side sauces to level up your taste buds. Life is too short to have just one sauce – variety is the spice of life!

Colorful Rainbow Pasta (Painter) | Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

Colorful Rainbow Pasta (Painter) | 1,300 JPY

TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT | Kawaii Monster Cafe Harajuku

TOKYO fusion style MEAT MEAT MEAT with Cajun Sauce | 4,400~ JPY

Service

lthough the main icon girls “BABY”, “DOLLY”, “CANDY”, “NASTY” and “CRAZY” weren’t there when I went, the usual staff were also very nice and always smiling.

Super cheery and English friendly, the staff or “Monster Girls” really do enjoy helping you out with taking photos etc. It can’t be easy to try and take orders over loud music but they were super prompt and efficient.

Value for Money

eing a themed restaurant, you kind of have to compare this dining experience like going to an amusement park as most theme restaurants do require some kind of entry fee.

At KAWAII MONSTER CAFE it’s called a “Zone Charge” which is 500 yen per person (as of 2016). However, you do get a small free gift after your meal as a souvenir which I

think is a nice gesture (mine was a pair of chopsticks with my country’s flag printed).

Though it might not be a place you would go every weekend night, the price of the main dishes were reasonable for their volume and quality and would be a good choice for a fun night out or the occasional extravagant dinner experience.

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: The Picnic Burwood

August 9, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

4.5

OVERALL SUMMARY

Try for a decadent brunch

Located in Burwood Park, The Picnic Burwood is the perfect place for a picnic at any time of the year! Whether you’re looking to grab a blanket and set up somewhere in the middle of the park, or enjoy the open-air cafe (kept perfectly warm in winter, might I add), The Picnic has everything you’re looking for in a beautiful and scrumptious breakfast, brunch, lunch and drinks!

Setting and Atmosphere

I love the way The Picnic is set up and decorated. The tables and chairs are so cute, reminiscent of white picked fences with splashes of colour from cushions, crockery and of course the vibrant presentation of food and drinks.

I was a bit worried coming here in the heart of winter, especially since it was a cold day, but The Picnic had it all sorted. The breeze was kept out under the cafe’s kiosk, heaters were set up to keep the place comfortably warm, and if you were still feeling an extra chill each table comes complete with blankets to keep you warm.

Lastly, in the morning we ate, the place turned over 300 customers during the time we were there, but you would have never have known it. With The picnic’s new app, crowds are effortlessly managed. Never did we once feel the place was overcrowded, too noisy or unpleasant, making this experience here a standout compared to other similar place like The Grounds of Alexandria.

Food

The best thing about The Picnic is the selection of unique options for breakfast and brunch, and I think I have discovered one of my all time favourite breakfasts after dining here – The Picnic’s Summer Eggs.

Now, this dish combined a few of my favourite things, cured meats with fruit (in this case pear) pecorino, truffle oil and quince labneh. As you can imagine, a little bit of everything in one mouthful was delightful and definitely my kind of breakfast.

The Picnic Burwood — Summer Eggs | Dukkah poached eggs, jamon serrano, pear, shaved pecorino, drizzled with truffle oil & quince labneh on sourdough – ($19.50)

Next, I was really surprised by the Not So French, French Toast. I was expecting this dish to be overly indulgent when the description read “Coco pop coated French Toast” but surprisingly, I loved this dish. It was decadent, but not too overly sweet which meant you could eat all of it. The watermelon was a great accompaniment to this dish because it helped to cut through the sweetness and add a little bit of freshness so the dish wasn’t so heavy. I wasn’t a fan of eating fairy floss first thing in the morning, but it helped make the dish look spectacular when it hit the table, so I’m glad it was there.

The Salmon Garden was a nice breakfast, but wasn’t a highlight. If you’re looking for a dish that’s simple in its flavours, this dish makes a good choice. One thing I did love was how generous they were with the salmon! I was all salmon-ed out by the end of eating this one! Overall, I was disappointed with in this dish because I was really looking forward to tasting the beetroot cured salon, but unfortunately I couldn’t quite taste the beetroot flavour in the salmon..

Oh – and one must do mention. Get the Red Velvet Cupcake Hot Chocolate. Don’t ask, just do. This hot chocolate was amazing from it’s looks to it’s taste. How can something be so incredibly decadent looking and yet so incredibly moreish. That’s right it was moreish! The hot chocolate was perfect in it’s taste – not too sweet or rich, so I could drink every last drop without feeling sick!

Service

The service at The Picnic Burwood was fantastic. This place has received some bad reviews in the past regarding it’s service, but one thing I love to see is when a business takes feedback on constructively and does something about it.

Let’s face it, this place is busy as heck, so it’s not wonder it was difficult for The Picnic to manage crowds. This is where The Picnic’s new app comes in. Once you arrive, your name is taken down and you go into a wait list. When your table is free, you will be sent an sms to notify you that your table awaits. The result, a non chaotic or overly loud dining experience!

As well as this the staff were really friendly, with our waiter recommending my favourite dish of the day – Summer Eggs.

Pricing and Value for Money

Okay, so each meal here is on the pricey side for brunch BUT, considering what you get, I believe it’s well worth it! Great for a brunch date with the girls.

The Details

Where: Burwood Rd & Park Ave, Burwood NSW 2134

Contact: (02) 9745 1034

Opening Hours:

Tues – Sun: 8am – 4pm

Please note: This was an invited event I attended with ningjaeats.

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake

July 15, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

When it comes to cheesecake, everyone wants to know Uncle Tetsu’s secret. And while I can’t say I’ve found out the secret to that deliciously soft texture, I was able to make my way to today’s secret opening in Sydney!!

Courtesy of Ningjaeats, I was able to indulge in a full Uncle Tetsu experience, with an up close and personal tour of the cheesecake being made to meeting Uncle Tetsu himself!!

So I know you’re all wondering what about the taste? Well…It’s fantastic! It’s not the same as Australian cheesecake – so if you’re expecting that…stahp. Instead it’s super light, fluffy and mild in its flavour. It’s like a perfect little cloud in your mouth and because it’s not overly rich, it is incredibly moreish.

And yes, it does wiggle wiggle.

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: The Royal Leichhardt

July 4, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

The Verdict

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value for Money

4.3

OVERALL SUMMARY

Sophisticated Pub Food

With it’s fresh new look and delicious new menu The Royal Leichhardt is redefining the pub scene with a sophisticated dining experience and menu. With it’s location right in the heart of Leichhardt, you’d expect the foodie competition to be pretty steep. And well…it is, but The Royal does a fantastic job of placing itself on par, if not better, than it’s competitors.

Setting and Atmosphere

First of all, I want everyone to remember that this place is a pub and for a pub I was absolutely blown away by the dining experience I received.

Upon entering, The Royal looks like your typical Aussie pub, until you walk upstairs. Here The Royal becomes to The Royal Botanical; a unique dining experience within a botanical themed interior. The Royal Botanical boasts 3 dining rooms perfect for intimate group settings – picture lush and vibrant interiors with royal greens, numerous plants, chandeliers and fresh bouquets of flowers.

If you’re looking to spend your lunch or evening drinks in the sunlight, step out onto the Botanical Terrace. Surrounded by 100 lush herbs and edible plants this was our location of choice to enjoy our delicious lunch!

Food

Compared to all pubs I’ve eaten at, The Royal blew them all out of the park. The food here is fantastic. It’s tasty, cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. I really appreciated the effort and thought that went into every dish.

Highlights for entree was the tomato and mushroom arancini. To this day, I have to say that these arancini balls were the best I’ve ever tried because it actually made me feel like I was eating more than just a ball of rice. It was crunchy, moist in the centre and full of flavour. Yum!

For main, I recommend the Southern Highlands Lamb Rack. This dish was fantastic and looked beautifully rustic when it arrived on the table. The lamb was cooked perfectly and the flavours on this dish really elevated it from being just a normal roast. This for me was the dish of the day.

Finally for desert we ordered the Mille Feuille and it was gorgeous. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, I’m not a huge fan of ultra sweet things, and this desert catered to that perfectly. The pastry was wafer thin, there was a perfect balance between sweet and tart and the cream was feather light instead of being overly rich.

See below for a full list of food tried:

Tomato and Mushroom Arancini with lime aioli and parmesan | $13

Peking Duck Spring Rolls with sweet chilli sauce | $13

Salt & Pepper Squid with fresh herbs, chilli and lime mayonnaise | $14

Tasmanian Salmon Fillet marinated with green tea and sesame, steamed ginger rice and Asian carrot salad | $27

Southern Highlands Lamb Rack with mustard herb crust BBQ pumpkin and mash | $28

Mille Feuille – layers of filo pastry, mixed berry, almond cream and vanilla bean ice cream | $14

Service

The service here was fantastic. Upon entry we were offered a cocktail, which was a nice touch. The manager/owner took us for a tour around the dining area and the facilities and told us about the history of the place and how it came to be, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall staff were very friendly and attentive.

Pricing and Value for Money

The pricing is very reasonable and portions are large (the lamb rack could have fed two people!).

The Details

Where: 156 Norton Street Leichhardt NSW 2040

Contact: (02) 9569 2638

Opening Hours:

Mon–Thurs: 10am – 1am
Fri-Sat: 10am – 3pm
Sun: 10am – 12am

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Please note that this was an invited event I attended on behalf of ningjaeats.

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: 22 Grams, Randwick

June 5, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

Blasted with a shotgun,
left out in the rain in the night
betrayed by a friend
stranded in a foreign country
overwhelmed by the kindness of a stranger
floored by the stars in the desert sky
licked by a dog
stood on, shouted at and gave back as good as you get
danced till breaking point
and sung your song with everyone watching
travelled with depth, soul and life,
you, me
us

22 grams the weight of experience.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

Amongst unfurbished warehouse vibes, 22 Grams provides a cosy hot spot for the Randwick locals. If the poem above doesn’t give you enough sense of the vibe here, I don’t know what will! 22 Grams is very homey decorated with knickknacks and trinkets on top of every surface. Priding itself on it’s coffee, their big, shiny coffee roaster takes centre stage upon entering the cafe.

The place can get crowded but it’s never too loud or noisy. Staff are always friendly so there’s an all-round cheery vibe.

Food

★★★★

22 Grams Randwick — Pink juice: Morning Flirt – mixed berries, OJ, yoghurt and a touch of banana | $6 Green Juice: Pick me up – apple, pear, pineapple and mint | $6

The menu at 22 Grams is small and simple, playing with traditional breakfast foods and flavours with an overall artisanal focus. All dishes and their presentation have a very homemade feel and you can really taste the difference through the little bits of homemade personalisation they put in all of their dishes. I really value the homemade taste and so for me, this gives 22 Grams extra brownie points. It just feels good to eat.

My favourite dish from 22 Grams so far has to be the Chipotle scrambled eggs. There was a nice flavour and spice to these eggs and they were cocked really well. I really appreciated the extra juices on the plate which were perfect to mop up with my lightly toasted sourdough bread. The only thing missing was an extra dollop of sourcream and fresh coriander to top.

The Goats cheese bruschetta and Poached eggs were tasty menu choices. The highlight of these dishes for me was the smashed avocado. I can’t tell you how happy I was to find a hint of something special in there, I don’t know if it was a lemon/spice infused oil, but it was fantastic. I’ve always grown up experimenting with avocado in different ways – in fact a staple for me was rough forking it with olive oil and salt (it’s seriously delicious) that I’m often bored when most Aussie cafes don’t do anything with their avocado.

The granola with grapefruit, yoghurt and berries is interestingly served with a side of orange juice. This dish was vibrant and beautiful, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to jump on the granola and orange juice bandwagon just yet.

P.S. I haven’t featured them here but you MUST try their sandwiches. They are AMAZING!!

Service

★★★★.5

I think the service here is fantastic. Every time I’ve come here the girls at the counter are very cheerful and friendly. Despite almost always having a full house, the overall service is quick and fast and you’ll rarely see dirty plates left on tables.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★.5

I find the pricing here very reasonable, the portion sizes good and the food, tasty.

The Details

Where: 166 -168 Belmore Road Randwick

Contact: (02) 9398 2277

Opening Hours:

Mon–Fri: 6:30am – 4pm
Sat – Sun: 7am – 4pm

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