Category Archives: Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Porch and Parlour

December 6, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

If you’re in to hispter cafes then the Porch and Parlour’s cafe x night bar is for you. It’s creative, it’s got soul food, it offers vegan and vegetarian options and of course, it’s located in Bondi. Need I say more? Hipsters assemble!

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

If you’re anything like me, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief when you hear that the Porch and Parlour cafe is located on the quieter, northern side of Bondi. While the cafe does have open front windows for you to enjoy the ocean breeze, the beautiful view of the ocean is unfortunately obscured by the surrounding buildings – which is a bit of a shame. Nonetheless, the hipster interiors are pretty spech and the cafe plays homage to the all too familiar vibes of ‘refurbished warehouse’ and ‘open industrial roofing’, which actually, I still quite enjoy!

Porch and Parlour is small, cosy and not too overcrowded. I especially loved how all the tables were garnished with a small posy of fresh flowers – it’s the little things.

Food

★★★.5

Porch and Parlour North Bondi — Seared Chicken Breast with Steamed Greens: Broccoli, green beans, peas, fresh herbs, baby spinach, kale and herb pesto. | $22

Porch and Parlour North Bondii — Raw Cosmic Salad with mixed herbs, lettuce, apple, fennel, beetroot, quinoa, sprouts, guacamole, raw sisterhood sauerkraut, sprouted crackers and ocean trout | $25

Both the seared chicken with steam greens and the raw cosmic salad tasted great, as did our mocha. The chicken was organic, cooked well and moist. The steamed greens were well cooked and well seasoned – deliciously lemony. The raw cosmic salad was well dressed, fresh and creative – I really enjoyed the combination of flavours in this dish.

While the dishes and drinks tasted great, unfortunately we couldn’t help but feel a little cheated for our money. The seared chicken dish at $22 was very small with the chicken portion being particularly underwhelming in size. Similarly adding ocean trout to the raw cosmic salad was an additional $7 and unfortunately, the size of the trout was also not the most generous. With the overall salad amounting to around $25 there seemed to be a bit too much lettuce and less of the good stuff – trout, beetroot etc – and for $25 I expect more of the good stuff. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the sprout crackers which for me took away from the otherwise pleasant taste of the salad, and most disappointing of all was the ‘guacamole’. Just because you smash avocado with a fork, does not make it guacamole!!!!

Lastly the “large” mocha would be a regular size in most cafes, especially since it seems to be the trend nowadays to serve mochas in those huge mugs – I like those mugs.

Service

Rating: ★★★★

Good service, fast and pleasant.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Quite pricey, small portion sizes, but the overall taste is good.

The Details

Where: 17-18/110 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi NSW 2026

Opening Hours: Monday – Tuesday 6.30am – 5pm | Wednesday – Sunday 6.30am – 10pm

Contact: info@porchandparlour.com.au

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Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: The Pool Cafe Maroubra

November 29, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

Renovated and refurbished, The Pool Cafe is back with a stunning new look, feel and menu. Opened May 2015 – that’s right so if you see bad reviews online that is pre ‘awesome reopen,’ – the pool cafe serves it’s guests an all day breakfast! Need I say more?

If that isn’t enough they also have an extensive lunch menu, serve quality and healthy food and drinks (without compromising on the taste might I add), all the while providing guests the ultimate ‘breakkie by the beach’ experience, with stunning views of the Maroubra rock pools.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★★

I have to say that this cafe has been one of my favourite cafes to shoot and eat at – it is beautiful inside and out. The interiors are reminiscent of a ‘beach shabby shack’ vibe with modern finishings that are accented with a brilliant baby blue. Add this to the beautiful blue water view and you can’t help but want to sit and eat here all day. The view is gorgeous, the food is gorgeous and it’s not too noisy or crowded. A perfect cafe to go to if you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing, summers day.

Food

Rating: ★★★★

Baked Eggs Shakshuka | The Pool Cafe Maroubra — Baked Eggs Shakshuka: Tomato, Mediterranean spices & toast | $14

Avocado Stack & Poached Egg | The Pool Cafe Maroubra — Avocado Stack & Poached Egg: Bacon, tomato, goats cheese and pesto | $14

The food here I guess best reflects a modern Aussie breakfast, with bits from around the world thrown in. Naturally it all together equals tasty so that’s all that matters. My dukkah toast was delicious with my baked eggs and gave the dish that extra oomph needed to class this baked eggs dish over others I’ve tasted. The avocado stack with poached egg, seems to be a well-earned crowd favourite, and it’s no wonder with all elements combining delightfully on the palate.

The only disappointment of the meal was the berry smoothie (the mango one was delicious!) it was just a bit on the bitter side – possibly because frozen berries were used – but a dollap of honey should fix that right up – so make sure to request it!

Service

Rating: ★★★★★

Although the place was busy, service was fast and pleasant! No complaints.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★★.5

Great value for money. Not too expensive. Delicious meals with good portion sizes.

The Details

Where: 94 Marine Parade, Maroubra NSW 2035

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 7AM – 3PM

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Gertrude & Petunias

October 13, 2015 Talyssa 1 Comment

Brunch. This trendy meal of the day has Sydney-siders constantly talking about the most vogue places to get your weekly dose. And well, they may be right, Foodcraft Espresso, Three Williams and Brewtown Newtown are brilliant! But I may have found a hidden gem in my neighbourhood that could trump the competition!

Welcome to the little corner cafe that is Gertrude & Petunias.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

Let your inner Marie Antoinette run free in this Rococo Haute Couture x Victorian Tea House cafe. Think intricate detail, elegance and glamour. Every aspect of this cafe adheres to the theme and you can’t help but feel a little upper class when you step inside.

Don’t be fooled by appearances though, the food is classic with a modern influence and the crowd a mixed bag of delightful elderly couples (sure to cheer up any day ;) ) to modern day hipsters (yes this also includes groups of skinny jeaned guys – you never would have guessed!)

Overall the cafe is small, cosy but not too overcrowded and most importantly, filled with a good bunch of people – the kind that aren’t too loud to ruin the experience.

Food

Rating: ★★★★★

I can’t fault the food I’ve had here. I’ve been on numerous occasions and every time, everything I have is absolutely delicious. Basically it’s good food with great flavour combinations. Browsing the menu, you’ll fall in love. Everything sounds divine.

My Recommended Dish To Try: Corn Cake Stack

Gertrude and Petunias — Corn Cake Stack: Bacon, Avocado and Tomato Salad, Poached Egg and Maple Syrup || $16

I can’t even begin to describe how perfect this dish is with its winner ingredient tying everything so perfectly together – maple syrup. Yes, avocado, bacon, tomato and corn stack explode with flavour once maple syrup is added. Don’t knock it til you try it. Think chicken waffles vibe, but healthy…er.

Egg Breakfast: Poached Egg, Avocado, Tomato and Ricotta served with Toast || $12

A standard breakfast. Great price.

Flakey Pastry, home made and well-seasoned filling. What more could you want from a pie?

Served in a gigantic tea cup, this mocha will satisfy your cravings. Not being a coffee fan myself, Gertrude and Petunia’s mocha has the perfect balance of chocolate and coffee. Rich and decadent.

Service

Rating: ★★★★

Fast, easy service. Gertrude and Petunia’s it was a pleasure!

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★★

Compared to most brunch menus, Gertrude and Petunia’s is really reasonable with most dishes setting you back around $12. The portion size fills you up and the food is excellent quality.

The Details

Where: 61 Todman Avenue, Kensington, Sydney, NSW

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 07:30–16:00 | Sat – Sun: 07:30 – 15:00

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: The Tea Salon – Katherine Sabbath High Tea

August 23, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

Nestled in the bustlingly chic Westfield CBD, is The Tea Salon best described as a shoppers whimsical haven after a morning of intense retail therapy with the best friend.

Through August, The Tea Salon is to be hosting the Katherine Sabbath High Tea, deemed the most Instagrammable High Tea to come to Sydney. With imagery like this in it’s advertisements, we were nothing short of excited to sink our teeth into it:

All girls know that conversations over food naturally progress to updates on all things awkward in ones life, particularly those concerning men. “So how’s things going with that guy you’ve been seeing?” your friend asks, leaning closer. “Finally” you think to yourself, the question you’ve been dying to have her ask all day – you need someone to talk to.

You explain that while this guy seemed great at first, and is still really nice…it’s just not working, and now you have to awkwardly tell him.

It’s unfortunate to say this, but our experience with the Katherine Sabbath High Tea was like an awkward “friend-zone” conversation.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★

Just like when considering a potential partner, we’ll start off with assessing the looks. Now, The Tea Salon isn’t as immaculate as other High Tea places I’ve been to with the pretty gardens or antique buildings nor is it as quiet and tranquil (?). However, considering it’s located in the middle of a major shopping centre, it does it’s best with what it can and cleans up well, looking quite cute. The crockery is on point being exceptionally pretty and it also matches one other delightfully.

Overall The Tea Salon is no Johnny Depp (or insert preferred hot guy here). But often the looks aren’t the only thing that matters and to be honest we were quite happy to continue our date with the Tea Salon at this point.

Food

Rating: ★★.5

Unfortunately the food is where everything went downhill. Layer by layer as we got deeper into the date things got worse, almost to the point of no return. Let’s weigh out the positives and negatives. Things started off great and the highlight of the food was definitely the savoury options, the scones were delish, as were the pinwheel sandwiches and the savoury tartlets were divine.

BUT this was the Katherine Sabbath High Tea and the sweets were suppose to be the highlight. The advertisements for the sweets deemed that the Katherine Sabbath High Tea was to be the most “Instagrammable High Tea” and it looked amazing in the advertisements. We couldn’t wait to sink our teeth in (after taking photos of course).

After devouring the savoury layers and pleasantly happy w so far, we moved on to the last layer of the high tea – the Katherine Sabbath sweets. Unfortunately our high hopes were crushed and the sweets were the lowlight.

The Rose & Pistachio Pannacotta with Persian Fairy Floss, was probably the best of the sweets, albeit too overpoweringly sweet that it made it difficult to finish the tiny portion of it. The Chocolate Brownie Koala Donut tasted dry and cold but worst of all was the Lemon & Raspberry Zig-Zag Gumball Donut which was cold, doughy and flavourless. I didn’t even know that it was Lemon and Raspberry flavoured until I read the menu for this write up!

The gumball center of the donut was also a poor choice. Besides the fact that at the time, Siree and I thought the gumball was a jawbreaker because it was too hard for us to bite, you don’t really want to be chewing on gum during your high tea experience. Especially if you’re sampling a little bit of everything, you don’t want to have to discard an old piece of chewed up bubble gum on the side of your otherwise elegant plate. I think it would have been smarter if the gum ball was changed to a truffle type, jaffa coated chocolate.

It is unfortunate to say that it was at this point that I knew the Katherine Sabbath high tea was friend-zoned. Gone was the excitement I felt upon looking forward to the most “Instagrammable High Tea” and gone was the addictive need to taste the rest of the food in front of me, that I had felt with the savoury elements.

Service

Rating: ★★★

Good service and friendly staff. They kind of stay out of your way, which is something I prefer. It would have been nice if the waitress told us what each of the sweets were upon service – we found ourselves asking a lot of ‘what’s this?’ questions.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Pretty good value for a high tea at $43, usually most are 50+, however overall I was a bit disappointed because I expected more of the Katherine Sabbath High Tea.

The Details

Where: Westfield Sydney Level 4 (Designer Gallery), Cnr Pitt Street Mall and Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday: 10AM – 6:30PM

Website: www.theteasalon.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tea-Salon/257659904285209

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Secret Garden

July 16, 2015 Siree Leave a comment

If you find yourself wandering through the busy hustle of Newtown to the quieter edge of Enmore, you are now in the hush-hush circle of some new age food buzz scene going on every weekend.

Newtown might always take the favourite for brunch time, but Enmore is probably one of the most diverse eating areas in outer Sydney you will experience on one street. From African to Turkish ice cream, this place is the eating melting pot that enjoys a little obscurity overshadowed by its big sister next door making it peaceful and quiet – perfect for some late brunching!

The truth of the day was, we were supposed to check out some vegan food but ended up finding Secret Garden and past the vertical flower arrangements and curtained fern vines, was a cozy hole-in-the-wall that was pretty damn cool to walk away from.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

First impressions count and Secret Garden sure does welcome you to “smell the roses.”

Every corner to the ceiling is filled with an assortment of plants both fake and real which proves, if you have a theme you better go hard or go home!

Is this a garden or some tropical jungle we stepped into?

However you may define it, the decor is a good transition from the day cafe (7am – 5pm) to the bar at night (5pm – 11pm).

Think small and cozy communal lounging or get intimate in the loveeee seater under the canopy (oh-la-la).

Food

Rating: ★★★

Browsing through the cafe menu, you’ll find your standard favourites of bacon and poached eggs to fancy steak sandwiches.

Until you see dinner.

Have you heard of ‘arepas’ before? Neither have we until we came to Secret Garden.

It’s a Colombian white corn meal pocket with filling and sounds interesting only, they serve it at night. Why?!

We gave up being vegetarians today for you~ sigh

But moving along, we chowed down to some of their other cafe grub to ease the pain.

Talyssa was in the mood for something avocado and light so the “Poached Eggs” was the obvious choice.

Recalling back, I don’t remember seeing or tasting feta or lemon oil which would have been nice.

For $16, I’d would say even with 2 eggs on top, without the other elements, it’s slightly better than your usual piece of toast.

Crushed again to hear that they sold out on the “Black and Blue” (rare roast beef sandwich), I opted for the “Montreal Ruben (typo for Reuben?)” instead and I’m glad I did.

I loved the sauerkraut and pickle combo which cut through the heaviness of the cheese and the swap for smoked wagyu instead of the usual pastrami was a good choice. It really showed off a mature side when eaten.

I wasn’t too sure about the side of Wasabi Potato Salad as I felt it didn’t really match together and the noticeable hit of wasabi was missing.

Service

Rating: ★★★

As with most, if not all order-and-pay-at-the-counter sort of eating services, you’re pretty much left alone after your interaction with the staff which is fine since the cafe vibe is very relaxed.

For the moments of service at Secret Garden, it was a pleasant experience.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Price points on the menu would be marked on the average scale for Sydney brunching.

If you want something light and simple for a weekend feed with that true “suburban local cafe” drop-by with change still left in your pocket,

Secret Garden fits the bill.

The Details

Where: 134a Enmore Road, Enmore 2042

Opening Hours: Mon – Tue: 07:00–17:00 | Wed, Thur, Fri, Sun: 07:00 – 23:00 | Sat: 07:00–22:00

Website: http://www.secretgardenbar.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretgardenenmore

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO – Blacksmith Cafe

May 11, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

On my morning and afternoon bus rides to and from work, I noticed a new little cafe pop up along the route. It’s dimly lit interior and out of the ordinary exterior, captured my curiosity. So naturally here we are, welcome dear readers to The Hidden Thimble’s Greatly Terrific Food Outing at Blacksmith Surry Hills.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★★

Blacksmith’s atmosphere reminded me so similarly of the cafe culture Siree and I had experienced in Korea.

Finally Australia. You’re catching up…and possibly even doing better!

That’s right, you’ll find no half-assed decor here. Prepare to be fully submerged into an immaculately detailed blacksmithery. Actually correction, step into your imaginations with me here. Let’s pretend you’re walking through deserted woodlands, and ahead of you, you see a lonely structure standing within the fog. You approach it and open the door to an abandoned blacksmithery, overgrown with woodland flora:

DSCF5124 — You’ll be served your tea in boxy, heavy-weight tea pots and your water in full blown glass pitchers.

DSCF5125 — What’s a menu without some hand stitched leather?

Food

Rating: ★★★★

Dine in messy elegance. What is messy elegance? Messy elegance is the term I have decided perfectly describes Blacksmith’s food – rustic presentation mixed with the sophistication of soft shelled crab or poached chicken and quinoa. Delicious!

DSCF5151 — Salad 01: Tri – Coloured Quinoa with baked beetroot, walnuts, persian feta, roasted pumpkin, avocado, pomegranate and date balsamic vinaigrette. Salad 02: Poached Pulled Chicken w/ brown rice salad, mixed dried berries, tamari and prune star-anise vinaigrette

The great thing with this dish was that we could go half and half with a choice of any two salads. I could have gone without the quinoa salad, it sounded a lot better on the menu than it tasted, but that poached chicken with brown rice salad was to die for. I’d never tasted such a soft and succulent chicken before. I was left craving for days!

DSCF5155 — Soft Shelled Crad Burger w/ pickled asian slaw, shredded fennel, kimchi salsa, mayonnaise on a Brioche Bun

This dish for me is definitely a recommendation, not only is it unique – I mean have you heard of a soft shell crab burger? – but it also tasted good. Another bonus was, for non korean chefs, that kimchi was spot on!

The reason why the food here scored 4 stars, is because of the drinks. Both Siree and I were somewhat underwhelmed with our cutely presented beverages, further proof that eating with your eyes is only half the battle.

The Cheeky Bits on the Side:

This was yum, the negative was too much complication. The desert would have been perfect without the chocolate on the bottom.

Service

Rating: ★★

It’s really unfortunate that the place was so busy, because I’m sure the staff would have been a lot nicer. I almost felt sorry for the poor lady who greeted us at the door, her eyes, voice, expression just said “please, go away.” I know how that feels having worked in food retail myself.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Blacksmith is quite pricey, but it’s definitely worth it for some dishes – I’d pay any price to eat that poached chicken again.

The Details

Where: 11 Chalmers Street Surry Hills NSW 2010

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 07:00–17:00 | Sat – Sun: 08:00–16:00

Phone: (02) 9690 0103

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blacksmithsurryhills/

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