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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

GTFO – Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Nook Urban Fresh Bar

January 24, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

Nook Urban Fresh Bar is an oasis bursting with colour, warmth, vibrance and life in the middle of an otherwise stoney CBD. Amongst the bustling traffic this cafe provides the perfect “nook” to escape from it all and rejuvenate with a hearty, organic feed.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

Wow, this cafe is gorgeous! Everything comes together perfectly to create a farmhouse vibe that is cleverly contrasted with bright and colourful organic food displays. The natural woodwork compliments the aluminium and antique steel finishes that decorate the cafe. Everything about the atmosphere compliments the food and helps to created an overall wholesome and natural feel.

Food

★★★★.5

Nook Urban Fresh Bar — Sweeten Me Up | Lemon ricotta, honey caramelized fig and peach, smashed pistachio and fresh mint on organic fruit loaf

How best to describe the food at Nook Urban Fresh Bar? Natural, organic, fresh, homely, but on top of all that, indulgent. Every dish that hits the table is a piece of art, delicately constructed to look as good as it tastes. When my “Sweeten me Up” hit the table I knew that this would be the most beautiful breakfast dish I’d ever have. Another highlight of the breakfast was the chai tea latte. ninjaeats mentioned it was one of the best she’s ever had!

Service

★★★

The service here is your average order from the counter experience, so there’s not much involvement with the staff directly. Meals were a little slow to arrive to the table, however the place is very busy.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★.5

Great food at a great price. What more could you want?

The Details

Where: 4/83 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Contact: (02) 9299 5050

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 7PM – 4PM

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Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO – Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Lot.1 Sydney

December 14, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

My, my my, you guys are in for a treat! Swanky and sophisticated Lot.1 has unveiled the first of a three level establishment – a lush cafe – with soon to come, 2 underground bars and a restaurant. Boasting to be Sydney’s newest addiction, nothing says sophistication, affluence and opulence like a 3 level development and a capacity of 400 people!

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

Stepping inside Lot. 1, you can’t help but feel a little bit special. Maybe it’s the heritage sandstone, or the way the the liquor bottles stand illuminated against the back wall of the bar. Maybe it’s the friendly waitstaff, the charismatic chefs, or maybe, just maybe it’s the suspended timber spiral feature with purple backlighting. Yep, it’s definitely the timber spiral feature with purple backlighting.

The best thing about Lot. 1 is the space. Tables are well spread out, helping the dining experience to feel all that more private. Naturally, a sophisticated cafe, attracts a sophisticated bunch of people, and in saying sophisticated I don’t mean snobbish (Ivy), I mean well mannered and pleasant – definitely the kind you don’t mind sharing your dining space with.

Food

★★★★

La Gallina, Lot. 1 — La Gallina – Organic chicken, beans, dried tomatoes, puffed rice, lemon olive oil | $15

Panza - Lot. 1 — Panza – Heirloom tomatoes, crunchy bread, cucumber, bocconcini, basil | $12

Cassarecce - Lot.1 — Cassarecce – spicy pork cheek (guanciale) sugo | $15

Polenta Chips Lot. 1 — Polenta Chips | $5

Oh my gosh, I tasted flavours here that I never imagined existed. Let’s start with the hero and my favourite dish of the day, La Gallina. This glorified chicken salad was amazing, it was clever, well textured and one of those dishes where you combine everything together and suddenly, you believe in magic again, because that’s what the flavours taste like. Perfection on your tastebuds. If the whole review was based on this dish alone, I would have rated it 5 stars!

Second on my list of amazingness were the polenta chips! Now these were special – crispy, yet feather light on the palette. I haven’t tried anything more “moreish” in fact, I’m craving right now. And was it just me, or did I taste a subtle hint of truffle oil?

The Cassarecce tasted great, my only disappointment with this dish was in reading “pork cheek” on the menu. I was expecting large, tender chunks of pork intermingled with my pasta, but unfortunately we received small chewy pieces of meat. Not a big deal though, just not what I expected.

The Panza was simple in its taste. Whilst a good accompaniment to the other flavoursome dishes we ordered, for me this dish was a little lacklustre.

As with all good restaurants, tread carefully below – these deserts are irresistible!

Service

Rating: ★★★★★

The staff here were super friendly and made the whole experience well worth it. The food was prompt and the waitstaff took their time to explain the dishes to us and even recommend their favourites. The highlight of my experience at Lot. 1 was talking to chef Grant Croft. Besides being super friendly, it was great to talk to him about his inspiration behind my favourite dish of the day “La Gallina” and the different techniques he tried in order to create a perfectly balanced dish.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★★

Considering the sophisticated and indulgent vibes of Lot. 1, pricing is surprisingly reasonable. Yes portion sizes are on the small side where mains are concerned, but these dishes are created to share, tapas style. With 3 dishes plus a side serving of polenta chips between us, myself and @ningjaeats were full, leaving with two take away boxes between us!

The Details

Where: 18 – 20 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

Contact: info@lot1sydney.com.au

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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!