Tag Archives: GTFO

GTFO: Jiyugaoka Sweets Forest

January 2, 2016 Siree Leave a comment

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THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value for Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Quality dessert to satisfy the sweetest of teeth

While exploring Jiyugaoka, a beautiful little neighbourhood in Tokyo known for its stylish shops and more importantly, sweets I found hidden to the south side of the station a place called Jiyugaoka Sweets Forest.

It’s a dessert-themed restaurant experience where Alice might have stumbled upon on her way to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – a dessert made forest wonderland!

Let’s explore the delights this rabbit hole leads to…

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

The interior is adorable with the pink cut out trees and cute picturesque shop fronts. As you can see, this forest is not just one restaurant but made of many individual patisserie shops offering their own signature dessert experience. Want something with strawberries? Look no further than the cute ‘Berry Berry’ shop. Maybe a fluffy soufflé? ‘Le Soufflé’ is where you can get your fix! There’s even have a Hong Kong style dessert house selling not only traditional Chinese desserts but also Yum Cha dumplings if you want some more savoury. Ah, I miss home~

While theme restaurant’s don’t always get the best rep as the food is more “style over substance,” each shop’s head patisserie chef is a professional in their field and the store’s creations are almost like their trademark so the desserts are not only pretty, but you feel like you are eating something that was well made and special! They even have seasonal rotations of their creations on display at the front of the store to admire their craftsmanship and hopefully get your hands on later.

In Japan, there is a term called 「旬/shun」which describes the moment of seasonal food at its peak. The term has a bit more meaning than simply saying “it’s in season” as it’s more like a celebration of the time the ingredient is at its most flavourful state during the harvest. Currently, strawberries are in season so I had to try Berry Berry’s creations which just so happens to be all strawberry based for December. Japan’s strawberries are the best!

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FOOD

Sweet and girly to the “G,” I went with Princess Tiara Roll and the Strawberry Mont Blanc with a basic black coffee for a set. Though the coffee wasn’t anything special to rave about the cakes were very nice indeed. Not too dry or overly sweet. The Mont Blanc had the special touch of a raspberry jam in the centre which was a nice touch to add some tartness.

Though I can’t comment on all the desserts available at Sweets Forest this time, I was pretty happy with the taste of these cakes at Berry Berry!

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SERVICE

At first, it was a bit disorienting to figure out the “system” if you will at Sweets Forest for a first timer.

It’s a theme restaurant but with no wait service except for Le Soufflé with “general” staff who are stationed at seating points to help bust tables (but in Japan, it is polite to also bust your own table as well) and also welcome you to space.

The seating areas are shared amongst the shops meaning that no matter who you order food from, you are still able to sit at any area with the exception of Le Soufflé.

The staff are friendly though and very prompt to help you if you need some guidance or to take the tray off you when in the bustling area. The experience is sort of a stylish cafeteria Starbucks vibe if you will.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Great value for money to sit down and enjoy a light snack. The desserts are really not too expensive and with no entry fee which is a norm for the themed restaurant sometimes.

THE DETAILS

Where: 2-25-7 Midorigaoka, Meguro, Tokyo 152-0034

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 10AM – 8PM

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 – Bread and Circus Wholefoods Canteen

October 26, 2014 Siree 2 Comments

Breaking bread at Bread and Circus Wholefoods Canteen was a week of calling for my inner being.

Its crate-to-table concept models the simple approach to eating which I find inviting, just like its many quirky scattered pineapple fruit and quaint dainty pink plates beacon me to “tea time.” It’s that light and fresh touch to the day that picks you up and motivates a wave of goodness to eat food that’s wholesome like nature intended – wedged between two slices of fresh sourdough bread with butter (mmmm).

b&c02 — Tower of Juices – cold pressed of course

Food

Rating: ★★★★

Definitely the must-have on the menu. Their deconstructed sandwich boxes are better suited for your adult sensibilities than the open sandwich variety as it centers on the best part of its anatomy – the filling.

Like all sandwiches, there’s nothing too complicated about its components as all boxes are assembled with a basic salad of tomato, avocado slices, cucumber, grilled brussels sprouts and sometimes a pilaf mixture, with the sauce and meat differing. However, it’s definitely the quality of each element that makes it delightful to graze on since everything was well seasoned and marinated.

Digging in separately or pilled on together on bread, it was a joy to eat both ways!

b&c11 — Talyssa’s Choice: Grass-Fed Sustainable Medium – Rare Beef Sandwich Box

b&c09 — Sora’s Choice: Meredith Goats Chevre Sandwich Box

b&c10 — My Choice: Preservative – Free Pino’s Smoked Turkey Sandwich Box

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

Re-imagining the canteen setting as a semi industrial warehouse style kitchen cafe at Bread and Circus would make every school kid jelly to know what their canteen could look like with a little thought.

There’s plenty to look at full of quirky cool knick-knacks and fruit display center pieces scattered everywhere with various seating styles from low coffee tables, communal tables and booth seating options making dining entertaining. It’s super chilled and relax, what’s not to like for a perfect late weekend lunch?

Service

Rating: ★★★★

I really enjoyed the staff at Bread and Circus. The 2pm crowd was a bit quiet that day so it felt nice to see everyone so nice and welcoming to see if you were comfortable at your table and causally checking in on you from time to time. It reminded me of the customer service you would expect from the States which there is a certain lack thereof in Sydney’s attitude towards customer service generally…

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★★

For the quality and portion size of our meals, it’s certainly affordable, if not a lot more reasonably priced than some of the lunch menus out there for these types of eating spots.

With options for side, regular and sharing sizes for some of their dishes, the menu is generous for choosing different eating styles so you can stretch your cash if you want a try of everything and share.

Where to Find Bread and Circus Wholefoods Canteen

21 Fountain Street, Alexandria

Website

Opening Times:

Open 7 days:
Weekdays 7am – 3pm
Weekends 7am – 4pm

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