Tag Archives: Surry Hills

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing, Sponsored

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Masala Theory, Surry Hills

April 28, 2017 Talyssa 12 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

4.5

OVERALL SUMMARY

Most unique Indian

From India with love… When it comes to Indian food if you had to subscribe to one thought, opinion or theory, consider subscribing to Masala Theory. What is Masala Theory? Simply put, imagine tasting the exotic mix of an ancient past and the contemporary present all in one mouthful; with an oompf of flavour, a pizazz of spice and an enchanting sprinkle of tradition. Welcome to Masala Theory.

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

While nothing says ‘hip’ like a terrace house restaurant on Crown Street in Surry Hills, Masala Theory blew me away left, right and centre with its hipness and overall cool vibes.

Dining at Masala Theory is a sensory experience that starts upon entry, where an infusion of spiced aromas and incense fill the room and the vibrant colours set the mood for a fun, light hearted night as well as an equally colourful culinary experience. Up on the wall hangs a hot-pink neon bicycle and Indian pop art with the interior as a whole having an overall look and feel reminiscent of the brightly coloured tuk tuks that roam the streets of India. It’s casual and pretty rad and manages to squeeze all the colours of Bollywood into one restaurant.

FOOD

Welcome to neo-Indian cuisine. If you haven’t guessed from the décor, the food at Masala Theory is anything but typical. While maintaining the traditional integrity of Indian Cuisine, Masala Theory reinvents Indian food by shaking things up, pushing the boundaries and exploring progressive ideas and concepts. What you’re left with is a hip, creative and fresh new take on Indian food.

Oh- and if you’re a creature of comfort, don’t worry, all the signature stuff is still available on the menu.

My experience at Masala Theory was made even more unique when we were served a complete Gluten Free menu. I had bought a friend with me that cannot eat gluten, and I was surprised at the number of options available to us. Even with a gluten free menu, Masala Theory’s motto “taste above all” still rung true.

For entree we started with the Masala Dosa, the Kalonji Chicken Tikka and the Bollywood Bhutta. The Masala Dosa had great flavours and is gluten free so long as you don’t eat the chutney’s that come with it, instead, order a raita for an accompaniment. The Kalonji Chicken Tikka in particular was super succulent and juicy with a great kick of flavour.

For main, the Butter Chicken was delicious. The Eggplant Bharta was also tasty, but a little bland in comparison. We washed it all down with a Lavender Lassi – I was very happy to find this and many other unique lassi flavours on the menu – and a rose lemonade.

To finish off a wonderful night, we tucked into a traditional indian dessert with a modern twist – the deconstructed Motichoor Ladoo with saffron rabdi and dried fruits.

Kalonji Chicken Tikka – Nigella seeds, garlic and cheese marinated boneless chicken, roasted red pepper sauce, corn puree, laccha pyaaz | $16

Masala Dosa – Rice and lentil pancakes stuffed with spiced potatoes; served with lentil broth and coconut chutney | $16

Bollywood Bhutta – Corn on the cob, butter, chef’s special spice and lime | $6

Vegetarian Dhansak – Traditional Parsi dish of lentils and vegetables; served with traditional Parsi brown rice, it combines elements of Persian and Gujarati cuisine | $22

Lavender Lassi & Rose lemonade | $5 & $6 respectively

Deconstructed Motichoor Laddoo – with saffron rabdi and dried fruits | $13

SERVICE

Prompt, quick, polite and most importantly, very educational. You can tell that all staff are very passionate about their food and they take the time to really explain every dish to you in detail – wonderfully delightful for a foodie like me!

Value for money

A little pricier that some Indian places but still very reasonable especially considering the location and quality of food.

The Details

Where:

545 Crown Street Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia

Contact:

(02) 9699 9444

Opening Hours:

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sun: 12pm – 3pm and 6pm-10pm

Sat & Sun: 12pm – 3pm and 6pm – 10:30pm

Find Them Here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Please note that this was an invited food tasting

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Bangbang Cafe, Surry Hills

May 9, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

Bangbang cafe is a chillax man-cave of a cafe located in the heart of Surry Hills. The staff are super casual, yet charming and pride themselves on their hearty meals, especially their gigantic burgers. In saying this girls, don’t completely rule this one out because of the man-cave vibe. They have some really unique dishes on their breakfast menu, more than I have seen in a lot of cafes recently, and their burgers are delish. Overall I was terribly impressed!

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★.5

This place is hell chill. I really loved the vibes in this cafe. Although small, inside was super spacious and airy and I love how much sunlight streams through this cafe. Decor is filled with strong and bulky timber furnishings, black tiled counter tops and industrial lights, yet everything is super stylish that I found it super nice to dine at! Ladies, like a man that catches your eye down the street because he’s dressed amazingly, that’s the vibe this man-cave cafe will attract in you too.

Food

★★★★

Bangbang Cafe — French Toast with Chorizo – French toasted brioche with grilled chorizo, caramelised red onion jam, poached egg and a side of avo smash | $16.90

Overall, I really enjoyed the food at Bangbang cafe. I’ll start with the Turf & Turf & Turf burger because it was freaking amazing. First of all people, homemade sauces. And boy these sauces were damn good. The BBQ one in particular MADE this burger.

Somehow I managed to make my mouth big enough and get a little bit of everything in there at once. YUM. It was everything a burger should be in one mouthful. And it was seriously, man-sized. We’re talking gigantic, I don’t know how anyone could finish this whole burger and still be hungry. With its 3 different types of meat and double cheese, this burger is a serious feed that even the likes of Epic Meal Time would be satisfied with.

We also ordered the French Toast with Chorizo. This dish could have been great but it was unfortunately a little dry. I learnt from My Kitchen Rules that chorizo gets this way when it’s pan fried (a contestant on the show made the same mistake). I was also hoping for a little more of that onion jam. Over all a good dish, but something was missing.

Service

★★★★★

The staff here are super friendly and always down for a good chat. The thing I love most is that conversation doesn’t feel forced, strained or unnatural. You can also genuinely feel that they care about the food they put in front of you and want you to have an all-round a fab time.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★

Okay, not gonna lie, Bangbang Cafe is expensive. Most dishes will set you back around $17 which to me is pretty pricey for brunch. In terms of burgers though, they are massive and indulgent, so you do get what you’re paying for.

The Details

Where: 113 Reservoir St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Contact: (02) 9281 0018

Opening Hours:

Mon–Thurs: 7:30AM – 3:30PM
Fri: 7:30am-3:30pm & 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun: 8am – 2pm

Facebook | Instagram

Please note that this was an invited event courtesy of Ningjaeats

FML - Fashion Monthly Look

FML: Space Princess

February 23, 2015 Talyssa 6 Comments

Hey everyone,

I’m here to inspire you with my grunge side. That’s right, sometimes I also like to dress a bit edgy…and lumpeehhh.

Ever since I laid eyes on Lumpy Space Princess, there has been a connection that we both just can’t deny. So when I saw these tights on BlackMilk I HAD to get them!! It’s so sad BlackMilk doesn’t stock these collections anymore…but I just noticed a Disney and Nightmare Before Christmas Collection….

…..

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

SmallLumpy copy — Shoes: Rubi Shoes | Tights: BlackMilk | Jumper: Dotti | Beanie: Lazy Oaf

I can’t help but love BlackMilk, they are just all-round amazing – their brand marketing for one is just A-star, I mean trust me, just sign up to BlackMilk, the opening email you get is fantastic. I love that stuff.

But not only that they have the cooolest, the cooolest range of tights ever.

If you had a childhood like mine, watching Saturday Disney, Cheez TV, Agro, and was an internet savvy pre-teen, a prerequisite of which was to love anime, (and I bet you found your community online ayyye ayyye? YOU HAVE A LIVEJOURNAL DON’T YOU! *cough* I only know coz I had one too…animated avatars FTW!), these tights bring you back to that. Love Jack Skellington? Wear him on your legs. Disney Villains? My homegirl ursula and I are skin tight close. Literally. These tights bring you back to your childhood with a mature grunge.

Not only that, Black Milk tights are comfortable, durable, really great quality and cling in all the right places. I’ve had mine for about a year and they haven’t faded, stretched or ripped at the seams. The only negative I have found is that they are slightly, SLIGHTLY see through around the underwear area – so wear something nude coloured underneath. However I think this is because I have pretty wide hips for my otherwise petite body so I may be stretching the fabric too far.

Nevertheless, the love I feel definitely makes these leggings worth the price. They are a bit pricey…but trust. Tis worth it.

DSCF6095edited — Close up of the glorious-ness. Dang gurl these lumps!

And before I leave I want to give a quick shout out to my Siree’s beanie from Lazy Oaf. I usually don’t suit beanies because I think they bring into focus how small my head/face actually is, however me and Lazy Oaf seem to get along fine!

Talyssa Xx

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Soda Factory

June 3, 2014 Talyssa Leave a comment

This month’s Greatly Terrific Food Outing features one of Sydney’s most popularly rising bars: Soda Factory. I don’t know what it is but I’m loving the hidden bar culture that is popping up all over Sydney – it just makes your bar experience all that more exciting.

You probably haven’t even realised it yet, but you’ve most likely walked past Soda Factory on numerous occasions. Located on the outskirts of Surry Hills, Soda Factory’s entrance is a black door located in a wall – it’s not even a fancy door or a door that kindly invites you inside. Taking a glance inside you’ll find a small room with a retro hotdog stand and coke fridge.

Hotdog stand to the left and the retro Coke fridge to the right.

But where’s the bar you say??

It’s behind the Coke Fridge!! #MINDBLOWN #OHNOSHEDIDNT (ps. Sora, I have used this photo without your permission. Talyssa xox). Now onto the review!

Setting and Atmosphere

Soda Factory’s interior is reminiscent of an American 1950s diner. It’s low lit atmosphere, pin-up styled waiters and waitresses, and music featuring old classics really help to add to this vibe. Soda Factory’s decor is cool, funky and vintage with it’s biggest downside being that there are never enough seats for the amount of people they allow inside. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself sitting on the floor!

You’ll often find live indie bands playing at various times during the night, but the best part about the place is their theme nights! You’ve got:

Movie Mondays: Soda Factory plays a collection of old school and recent movies from 8pm every Monday. It also includes free popcorn!
Dollar Dogs: Every Tuesday Soda Factory has $1 hotdogs. I’ve got to admit that I’ve only ever been to Soda Factory on a Tuesday because of this…
Fat Bubba’s chicken Wednesday: Featuring $1 buffalo wings and $10 buckets o’ chicken
Soda Social: Thursday brings live music and $12 cocktails all night

Rating: ★★★★.5

Service

Service is the biggest negative about Soda Factory. The place gets so busy that depending on the time you arrive, you can be waiting up to 45 minutes (or longer) for your food. If you plan on going on a weekday, I recommend heading there straight after work (5:30pm). At this time you’ll get your food on time and also find a place to sit. Anything after 6:30pm you’re pretty much screwed. Wait staff are extremely friendly and also quite easy on the eye ;)

Rating: ★★.5

Food

Soda Factory’s American diner theme is complimented by it’s menu. You’ll find gourmet hotdogs, burgers, chilli cheese fries, fried chicken, milkshakes and so on. I’d have to say though, Soda Factory is most popular for it’s hotdogs, which I think are pretty delicious and definitely worth the $1 price on a Tuesday…paying the usual price of $10 for them on any other day however, it’s probably not worth it.

Buffalo Bill. My number one favorite hotdog at Soda Factory!

Tequila Sunrise. The bar is pretty standard and you can order most alcoholic drinks available at any bar. I love the extra detail they put with their red and white striped paper straws!

Rating: ★★★.5 – Not all hotdogs are as amazing as the Buffalo Bill.

Pricing and Value for Money

On an ordinary night, I would say pricing at Soda Factory is a bit overpriced – $10 for a hotdog is way too much, especially since they are smaller than usual sized hotdogs. Luckily enough, Soda Factory’s plentiful theme nights and specials, means you can indulge in the menu at a much more affordable price!

Rating: ★★★

Where to Find Soda Factory

Address: 16 Wentworth Avenue Surry Hills, New South Wales
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube

Opening Times:

Monday – Wednesday: 5pm – Late
Thursday: 5pm – 2am
Friday: 5pm – 3am
Saturday: 5pm – 5am

Fashion Events

Little Treasures Market Debut

July 22, 2013 The Hidden Thimble Team 4 Comments

If you guys have read Le Petite Mademoiselle’s interview featuring us you would not only have come across our fellow WhatIWear fashion bud Margaret’s blog but also the fact that …Siree loves markets.

Margaret’s been a busy lady preparing for the launch of her project Little Treasures Market, a new monthly market showcasing everything vintage, local creatives and emerging Sydney designers. It’s such a great concept to add to Sydney’s vibrant market culture and Talyssa’s been a bit M.I.A because of her new crib (moving into a new place is a lot of hard work!) so I was lucky to have a taste of what’s on offer at the VIP launch night at District 01.

Marked with a cute bunting outside the entrance I was welcomed with the cheery faces of some of the stallholders and the first thing to catch my eye was the cute fashion collars by Collars from Neverland. How fitting! Since our blog’s name is also derived from Peter Pan. Clarisee hand makes all these fashion collars herself and runs an esty store as well.

//SHOP: Collars From Neverland//
Clarisee and her handmade fashion collars!

The launch event was a precursor to Sunday’s market debut with some great stuff from re:new vintage,Laurel & Hector Vintage, Marikit by Kitty Choy, Dear Pluto Vintage, Suck Is Free and Age Of Intimacy having stalls ready for the next day.

I also had a friendly chat with the guys behind Pigeon and Weasel. Creative “chandlers” by passion and trade (yeah we had that moment of giddy amusement over that fun fact) I learnt more about their eco friendly triple scented soy wax candles made out of recycled beer bottles that are sanded down and smoothed before filled with wax. The scent (not flavour!) combos are pretty unique with names that pick exactly the sort of scent you were thinking of. Fresh Linen smells exactly like fresh clothes straight out of the dryer, Citrus Sunset if you could imagine Sex on the Beach would smell like if it was breathable, and Red Frogs that smells like… Red Frog lollies! Clay did a great job at designing the packaging and logo for the brand! Just proving that candles aren’t just a “chick thing.” Really. Guys, beer, guns and Red Frogs? Yeah, it sounds like a guy kind of gift he’ll appreciate on his man-tel piece.

Hooray for food! Refreshments were sponsored by Santa Vittoria and Mak Mak Macarons on the night with Margaret ‘s home made cupcakes and (vodka) punch. I’m now convinced she is a very multi-talented lady! She also runs a food blog Baking With Maggie and made the gorgeous flower arrangements for the night.

Congrats to Margaret and Chris for organizing a great night and all the hard work involved in making the markets happen!

Want to know when the Little Treasures Market is on next?

Check them out for more information and updates:

Little Treasures Market

Facebook

Twitter

Upcoming Market dates

25th August
29th September
27th October
24th November
22nd December

Until next time!

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!