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Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Indigo

October 7, 2018 Talyssa 26 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

OVERALL SUMMARY

Slightly more special than your regular lunch!

It’s always a sure bet that any place that blends Modern Australian with a little bit of European cuisine is going to be good. Plus, since Indigo is touted as Double Bay’s best-kept secret, we knew we were in for a treat! Boasting the ultimate dining experience, Indigo seeks to blend the best of both cultures when it comes to serving the finest quality food, coffee and service…well let’s just hope the service is a little more Australian than European…if you’ve been to Europe, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about ;)

Setting and Atmosphere

Nothing gets more European than alfresco dining does it? There’s just something really nice about sitting outside along the street, while eating a delicious meal and ~~silently judging~~ watching people pass you by. If you’re listening to this and wishing about being whisked away to Europe, then you’ll be happy to know you can get your own slice of alfresco dining right here. Indigo has a really beautiful outdoor set up in the heart of Double Bay, perfect for the warmer months. Think sunshine, trees, a great meal, fresh air and the gorgeous Australian weather.

However, if the outdoors are not really your thing, you can choose to dine inside. Indigo’s interior is modern, topped off with marble tables – yaaaassss, I love when my food is served with a side of extra!

And would you really expect anything less of Double Bay? Indigo is effortlessly chic and stylish and so too is the crowd it draws. Speaking of crowds, this place is always packed. Every day. So I’d say “Double Bay’s best kept secret” is out of the bag and has been for a while now. Sorry Guys!

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Alfresco Dining — Image from Concrete Playground

Food

Indigo’s menu has an extensive selection of breakfast and lunch time dishes, which really makes it the ULTIMATE brunch destination. I found myself wanting to try everything on the menu…including the numerous Asian inspired dishes? Not that I’m complaining, I love Asian food, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from a Modern Australian and European menu.

The dish that immediately caught my eye was the King Prawn Bruschetta. I’d never seen a similar dish offered in any Sydney cafe’s I’ve been to so far and I am a mega prawn lover.

Served on a slice of garlic Levain Bread, topped with avo mash, cucumber, tomato, onion, king prawns and a dollop of dill aioli, the flavour combinations were absolutely delicious. This has got to be one of the best brunch dishes I’ve tried; it was unique, delicious and very impressive to look at. I’m super judgey when it comes to prawns and I feel like 90% of restaurants can’t get them right. The result: rubbery prawns. But not here! These were succulent and perfectly cooked!!!

Keeping with the bruschetta theme, we also ordered the Mushroom Bruschetta from the “Specials” menu. Served with mixed mushrooms, garlic, truffle oil, Parmesan, basil and poached eggs on grilled Levain bread, this dish just missed the mark for an equally great dish – or maybe I’m just biased towards my King Prawn Bruschetta. In terms of flavours, there was something missing that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and overall I wish the dish had a little more of the truffle and garlic flavours shine through.

Because we couldn’t resist, we also ordered the Korean Pork Belly sliders – they sounded amazing with pressed and fried confit pork belly, pickled cucumber and ssamjang glaze. Unfortunately they were a little disappointing and didn’t really bring out the Korean flavours I was looking for. Maybe some Kimchi or Korean plum syrup mixed with gochujjang would have helped to give a more authentic Korean flavour.

Finally, we washed it all down with some freshly squeezed juices.

Review: Indigo Double Bay - King Prawn Bruschetta — King Prawn Bruschetta – Avo mash, cucumber, red capsicum, truss tomatoes, garlic butter, red onion with red vein leaf & dill aioli, served on garlic Levain bread | $27

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Korean Pork Belly Sliders — Korean Pork Belly Sliders – Confit pork belly pressed and fried, picked cucumber, ssamjang glaze & baby spinach on brioche buns | $18

Review: Indigo Double Bay - Mushroom Bruschetta — Mushroom Bruschetta – Mixed mushrooms, garlic, parsley, truffle oil, Parmesan, baby basil & poached eggs with grilled Levain bread | $21

SERVICE

Service here was very friendly and reasonably quick considering how busy the place was!

VALUE FOR MONEY

This is Double Bay, so expect Double Bay pricing. My King Prawn Bruschetta set me back $27 for one slice of bread. Yes I was still hungry after….but man it tasted good. Otherwise, majority of the dishes on the menu are around standard brunch prices ($15 – $20) with the lunch items costing a bit more $25 – $30. Definitely great for a ‘slightly more special’ than your regular lunch!

THE DETAILS

Where: 6/15 Cross Street Double Bay NSW 2028

Contact: (02) 9363 5966

info@indigodoublebay.com

Opening Hours:

Mon – Sat: 7AM – 4:30PM

Sun: 8AM – 4:30PM

Find Them Here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

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Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Spice Theory, Turramurra

July 28, 2018 Talyssa 6 Comments

THE VERDICT

Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money

3.9

OVERALL SUMMARY

Modern Indian Cuisine

With no other cuisine using more spices than the Indian cuisine, it’s quite fitting that Turramuurra’s new kid on the block Indian restaurant is named “Spice Theory”. So what can you expect from Spice Theory? A sensory experience that celebrates Indian culture, flavours and hospitality. The exotic menu aims to showcase the very best of Modern Indian Cuisine, so let’s see how the experience was!

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Stepping inside Spice Theory, the first thing I noticed is how incredibly modern and chic it is – very sleek and minimalist in style. The restaurant is relaxed, cosy and not too loud, making it perfect for an intimate dinner for two and some good conversation!

To add to the cultural experience I would have loved to see a little more culture in the decor!

FOOD

Spice Theory’s menu is extensive and exotic filled with traditional dishes I’d never heard of, to fan favourites (like butter chicken mmm!) all with notes of modern twists. Not knowing where to start, Kailash happily suggested some of the restaurants signature dishes. I had brought my boyfriend with me – who is vegetarian – and we were very impressed with the variety of vegetarian options on offer.

To start we were served the Dahi Poori Chaat, the Mini Masala Dosa and the Mini Keema Dosa. Living up to ‘providing a sensory experience’ the dishes were a treat to the eye as much as they were to the tastebuds. The presentation of dishes at Spice Theory is one of the best I’ve seen amongst the Indian restaurants I’ve been to and all three dishes were flavoursome. The Dosa’s were perfectly crisp with a flavoursome filling and the accompanying chutney’s really made the flavours sing.

The Dahi Poori Chaat was definitely a highlight. It was a really unique dish and reminded me of a traditional Indian streetfood I’ve had. It was great to see how Spice Theory transformed this traditional Indian streetfood into a modern, restaurant-worthy dish.

For main, the vegetarian curry Paneer Saag was definitely a highlight and I absolutely loved Kailash’s suggestion to pair it with a Peshwari Naan – something I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. The sweetness of the Naan worked with the vegetarian curry beautifully and I am a definite fan of this combo! We were also served the Chicken Tikka Masala, which was missing the ‘wow’ factor for me in terms of taste, but I appreciated that Spice Theory did not hold back on the heat for this curry! (And for non chilli fans, don’t worry, you can ask for your curries to be non spicy).

Too cool the palette we finished with two deserts; the Rose Panna Cotta and the Payasam. These deserts were the perfect way to finish the meal being tasty and light for our already full bellies. The Panna Cotta was perfectly creamy with a light rose fragrance and the Payasam was subtly spiced. Both beautifully presented and delicious!

I would also like to make a special note about the house wine – I’m not a huge wine fan and I loved this one!!

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Dahi Poori Chaat — Dahi Poori Chaat (V) – Small crispy puffed bread mixed with boiled potato, chickpeas and topped with chilled yoghurt and various chutneys | $10.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Mini Masala Dosa — Mini Masala Dosa (V) – Crispy pancake filled with a traditional potato masala served with lentil broth, fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney | $11.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Mini Keema Dosa — Mini Keema Dosa – Crispy pancake filled with minced masala lamb served with lentil broth, fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney | $12.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Main Dishes — Peshwari Naan (back) – Desiccated coconut, sugar and sultanas | $4.00 Garlic and Cheese Naan | $4.50 House Wine – Bud Burst Barossa Valley

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Paneer Saag Curry — Paneer Saag (V) – Cubes of Paneer in purée of English Spinach | $16.90

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Chicken Tikka Masala — Chicken Tikka Masala – Tender morsels of boneless chicken marinated in a blend of freshly ground herbs, baked over charcoal, then cooked in the chef’s special masala sauce | $19.50

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Rose Panna Cotta — Rose Panna Cotta – Rose-infused panna cotta | $6.00

Review: Spice Theory Turramurra - Payasam — Payasam (V) – Traditional south Indian rice pudding | $8.00

Service

The staff at Spice Theory were extremely welcoming. The floor manager in particular (I’m sorry his name has escaped me! ), was wonderful, if not one of the best floor managers I’ve come across. He instinctively knew the delicate balance between being attentive without being too attentive. He was extremely friendly, polite and provided excellent service. He knew who I was straight away when he welcomed me in to the restaurant and was really passionate about educating me on the menu and the restaurant. For this alone I would have rated the service 5/5 stars!

However…

One thing that made the night a little uncomfortable for me was that one member of staff asked multiple times about whether I would be writing a review, where I would post the review and if it would be published in the Newspaper as well. Asking multiple times throughout my dinner left me feeling like the experience became less about showcasing what the restaurant had to offer and more about what I would be writing in my review.

When invited as a guest, the best experiences are when the chefs and staff can’t wait to talk about how they came up with the idea for a particular dish and their mind is on their food and service so much that they completely forget about me writing a review.

As a suggestion, the PR agency should inform the restaurant who is coming, the style of reviews they write – for example I’ve never written for a newspaper – and also what they can expect from the blogger prior to their arrival. This will mean the restaurant can focus on their service and the passion behind their menu, which is what I really want to see!

VALUE FOR MONEY

Spice Theory is excellent value for money. The prices are really reasonable and the food is delicious overall. I would visit again!

THE DETAILS

Where:

1-3/1259 Pacific Highway, Turramurra NSW 2074

Contact:

(02) 99884242

Opening Hours:

Open 7 days: 5PM til late

Find Them Here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Please note that this was an invited food tasting

FML - Fashion Monthly Look

FML: Moonlight Stories

May 19, 2017 Talyssa 14 Comments

Tell me A story

“Tell me the story
about how the moon loved the sun so much…

…that she died every night, just to let him breathe”

A twist on Hanako Ishii’s quote

She was the type to fall in love with the sun and everything that was beautifully unreachable. She’s not bubbly like the sun, for life has brought too much sorrow. A sensitive soul that experienced too much before it was ready, her smile no longer reaches her eyes.

“Can you truly smile again after such sadness?” she asks, “can you light up the day like the sun?”

Headband: Kmart | Dress: IXIAH | Shoes: Aldo

I’m not a bubbly person. I am complex, deep and sometimes withdrawn and because of this, I wouldn’t say I could be described as bubbly all the time. Yes, I feel happiness, excitement and all those feelings, but overall I am more melancholic.

I think everyone feels these kind of insecurities every so often and as corny as it sounds, you just have to accept being you and focus on the positive things you can bring to someone’s life. So instead of shining like the sun for everyone, I muster up whatever light I have and shine like the moon for the special people in my life, quietly in the background to light up their darkest hours.

And hopefully that is enough.

How do you confront your insecurities?

FML - Fashion Monthly Look

Winter Things: Accessories Look Book

January 27, 2017 Siree 1 Comment

Here, I’m focusing on some jewelry pieces I picked up recently and pieces I forgot at home in Sydney that I haven’t worn out and creating some go-to coordinate outfits for each.

Rosy Gold

I’m really enjoying rose gold tones and thought it would be nice to pair it with something casual to make it look sports lux with these cute overalls and fitted cropped top… and this oversized nude toned coat because it is cold AF here.

Boundless

From the mastermind of Vanessa Hong’s blog, The Haute Pursuit, these cuff from THPSHOP are chunky but will never weigh you down. This is my first purchase from a fashion blogger turned fashion entrepreneur venture and I really like the sleek and unique design of their jewelry range. Though I don’t really have many sharp chic clothes, this all black pairing works well I feel.

Harness Play

Remember how body harnesses were like “a thing” back circa 2013? They made a few cameos last year during the Louis Vuitton Fall runway and have taunted my need to find one which was a fine play of trying to look daringly fashionably interesting and tasteful.

Though I’ve seen some pieces while online hunting, quality, and good design were always key and I found that the ones from designer Elif Domanic were great because they were designed within mind to be wearable for daily situations as well.

Until Next Time!

Siree

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing, Sponsored

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.

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.