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Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

Greatly Terrific Food Outing: 22 Grams, Randwick

June 5, 2016 Talyssa Leave a comment

Blasted with a shotgun,
left out in the rain in the night
betrayed by a friend
stranded in a foreign country
overwhelmed by the kindness of a stranger
floored by the stars in the desert sky
licked by a dog
stood on, shouted at and gave back as good as you get
danced till breaking point
and sung your song with everyone watching
travelled with depth, soul and life,
you, me
us

22 grams the weight of experience.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

Amongst unfurbished warehouse vibes, 22 Grams provides a cosy hot spot for the Randwick locals. If the poem above doesn’t give you enough sense of the vibe here, I don’t know what will! 22 Grams is very homey decorated with knickknacks and trinkets on top of every surface. Priding itself on it’s coffee, their big, shiny coffee roaster takes centre stage upon entering the cafe.

The place can get crowded but it’s never too loud or noisy. Staff are always friendly so there’s an all-round cheery vibe.

Food

★★★★

22 Grams Randwick — Pink juice: Morning Flirt – mixed berries, OJ, yoghurt and a touch of banana | $6 Green Juice: Pick me up – apple, pear, pineapple and mint | $6

The menu at 22 Grams is small and simple, playing with traditional breakfast foods and flavours with an overall artisanal focus. All dishes and their presentation have a very homemade feel and you can really taste the difference through the little bits of homemade personalisation they put in all of their dishes. I really value the homemade taste and so for me, this gives 22 Grams extra brownie points. It just feels good to eat.

My favourite dish from 22 Grams so far has to be the Chipotle scrambled eggs. There was a nice flavour and spice to these eggs and they were cocked really well. I really appreciated the extra juices on the plate which were perfect to mop up with my lightly toasted sourdough bread. The only thing missing was an extra dollop of sourcream and fresh coriander to top.

The Goats cheese bruschetta and Poached eggs were tasty menu choices. The highlight of these dishes for me was the smashed avocado. I can’t tell you how happy I was to find a hint of something special in there, I don’t know if it was a lemon/spice infused oil, but it was fantastic. I’ve always grown up experimenting with avocado in different ways – in fact a staple for me was rough forking it with olive oil and salt (it’s seriously delicious) that I’m often bored when most Aussie cafes don’t do anything with their avocado.

The granola with grapefruit, yoghurt and berries is interestingly served with a side of orange juice. This dish was vibrant and beautiful, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to jump on the granola and orange juice bandwagon just yet.

P.S. I haven’t featured them here but you MUST try their sandwiches. They are AMAZING!!

Service

★★★★.5

I think the service here is fantastic. Every time I’ve come here the girls at the counter are very cheerful and friendly. Despite almost always having a full house, the overall service is quick and fast and you’ll rarely see dirty plates left on tables.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★★.5

I find the pricing here very reasonable, the portion sizes good and the food, tasty.

The Details

Where: 166 -168 Belmore Road Randwick

Contact: (02) 9398 2277

Opening Hours:

Mon–Fri: 6:30am – 4pm
Sat – Sun: 7am – 4pm

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FML - Fashion Monthly Look

FML: Aquarius

May 29, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

IMG_2754-2-3 — Dress: The Cherry Shop | Sandals: ALDO

Aquarius

I love how magical this shoot turned out! I got this maxi dress from a cute little pop up store in Bondi called The Cherry Shop. I absolutely love the details on this dress especially the little shell-like buttons that line down the center and diverge into the split.

The shoes perfectly match this dress and I love how much detail has gone into these sandals. There are so many different textures and materials used, yet the shoes still remain relatively simple looking. If you’re interested, these little numbers were from Aldo.

See below for detail shots!

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

A Day Out With Spotted Cow Cookies

March 17, 2016 Talyssa 1 Comment

Once upon a time in the industrial wonderland known as Alexandria, lived a bunch of crazy cookie eaters, tucked away in a quaint little cookie making warehouse know as “Spotted Cow Cookies”. They spent their days endlessly creating and tasting cookies, and so it went on until they discovered the secret formula to the perfect cookie – nothing too fancy but always delicious and filled to the brim with love.

One day, Tahnee, the leader of the crazy cookie eaters came up with a wondrous new invention – the brookie, bringing together the two most decadent treats known to mankind – the cookie and the brownie. To celebrate, she decided to open her cookie warehouse to a select group of very lucky cookie enthusiasts, one of those cookie enthusiasts being me, courtesy of ningjaeats!

IMG_1667-6 — Brookies – Brownie X Cookie filled with peanut butter cream or vanilla cream.

The day was a mixture of cookie making classes (yes I have the secret recipes, and maybe I’ll share them), a tour of the factory and a feast that would make the cookie monster jealous – you’ll see what I mean later on.

Upon arrival, we were greeted to Spotted Cow’s new invention – the brookie. A combination of a brownie and a cookie, the brookie is soft, chewy and filled witha peanut butter or vanilla cream centre. And yes, it’s everything you’re imagining – rich, decadent and yum.

We were soon herded (heh heh get it since we’re at spotted COW cookies) into the room we would be cooking in, and it was set up like a Alice in Wonderland tea party! Sweets and treats dressed the table top and had everyone’s mouth watering!

First, we made our own stuffed cookies – don’t worry I’ve spared you the photos of my creations. We were able to stuff the cookies with anything available on the table. There was chocolate, salted caramel, smarties, peanut butter, Nutella, coconut and more!

IMG_1669-7 — The cute, bubbly and ever-so talented, Tahnee, owner of Spotted Cow Cookies

After we made our cookies they were put in the oven and in the mean time we took a tour of the factory. It was really fascinating learning everything involved with making a cookie. Spotted Cow Cookies really care about the ingredients they use and even take the time to assemble some of the cookies by hand too!

After the factory tour, we were taken to a room to unveil Spotted Cow’s newest range of cookies:

COOKIE. MONSTER. WORTHINESS

Please don’t get jealous over what I tell you next. Not only did we get to help ourselves to the delicious spread, we also got to take anything we wanted home, plus 5 bags of cookies!!!!!!! You can see everything I got to take home below!

So where can you get your hands on these cookies? You can order them online here or find them randomly stocked in places – I recently saw some at Event Cinemas!

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO – Greatly Terrific Food Outing: Coffee Trad3rs

January 11, 2016 Talyssa 2 Comments

If these photos haven’t peaked your interest to try Trad3rs, I’m not sure what will! Located in Top Ryde, Trad3rs are all about giving their customers a positive experience from their coffee, to their food, to their friendly waitstaff, to that cheeky drink you’re craving.

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★.5

Inside, this cafe is somewhat mix-matched in its style. The table setting however – AMAZING!! A bright, beautiful posy of flowers compliments the vibrant blue crockery against a dark mahogany table top backdrop. With this set up combined with our food and drinks, the tabletop was a burst of colour that was absolutely divine to dine amongst! My experience at the table alone bumped my rating for this section from a 2.5 star to a 3.5 star.

With that being said, the rest of the cafe seems to be a mix of vibes with parts of it’s interior design being similar to the cafe vibe I experienced in a lot of Korean cafes with pinned up polaroids and trinkets, to a sort of steampunk/industrial theme with the light fittings and other features, to an IKEA vibe with the plant hangings throughout the cafe. I definitely think the strong point of this cafe’s setting was displayed in their table decor and maybe this cafe would come together a lot more with a stripped back theme that focused around a dark backdrop accented with bursts of bright colours through it’s crockery, food displays and floral elements.

Food

★★★

Trad3rs - Egg, Chicken Chorizo, Bacon & Sourdough Bread — Egg, Chicken Chorizo, Bacon & Sourdough Bread | $15.90

Trad3rs - Hawaiian Burger — Hawaiian Burger | $13.90

Trad3rs - Apple and Cinnamon Pancake — Apple and Cinnamon Pancake | $13.90

What you’ll get at Trad3rs is good, simple food. The taste is good, the presentation is good and overall you’ll leave feeling full and happy. And while everything is good, it’s just not special or signature which is why this cafe didn’t score in the higher star ratings. If you’re looking for somewhere to rejuvenate and satisfy your stomach after a hard day of shopping, Trad3rs is a great place to come for some casual eats and a little R+R before heading home.

Service

★★★★.5

The service at Trad3rs is really friendly and easy going, instantly making you feel at ease. It was great to see the staff throughout the day seeking out and talking to every customer individually to make sure everything was okay with their order and experience. Our orders were taken shortly upon arrival and food was promptly served.

Pricing and Value for Money

★★★.5

With food here being simple but good, I found that prices are around $2-$3 dearer than other cafes you might go to and receive an equally good or even better meal.

The Details

Where: Shop G3025A, Top Ryde Shopping Centre, 129 Blaxland Road, Ryde NSW 2112

Contact: info@theCoffeeTraders.com.au | +61 (02) 9808 3313

Opening Hours: Sun – Monday, 7:00am – 8:30pm.

Website | Facebook

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!