Dulce De Luna

Quick post, a while ago I attended Dulce De Luna's second store opening. As part of their promotions all of their coffees were $2 and when purchased they gifted a luna- pastry shaped like a croissant that isn't flakey instead glazed. Also bought an empanada which is a Spanish stuffed pastry that is either baked or fried, in this case baked RRP $4.50, store opening special of $3.

Even though the store opening specials are long gone, I do suggest you grab yourself a luna if you're ever in Wynward and for chilli and chocolate lovers you've got to get their chilli chocolate it really ticks all the boxes.

Self serve chilli chocolate $4.50- Argentine submariono where a bar of chilli chocolate is melted in a mug of hot milk

Best to have it dine-in, all you have to do is dunk the chocolate bar into the milk stir and BAM you get a big kick of chilli. Be warned, it's pretty chilli.

Free Lindt Coffee

I know we all love free stuff, if you don't then please explain (:
Until the end of this month, you can pick up a free coffee at any Lindt Cafe in Australia just simply present the bar code below. They've also started selling a mocha macchiato, will definitely pop by again this week to try it for myself.

In other Lindt news, Woolworths is having a sale on Lindt chocolate blocks including the Lindt creations range for $3 each.

St Mary's + Black Star... in words

Hello, 

Would love to show you pictures of Mary's, I went there for dinner before Law Revue but unfortunately the lighting was terrible for photos (candle lit). All I'm going to say is that their cheeseburger is amazing, their bun is so soft. I would say order the Mary's burger rather than the ordinary cheeseburger, it has vegetables in it so it'll lessen the saltiness of the burger. Fret not, the burger is still good only salty for those who are peculiarly susceptible to salt. As for how to find it, google it and then find the place with the red light and whilst it may look like a rather odd joint to run a bar/restaurant it does churn out food that is definitely the talk of the town.

Speaking of which, below is a bad shot of my lemon, myrtle chiffon cake and Shirley quiche from Black Star. I've been to Black Star a few times now and I can finally say that I've had their Shirley quiche!

Places to eat for under $10 pp in Sydney

Are you a miser yet still enjoy the experience of eating out and having wholesome food. As a uni student my motto to spend within your means, a few of my friends know that I make lavish purchases but I am still Asian at heart which means I love a good bargain. So to help everyone out I've comprised a list of places to dine for less than $10 pp and we're talking places that will feed the hungry caterpillar in you (who got this literary reference). Note that fast foods are completely out of the equation.

1. Chur Burger in Surry Hills
I love this place words cannot express how good and filling their burgers are. I tried here's my post and priced at a standard $10 per burger that's a meal in itself. No need to thank me

2. Mamak (Malaysian)
You've got to try their roti and I hope that you guys will be able to get a seat without waiting in a long line.

3. Menya Mappen (Japanese)
Lovely cheap udon and soba

4. Oiden (Japanese)
Adjacent to Menya Mappen caters to those who prefer rice over noodles

5. Eating World Food Court in Chinatown (Asian)
If you're in China and after a cheap feed then head to this food court, it's almost opposite Meet Fresh. Try the Japanese store and the Thai place that sells this fried fish (it's curved) it tastes pretty good if not get it for the novelty factor.

6. El loco (Mexican)
Get in early if you want to sit down with friends because this place is sure to get busy fast

7. Black Star Pastry
Grab their lamb shank and red wine pie $7.80 <-- this is so worth the trek and filling as well without feeling as though you've just gotten your weeks worth of butter.

8. Thai la Ong 1 & 2 (Thai)
Who can top a $7 lunch menu? I'm struggling to think of names...

9. Beauty and the Beast (Korean)
Lunch menu is plentiful and nice. If you're with company do share a main or hotpot, they don't break the bank and they're sure to fill you up.

10. NaruOne (Korean)
Amazing Korean Fried Chicken (KFC sorry but Colonel Sanders original recipe chicken cannot compare to this stuff) go with lots of people and that way you won't feel too stuffed from KFC and it won't hurt your budget.

11. Satang Thai (Thai)

12. Pho Gai Hoi (Vietnamese)
 There are threebranches, one in Canley Height the others in Haymarket and Bankstown but the Canley Height one is more generous in terms of servings and is also cheaper. They serve amazing pho and if you're ordering for 2 then I suggest you buy the combination plate where you make your own rice paper wraps. They're I always order when I'm not in the mood for pho but I still want to eat this place and my god I get stuffed each time.

13. El Jannah (Lebanese)
I personally hate presumably carcinogenic chicken (i.e. burnt) and charcoal anything does not sit well with me however I cannot deny the crowds that flock to El Jannah each day, this I am not exaggerating. I catch the train almost daily and without fail there are long queues each day. The garlic sauce was lovely and this meal is as cheap as chips, literally.

14. Marrickville Pork Roll (Vietnamese)
Apparently even the decent and yet splendor pork roll cannot be omitted from this list. I don't believe that I have ever set foot in Marrickville however again with El Jannah, there's a constant line or so I'd led to believe.

12. Snag and Stand
I am of the belief that the humble sausage shall forever remain a sausage in my books regardless of how fine and gourmet it is. However that said, Snag and Stand offer amazing chips, try them with truffle aioli sauce and I guess the sausages are worth trying but only once in my opinion.

13. Pie Tin
They dish out amazing savoury and sweet pies

14. Regents St fleet of restaurants
If you can't decide on what to eat, then I suggest you make the trip to 'Regents St', there are 3 floors of restaurants, most of which meet the requirments of this food guide. You can pick and choose from several of them before settling down. The staff there are accustomed to people buying their food and then eating it at the opposite restaurant but be warned that it gets very busy so finding seats for large numbers will prove to be very difficult.

15. Temasek (Malaysian)
Lovely Malaysian food, good roti, laksa and do try their hainanese chicken. It's Western's Sydney food hive but expect bad service given how busy they are.

16. Becasse Bakery

17. Harry's Cafe de Wheels- Nothing beats the humble pie especially when you can get it served with masha and peas.

18. Big Bite on Pitt, exactly priced at $10, their sandwiches and subs are true to the word big

19. Mother's Chu (Chinese)
Just a warning, you might expect bad service.

Will add to this post when more places come to mind but I found this guide pretty useful although they are very particular about what you have to order
http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/eat-out/the-power-of-small-change-20130309-2frya.html

Garden Lodger's Cafe Review

Bought another Groupon and again another disappointing experience.You can read the rest to find out why

 Never thought I would take photos of my own uni

 Flat white

 Buttermilk Wattle Seed Pancakes served with bush berries, syrup and macadamia honey

This was the highlight of the meal but also one of the low lights, how in the world is this supposed to be worth $15.90 for 2 servings of what's pictured. To add to that, apparently there was another online coupon program running so instead of would be high tea menu we were given the other version which was apparently legit because of what produce they have on hand. 

 Ordinary tea cakes- Pistachio and Lemon and Sour Cherry, nothing like the advertised New York Cheesecake, etc. Must commend their choice of Maxwell & Williams tier stand

 Lamb Souviaki served with homemade tzazki and salad

Smoked salmon and cream cheese in spinach wrap 

Cheese tarts

Balsamic Vinegar dressing was way too strong, soaking half of the wraps and who includes salad for high tea. Is that even normal?

Although I do commend the staff for trying to compensate us for our revised menu, we got and extra 3 wraps and a cheese tart

Cafe Opera @ Intercontinental Hotel Review

Anyone that is met with the 'fortune' of hearing me talk about food (it's a double edged sword) will know that I've wanting to go to this place for a while, namely because I love seafood and am in dire need of exercising so why not binge on food which should give rise to motivation for exercising (who am I kidding). Went on a Friday night, the most expensive time slot priced at $95 per person. I think hotel buffets definitely have their merits as well as shortcomings, I'm not the biggest fan of buffets in fact the last time I ate at one was for my friend's party 2 years ago, but the quality and the type of food that you get is what sets them a part from your average RSL buffet as well as the service which was really good.

The ambiance, the setting, the architecture! 

Camera decided to die so you're left with my shitty phone pictures. Sorry

 SASHIMI- so much to choose from, with tuna, salmon, king fish and squid

My tip for whenever you're in a buffet with sushi/sashimi is to never get the rice it's either hard (like it was for this experience) and rice fills you quickly and it's cheap so don't eat it.

Lobster Bisque with fried snapper (this was dry and overcooked) with American style ribs which were so good the only problem is that when it comes to eating ribs I need hands and when you're dining in a hotel hands for ribs are unsightly. I regret not getting more.

Lobster- Had a few of these to eat back my money but it was disappointing how they just reheated these, you can tell it's been cooked before and that it was definitely not that fresh in the sense that a live lobster killed on spot for you to eat. I guess nothing beats lobster at Chinese restaurants because they know how to cook lobster properly

 Macarons were surprisingly good, I wonder who supplies them

 I wish they had more blueberries, I practically picked all of them from the fruit salad and they were actually sweet and not like my failed attempts at buying blueberries from supermarkets where they were soft or sour

Becasse Bakery Review

I would consider myself a frequent diner at Westfield Sydney's Level 5 Foodcourt. Some of the restaurants here churn out decadent food for reasonable prices and yes they are often a sight to behold (hence the food is fashion themed promotion). I originally wanted to get a Mont Blanc Gateaux but they didn't have them so I had to suffice with a coffee eclair and they had a Croque Madame which is pretty much a French cheese toastie but a Madame has an egg on top and a Monsieur is layered with cheese.

I not sure about the prices this time because I pay much attention to it but definitely worth trying out some of the pastries from Becasse Bakery and most of the lunch options are around $10

Croque Madam $7.95 

Coffee Eclair $5.95

Thai Potong and Gift Shop Review

There are a lot of places to choose from for Thai in Newtown, however there is a reason why Thai Potong is on the top of the go to Thai destinations in Newtown. First thing you should know is that it is more pricey than the rest but whilst you sacrifice your budget in return you get excellent food with lovely ambiance

 Pad See Ew

 Yellow Curry

Massaman Curry

Warning do expect to pay around $20 and rice is around $3 per person