Central Park Sydney Launch

UPDATE 1/11/13
Guzman Y Gomez is opening at Westfield Parramatta, so they'll be giving away free burritos if anyone is interested. So be there Thursday 7th November from 11am- 8pm

Free food update guys, today marks the launch of Central Park Sydney and when there is an opening expect promotions. Some notables include free hot chocolate at Max Brenner and free burritos at Guzman Y Gomez. So if you're in the CBD take a detour. That's all~

2 burritos!

Happy Lab Review

Absurd question but do any of you not harbour a fond affection for sweets because if so just gloss over this post.

Science equipment, Candy station, jellybeans, and divine chocolate pretty much sums up Happy Lab for you in a nutshell. During my mid-semester break I decided to pay another visit to Happy Lab armed with 2 groupons- the deal was pay $5 but receive a $10 voucher but let's be honest here, I really don't need a groupon to persuade me to shop at Happy Lab  but this groupon is so worth it appealing to my inner Asian.

HAPPY LAB GOODIES 

aka some of my study snacks because I truly believe that sugar is the best way to rejuvenate someone's morale so they can study till the wee hours of the morning (that's an exaggeration, get lots of sleep to any students out there).

Jelly bean test tubes are priced at $2.50 each however there are multiple variations- upsize and upsize, heart shaped jelly beans otherwise known as love beans. Of course there are test tube racks available for packs of 2 or 6 and yes you can choose whatever flavour you like.

Delice Tiramisu Karma Nutra- roasted sicilian almond covered in white chocolate tiramisu, 100g product of France $7.95. This of one my personal favourites from the French Kisses range but then again I'm pretty sure if I had my way, I'd walk away with everything in store. Note there are other sizes available as well as in a conical flask because that is seriously awesome. 

Lollipop $2.50 for the novelty factor

and finally Hawaiian Salted Caramel Popcorn- carry pack $4.95 from memory. I love my salted caramel for almost anything dessert related, Happy Lab's popcorn is to die, pop in one day and just ask for a sample. With regards to this flavour in particular, I did find that there were some pieces that were overly salty and others overly sweet.

An old photo taken when Happy Lab wasn't as well known, but I just wanted to show you how these jelly beans make a great gift.

 

Lobby Lounge @ Shangri-La Hotel Review

Bitter's Good Month Experience:

I would have loved to go to most if not all of the dessert options however as a uni student, time is not my best friend considering all the looming assessments and final exams to come. I did however indulge myself by visiting Lobby Lounge last Friday to try their dessert plate prepared by pastry chef, Anna Polyviou

From the left: Milk choclate delice & passionfruit curd, grue caco crunch, salted caramel, roast hazelnut & honey thyme pear strawberries 'n crème graffiti lollipop.

Brown Brothers' dessert wine to finish it off

How cute is this spoon? It also had a hook on it so it can sit on the cup, I secretly wished I could take it home with me. One of the reasons why I chose to Lobby Lounge over the other options was because it offers something else besides chocolate, as you would know I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate but rather your fruit based desserts so I was one happy diner when I started eating the passionfruit curd. Next was the chocolate cream, same as that used in the chocolate delice, beneath that was some chocolate crackles and finally to end it a mango jelly (I presume not sure because they may have strayed from the what was written on the website). If good chicken is said to be finger licking good then this is spoon licking goodness- that I'm not kidding.

Chocolat delice- a bit deflated but nonetheless a real pleasure to eat

The raspberry gives the tartness needed to complement the chocolate but in all seriousness it really isn't needed because the milk chocolate, the chocolate cream and the chocolate wafer at the bottom offer a rich chocolate experience without being too sweet. It was really a decadent experience, so I urge you all to come and try it for yourself before the month is over

Two photos because my lollipop was the only one with a unbroken heart

White chocolate coating with honey thyme and strawberry centre with these little pink balls- would've have taken a picture but I don't believe in taking photos of half eaten food unless you're trying to show something in particular and in my case, my bites weren't particularly photogenic. 

Waterfront Review

To be honest, I never have considered dining here this year at all, the plan was to go Baroque to have a 6-course degustation meal however silly me didn't book in advance and rightly so because the only option was 2 tables of 2 separated (god knows by how much) for 3 people. To be fair, I didn't know the exact number of people that I need to book for but at the end of the day unfortunately there are no excuses. So word of advice, if you're eating out in the city on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night book in advance. 

So after being 'rejected' by Baroque, the other options in The Rocks would be around the harbour, I was dining with an aunty that night who was visiting Australia for the first time so I thought a picturesque view of the harbour it is. I think next time I might go against my better judgement and opt for The Ocean Room, although there's the booking problem as well as the fact that they do Japanese and there are still a lot of Chinese continue to resent the Japanese (research their history if you're not sure why) with my dad being one of them.

Enough of that and onto the food:

I think Waterfront's best selling point is the view that it offers as well as the novelty factor- you're eating outside (only option, inside is the bar) on what from afar looks like a ship.

Bruschetta- toasted ciabatta, roma tomato, grana padano, basil and extra virgin olive oil $13
I thought this was lovely, I'm the biggest fan of the bread and olive oil combo as a entree to start off a meal out so I have no problem overlooking the carbs, although I would have loved the ciabatta to be more toasted

Seafood nibbles- flash fried baby calamari, grilled scallops with garlic butter, tiger prawns and black mussels $39
If you're going to eat at Waterfront (which I may advise against- do read on) then you must try their seafood, the calamari with the garlic butter is sensational and their scallops are also just divine. 

Chilli Beef Pizza with refried beans, capsicum, red onions with guacamole, Fior de latte, sour cream and corn chips $31

Interesting isn't it? It was from the gourmet pizza range, I think that if I'm ever to order pizza from a restaurant than it either has to be out of this world, or a new take on pizza flavours. This satisfied the latter with serving being plentiful, the only problem was that we had to wait a long time for the mains to come out. Someone correct me on this but is it normal for restaurants to wait until you've finished your entree before they start preparing your main because that's what it felt like. I admit that I'm not the fastest eater in the world, may in fact be among the slowest but that's not the topic of discussion. Story is, the waiters waited for us to finish our entrees before asking if we were ready for our mains, hello we were waiting for our mains when we were halfway through our entrees so it was only after finishing off our entrees that say 30 minutes later, the mains came out. Perhaps, it's a conflict of values between how Asians are served as opposed to Western restaurants but even so I've had mains arrive shortly after entrees in all sorts of restaurants and that's how I like it.

Char grilled South Australian Octopus- chorizo, capsicum, crisp potato and rocket with chilli dressing $22
I think I'm beginning to have a love affair with rocket in my salad

Barramundi Fillet served with saffron potato, spinach and citrus and thyme dressing $43

I love my barramundi, it's one of my favourite fish to eat, but what was served was very bland, whilst herbs add flavour to anything they cannot however rescue fish that hasn't been seasoned. And yes, that is one expensive fillet of fish. 

Attention to anyone considering to eat at Waterfront (which you shouldn't really unless you only want a good view and the other places on the Rocks are taken):

Doggy bags do not exist, so order however much you can eat because you can't take anything away

Beware the surcharge, and this is getting ridiculous, $5pp for adults on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. I'm so glad I ate on a Friday night and how good is it to be a young adult, I'm pretty sure I can still get away with that.

Chefs Gallery Review

This will be a brief post, a while back (think end of August- yeah...), I went to Chefs Gallery for a pre-concert dinner. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of Chinese restaurants targeted towards the Western palette and this proved to be no exception. Overall the meal was nice but in my opinion it was definitely not worth the price that I paid. 

 Regular handmade noodles wok fried with shredded roast duck in premium soya sauce $14.90

I've been told that their noodles are a must-order item especially when it's made in front of your eyes. Noodles were lovely my to me they were quite salty- lends itself more to a Westerner's taste buds.

 Beef Hotpot, from the dinner special $20 (?) 

When I read this out of the menu, I was skeptical as to whether it was really a hotpot or just a hotplate using my Chinese background to ground my concern and I was right. In critiquing this plate from a Chinese perspective it is fairly ordinary.

Trillium prawn dumplings steamed for 7-8 minutes and carefully garnished with 3 coloured fish roe and caviar $16.90

WOW, it really is a feast on the eyes only problem is how to eat it without appreciating the fish roe and caviar

I also bought fried rice, but let's admit it, fried rice is not the most appealing thing to photograph

Good Food Month 2013

Hello all,

I have a massive back log of posts that I have to write and which I should tackle in order but I couldn't help myself because this is is relevant NOW. Good Food Month is pretty much an event, festival where most of the widely loved restaurants showcase fresh produce and their culinary skills and anything food related including food photography.

What's great about it is that it caters to wide range of classes, ranging from hatted restaurants like Quay offering more affordable prices to your highly frequented picks e.g. Mamak, Chat Thai, Ding Tai Fung, etc.

My pick or at least my hypothetical schedule at the moment is a visit to the Night Noodle Market at Hyde Park before going to Circular Quay/The Rocks to feast on desserts. I always say that there should be a separate stomach for desserts and I'll be hopefully demonstrating that on the coming Friday. I think I'm looking forward to the Lobby Lounge's (@ Shangri-La Hotel) "sweet sampler consists of milk chocolate delice, passionfruit curd, grue cacao crunch, salted caramel, roast hazelnut, honey thyme pear strawberries ‘n’ crème graffiti lollipop". Note, all desserts on the Good Food Month Menu come with a glass of Brown Brothers' dessert wine and whilst I love dessert wine, I'd be an option that way the $20 dessert would be cheaper. Reason why is because I have a whole bottle of dessert wine at home, and dessert wine is best enjoyed when it is typical sweeter than whatever you're eating so imagine eating a dessert and then drinking dessert wine on the side which is incredibly sweet. Also, if you're new to dessert wine, I personally like it served with ice that has been slightly melted, that way the alcohol isn't as strong nor is the wine as sweet.

Anyway, that's it for me.

Bondi Pizza VIP

Someone don't kill me for this but I think that I have had enough pizza at least for this year. I know some of you guys may be shouting at your computer screens in disgust whilst reading this or on a more extreme level, perhaps pulling out your hairs (mentally of course I don't expect you guys to feel that strongly). Although, that said, I have stumbled upon this bargain where you receive a $20 voucher from Bondi Pizza when you sign up to be a VIP. A few of my friends has ate there and they have recommended it and after looking at their menu their non-pizza options sound pretty decent.

Here's the link you'll need to sign up. Enjoy~