Author: Ardi

Cloud 9 Chocolate Cafe Experience

My Cloud 9 Chocolate Cafe experience:

I had to enlist the help of my Chocolate-loving friend, dr Phil (not that guy who regularly appears on your TV screen), for last week’s visit to Cloud 9 Chocolate Cafe. I am really bad at differentiating the kinds of chocolate and I am also not a fan of bitter dark chocolate.

It was an invite from Melissa from Evil Twin PR (such a cool name!) that got us to try Cloud 9. Also considering that I will be in the Inner West more often towards the end of the year.

Melissa described it as premium quality desserts without the expensive price tag. They are right on the spot about the price tag. Their most expensive item, Fondue for Two, is only $11 and you get quite a lot for the price!

Their ‘signature dish’ is the Gelato Sliders. You can choose from six different cookies and three brownies to make up the ‘bun’ for your slider. You will then need to decide which gelato flavour to complement the ‘bun’. They told me that they would have different flavours from time to time.

Gelato Sliders –

Gelato Sliders – $6

You can also have its variant, Slider minis. Instead of cookies or brownies, you get a proper bun, or brioche to be exact, for your ‘burger’.

Slider Minis – $4.5

We ordered this next dish last because we were curious about it. It was Molten Lava Cake. We were glad that we actually ordered it. The lava cake had the perfect sweetness, it’s not bitter and the cake was covered in milk chocolate! It also came with a scoop of gelato (apple shortcake) and strawberries. That would probably be the best $6 you have ever spent in Sydney!

Molten Lava Cake – $6

When I asked dr Phil what he thought about Cloud 9, this was what he said ‘The texture is different. Balance of flavours is just right. There is no grittiness unless it is the actual ingredient (there on purpose)’.

Did you know?

If you are around the area in Valentine’s Day, they have the Love Sliders promotion. It’s a heart-shaped waffle dipped in chocolate and encasing a scoop of gelato.

Details:

199 King Street, Newtown

+61 2 9516 4575

Cloud 9 on Facebook

Feb 10, 2015
Chao Praya Thai

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Review:

Chao Praya Thai at The Spot, Randwick is probably one of the first restaurants in Sydney I have ever visited. However, I rarely go to Randwick for a meal these days. On this occasion, I went with quite a large group of friends. Some of us are vegetarian, so I include a little vegetarian section towards the end of this article.

The first dish of the day was Salt and Pepper Calamari Rings. My son thoroughly enjoyed every bite of it. We have other entrees in the vegetarian section.

Salt and Pepper Calamari Rings

Our next dish was Larb Bhet. Larb is a spicy minced meat salad that mainly uses mint leaves, lemon juice and chilli. Bhet (or bped) is duck. Pad See Ew Chicken was sort of a ‘safe bet’ when we ordered because the dish was so simple and kids would usually eat them.

Larb Bhet – Minced baked boneless duck sprinkled with lemon juice and just a touch of chilli, garnished with mint leaves – $16.90

Pad See Ew Chicken – Stir fried rice noodle, egg and Chinese broccoli with black soy sauce Thai style – $13.90

The most unique and best dish of the day was the Green Curry Salmon. It was the first time I had curry with salmon, and it was beautiful! The fact that it was priced at under $20 made us felt a lot happier! Our last main course of the day was Masamun Beef Curry. We usually try to find this dish when we go to Thai restaurant because it is possibly the mildest curry of them all.

Green Curry Salmon – Grilled salmon top with green curry sauce and mixed vegetables – $18.90

Masamun Beef Curry – Chunky tender beef slowly cooked in thick but mild tasty curry with peanut – $14.90

Since there were already too many dishes ordered, we only tried two desserts. The first one was Mango and Ice Cream. It was literally half a mango and a scoop of ice cream with a bit of whipped cream and caramel. The Deep fried Ice Cream was a bit more sophisticated.

Mango and Ice Cream

Deep fried Ice Cream

Vegetarian

They have quite a selection of vegetarian entrees. On this occasion, we ordered three of them: Satay Tofu, Curry Puffs, and Spring Rolls.

I did not try the main dishes, but they are the variation of Panang Curry and a choose-your-own noodles dish. The noodles dish was a choice of vegetables/meat, noodles, and sauce.

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The final verdict for Chao Praya Thai Restaurant

Chao Praya Thai restaurant is perfect for your everyday Thai fix. They also cater for vegetarian diners. One of their interesting items on the menu was their green curry salmon.

Did you know?

I wrote about another ChaoPraya Thai restaurant in Gold Coast. However, they are not connected to each other.

Rating for:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $12 – $19 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

33 Perouse Road, The Spot, Randwick 2031

+61 2 9399 5509

http://www.chaopraya.com.au/

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Feb 4, 2015
Cafe Sydney

Review:

Cafe Sydney is probably one of only a few restaurants in Sydney with the best view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Since we came to the restaurant with a rather large group, we opted to have shared entrees and skipped desserts altogether.

Entrees and Side Dishes

When I see Pepe Saya butter, I tend to want to order them. At $3, the sourdough roll with Pepe Saya butter is a pretty good deal. However, the ones that we could not get enough off were the garlic naan and spiced caramelised onion naan.

garlic naan and spiced caramelised onion naan

Our first entree was unanimously voted to be ordered: Carpaccio of wagyu beef, truffle dressing, caper, aioli, baby rocket. It was a light and refreshing entree.

Carpaccio of wagyu beef, truffle dressing, caper, aioli, baby rocket – $27

Our second entree was Tathra rock oyster with Vietnamese-style dressing and salmon roe. According to the menu, the oyster was unique to Nelson’s lake in NSW.

Tathra rock oyster, Vietnamese style dressing, salmon roe, cucumber – $5.5 each

We also ordered Dutch cream potato Lyonnais, caramelised onion, béchamel. It is a pretty good addition to your main dish, considering that the main dishes did not include any carbohydrates.

Dutch cream potato Lyonnais, caramelised onion, béchamel – $15

Main Dish

There were quite a few main dishes ordered on the night. Due to proximity issues, I could only take pictures of four of them.

Our first dish was Crisp Berkshire pork belly. However my friend said it was lacking the crisp.

Crisp Berkshire pork belly, morcilla sausage, pork confit croquette, celeriac, cherry, pecan, watercress – $39

The award for prettiest and most exciting dish went to the Blue eye trevalla. It was served with pumpkin gnocchi, peas, pipis and tapenade butter.

Blue eye trevalla, pumpkin gnocchi, peas, pipis, tapenade butter – $44

I was interested with the Tandoori roasted Tasmanian ocean trout with saffron cucumber, coconut, onion bhaji, and raita. They were golden on the outside and a pink inside!

Tandoori roasted Tasmanian ocean trout, saffron cucumber, coconut, onion bhaji, raita – $39

The dish that I ordered that evening was the Beef tenderloin with roasted oyster mushroom, cavalo nero and creamed spinach. I liked the combination of creamed spinach and roasted mushroom for my steak!

Beef tenderloin, roasted oyster mushroom, cavalo nero, creamed spinach – $39

The final verdict for Cafe Sydney

Restaurants tend to overcharge when they are on premium sites. Cafe Sydney balanced that with decent quality food! However, I do not recommend you to come in for early dinner.

Did you know?

We went to the Cortile at the Intercontinental Hotel for desserts as Cafe Sydney used time limits on their tables.

Our group likes to unwind there for a few desserts and drinks.

Macarons

Creme Brulee

Pavlova

Rating for:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $35 – $48 for main dish

Place: 9.0 / 10

Details:

5^th floor, Customs House, Alfred St, Circular Quay

02 9251 8683

http://www.cafesydney.com/

Cafe Sydney:

The Cortile:

Jan 29, 2015
Balthazar

Review:

You might be wondering why I put a picture of the bread and butter as the main picture that represents Balthazar Restaurant. It was because they were the most spectacular out of the whole night.

The bread was presented in a heavy duty black pouch, which we first found quite strange. Upon taking the bread, we found a bed of hot stones to keep the bread warm. It was perfectly paired with the black garlic salt butter! It was up there in the list of best butter I’ve ever tasted.

Wood fired bread, butter, black garlic salt – $3

However, our supposedly main dinner night in Perth turned out to be a not-so-spectacular one. Granted they might fill in the checks for being a fine dining restaurant with their nice looking and well-presented dishes.

Entree

My first choice of entree was its crab (fried soft shell crab and crab meat). The watermelon was featured prominently in the dish, but the crab meat was more of a side attraction. It was quite a confusing combination of sweet, salty, savoury, and spicy with a hint of crispy soft shell crab. I love each individual items (and that’s why I ordered it), but I think they were not meant for each other.

Crab, watermelon, jalapeno, shallot, watercress – $23

My colleague told me that the Kangaroo fillet was okay with the mushroom ketchup (or sauce). He also added that the kangaroo would benefit more with a couple of authentic Australian herbs to match the taste.

Kangaroo, peas, radish, mushroom ketchup – $22

In-Betweens and Side Dish

Between the entree and main course they gave us a Palate Cleanser. I guess it really did cleanse your palate as that small icy dish was very sour and quite bitter.

I am also giving a special acknowledgement to the side dish that we ordered: Duck Fat potatoes with rosemary and garlic. They were so tasty and fragrant!

Duck fat potatoes, rosemary, garlic – $12 – and Palate Cleanser

Main Course

The first main course, pork loin and ham hock, had the cool effect: they poured a purple substance into the dish shortly before serving. It also had mouth watering description: Pork loin, ham hock, crackle, mustard, cabbage, maple.

Pork loin, ham hock, crackle, mustard, cabbage, maple – $42

However, once again it fell a bit short in the taste department.

Our other main course was duck. It was probably the nicest out of the four courses.

Duck, carrot, lemon, bok choy, ginger – $46

Dessert

I did not try the Goats Cheese Peach as I am not a big fan of peach.

Goats Cheese Peach – $18

The Banana Mousse looked like a big scary yellow thing in the middle of pretty edible decorations. It was probably one of the biggest desserts ever served in a fine dining restaurant.

Banana Mousse – $18

It is amazing how the cheaper ones constantly outperformed the main dishes in Balthazar restaurant. Our other desserts (the exploding jelly pop and the caramel) were only costing us $4 a piece!

Caramel and Jelly Pop – $4 each

The final verdict for Balthazar Restaurant

When the best dishes of the night were the bread and side dish in a fine dining restaurant, I say it merits a call for concerns for Balthazar restaurant. Service was also quite sub-par.

Did you know?

Balthazar restaurant might have quite the reputation of being one of the best restaurants in Perth back in the days. However, they seemed to have fallen off a few spots from the AGFG list.

Rating for Balthazar Restaurant:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $30 – $47 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

6 The Esplanade, Perth 6000

+61 8 9421 1206

http://balthazar.com.au/

Jan 21, 2015
Mancora Peruvian Restaurant

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Unfortunately, Mancora has closed its doors for good.

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Review:

There was a discussion in the Sydney Food Bloggers facebook page about restaurants in Marrickville. The details were a bit sketchy but it ended up with Gaby from Lateral Eating suggesting that this week’s restaurant in review, Mancora Peruvian Restaurant, was one of the better Peruvian restaurants in Sydney.

We went there for lunch the weekend after the New Year. The streets were so very quiet and lots of restaurants were closed. I have been to a Peruvian restaurant before, so I know what I wanted to order. Having said that, the first two dishes were recommended by the chef as both of them were the ‘must have’s in Peruvian cuisines.

Peruvian sarsa criolla cassava

Our first dish is deep fried cassava with salsa criolla (that purple thingy), grated cheese and that yummy yellow sauce that I guess it was some kind of cheese sauce. I usually am not the biggest fan of cassava, especially when it’s hard to chew. However this cassava was so crunchy and delectable! This is technically a side dish, but I guess it looked more presentable as an entree.

Ceviche Clasico – $23

Diced blue eye fish marinated in key lemon juice with a blend of garlic, chilli, cilantro, Spanish onion & crushed white pepper. Served with caramelized sweet potato, corn & cancha

The chef told us that Ceviche was THE Peruvian dish. Apparently, it even has its own National Day of Ceviche in Peru on the 28^th of June!

We were amazed by the ceviche and it metaphorically begged to be eaten! What’s more enjoyable was that the taste met the delicate presentation.

Arroz D’Mariscos – $28

Marine cocktail mixture with crushed white pepper, Spanish onion & scampi (small lobster). Topped with parsley, lemon & parmesan cheese.

For our first main, the scampi obviously stood out! In addition to the scampi, they also put some seafood into the mix.

Arroz D’ mariscos is probably equivalent of Spanish’s paella. The distinction is that they don’t use Arborio rice.

Jalea Puerto Bravo – $26

Marine mixture of fried calamari rings, baby octopus, fish, prawns, mussel & black crushed pepper. Served with small portion of Peruvian sarsa criolla cassava, cancha, salted slices of dried banana & tartar cream.

Jalea Puerto Bravo is the Peruvian version of the seafood mix you found in fish shops. They have quite a distinct batter. It was soft, but not soggy and had quite a bit of crunch about it.

Oh, and what about that salted banana & tartar cream as your dipping sauce?

The final verdict for Mancora Peruvian Restaurant

It was a very enjoyable afternoon at Mancora Peruvian Restaurant. We love everything served on that day.

Did you know?

I am in love with a Peruvian / South American drink called Chicha Morada (or Purple Corn). If you see it on the menu, ORDER IT!

It is quite interesting how Mancora differentiate weekend and weekday menu. I am actually quite interested in their weekday menu as it has more exotic items in the menu! Usually restaurants divide made the distinction between lunch and dinner menu.

Rating for:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $20 – $30 per main dish

Place: 8.0 / 10

Details:

107 Addison Road, Marrickville 2204

+61 2 8065 6337

Jan 13, 2015
Nine Fine Food

Review:

One evening, I was walking around with a couple of friends in Northbridge in Perth. We couldn’t decide where to eat and had to ask for advice from our faithful friend, Urbanspoon. We decided to dine in Nine Fine Food, because 90% out of 1,200 patrons liked it!

Our first impression was the restaurant was quite pricey for a casual dining. Little did we know that they were ranked in the top 20 in the Australian Good Food & Travel Guide list. Since I was only in Perth for a short period, we decided to have their most comprehensive menu: Chef’s Selected 5 Course Tasting Menu.

Everyone has the same dish for the first two courses and a choice of two dishes for the last three courses.

1^st Course

Spicy Tuna Sashimi – Spicy Miso Marinated Fresh Sashimi Tuna, Mixed Beans, Herbed Salad

The first course was quite a simple Tuna sashimi that had quite a bit of punch in the miso sauce.

I was just unsure about the red hair-strand lookalike at the top that’s actually quite hard to chew.

2^nd Course

Kinoco Caviar Pasta – Angel Hair Pasta, Mushrooms, Tobico Caviar, Onion, Creamy Rice Wine Sauce (Additional Soft Shell Crab 6.5 each)

The Kinoco Caviar pasta was quite a unique dish. It was presented in a small cup with a cracker. The top bit was covered with colourful tobiko (fish roe). The pasta was, expectedly, al dente. This was the dish that I loved the most for the night. It was pleasing to see and fun to eat!

3^rd Course

Salmon & Scallop – Roasted Salmon, Grilled Scallop, Yuzu Mascarpone, Orange Miso

This course was by far the messiest of them all. The sauce (possibly the yuzu mascarpone) was everywhere. The fish itself was beautifully cooked with the occasional burst of flavour from the salmon roe (ikura). I’m not quite sure why the tiny grilled scallop was even included there.

Pork Belly – Roasted Pork Belly, Tempura Bacon, Apple Mango Sauce!

None of us picked the pork belly on that day. However, the dish looked to have quite the perfect combination in the description.

4^th Course

Barramundi – Steamed Saltwater Barramundi, Herbed Salad, Plum and Chilli Miso

I chose the dish to be the cover because it looked the prettiest. I had a small bite of the barramundi and it was also cooked perfectly.

Lamb Duo – Braised Lamb Shoulder, Grilled Back Strap Fillet, Mash Potato, Balsamic Soy

The lamb looked quite dry in the picture but it didn’t really do justice. The grilled lamb was cooked nicely and complemented by the mashed potato. The braised lamb was more of a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

5^th Course

Tiramisu – Creamy Tiramisu, Bitter Espresso

Unfortunately none of us picked the Tiramisu either, so I could not comment on it.

Mattcha Brulee – Green Tea Custard Brulee

I love Creme Brulee and I will never miss a chance to order creme brulee when available. This green tea-flavoured brulee was enjoyable and had the right amount of green tea.

The final verdict for Nine Fine Food

We were very pleased with the service and quality of food delivered by Nine Fine Food!

Did you know?

The restaurant is actually located on the outskirt of Northbridge. Northbridge is well-known as the main nightlife district of Perth and has quite a vast array of cuisines.

Rating for:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $77 per person

Place: 9.0 / 10

Details:

227 Bulwer St, HighGate WA 6003

08 9227 9999

http://www.ninefinefood.com.au

Jan 8, 2015