Garnish Fine Foods - Haberfield

For a lazy weekend breakfast, my hubby and I cruised up and down streets of Haberfield only to find super awesomely delicious coffee at Espresso Galleria and then a hearty brekky down the road tucked in the corner at Garnish Fine Foods.

We chose to sit inside their little cozy courtyard where the aromas for the kitchen wafted out to greet us. My hubby decided to try their big breaky roll ($9.50). This was wonderfully pan fried bacon, egg and sausages with sauce of your choice (bbq, tomato or aioli) on an awesomely soft and crunchy ciabatta roll. He washed it down with a good old chocolate milkshake. I think after eating one half of this, he was full - so next time we know we can share :P

big breaky roll - $9.50

chocolate milkshake

I was so close to ordering my usual of eggs benedict but my spur of the moment choice of their 'mushroom special' ($14) prevailed. This was a wonderful plethora of panfried mushrooms, bacon bits, charred sweet capsicum bits, caramelised onion and rocket, topped with a heap of avocado and scattered with corn kernels all on ciabatta toast. Again, the bread was AMAZING. The flavours of this dish were absolutely wonderful. And like my dear hubby, I was full when I was just half way through this mountain.

mushroom special - $14

I have to say, Haberfield is a place for the tastebuds - with chocolate and pasteries and coffee galore. And I quite like this cafe - it has a friendly 'homely' feel to it with good food served at decent prices.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 31/40

Garnish Fine Foods
58 Dalhousie Street
Haberfield
NSW 2045
Tel: (02) 9799 9882

Hong Kong Noodle Restaurant - Burwood

To grab a quick dinner, hubby and I decided to pop by Burwood for some noodles. Having the choice of many a noodle joints on Burwood Road, we decided to test out Hong Kong Noodle Restaurant as it was still buzzing with people at the time we were there.

My hubby ordered what he had been craving for weeks - a combination fried noodle ($12.80), whereas I, being a stir noodle fan, opted for a wonton stir noodle ($9.80). I think my hubby made the wiser decision on this occasion. His fried noodles came out looking absolutely gorgeous! Crispy crunchy noodles covered with a mountain of seafood, chicken, bbq pork, beef and veges, and just oh-so-barely touched by the sauce, making it a crunchy yet tasty experience. On the other hand, my wontons were less appetising-looking, being just a mount of noodles, soup-sauce on the side and large round wontons (which tasted just average). Nonetheless, both meals were filling and we both left feeling full and satisfied :)

combination fried noodles - $12.80

wonton stir noodles - $9.80

Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 26.5/40

Hong Kong Noodle Restaurant
152 Burwood Road
Burwood
NSW 2134
Tel: (02) 9701 0668

Shanghai Memory - Ashfield

My hubby and I decided to eat out one night and headed for Ashfield. There, we seemed to have spotted the new kid on the block - a Shanghainese restaurant that we had not eaten at or even seen previously. We entered Shanghai Memory cautiously as though there were patrons in there, there were relatively more customers in its neighbouring restaurants. Nevertheless, we were quickly greeted by friendly staff.

We ordered a classic shanghainese appetiser - toasted flour tendons "with full flavour sauce". What this is is really just bean curd type things drenched in sauce and oil and served with other fungi and beans. It's a really tasty dish being kind of sweet and all, but it might be an acquired taste. Me, being half-shang, really love this dish... yet, due to it's oiliness, it's not something that can be eaten often.

toasted flour tendons with full flavour sauce

My hubby requested pork and vege wonton soup. This was really packed full of MSG. Or maybe it's because I have made this dish since I was a young kid and every time, the home-made version never included MSG, that when I took my first mouthful, I was knocked off my feet. BUT - my hubby seemed to love it. So *shrugz* - to each their own.

pork and vege wonton soup

We also ordered pan fried pork dumplings. These were OK. The flour coating was a little thicker than I would have liked, but it was nicely crunchy on the bottom and flavoursomely porky inside.

pan fried pork dumplings

Last but not least, the waitress' recommendation - spare ribs wrapped in this rice thing which was then steamed. I can't describe it properly, but taste reminds me of the rice dumplings we make for Dragon Boat Festival except that the rice is not the sticky glutinous rice you normally have. The spare ribs were soooo tender they basically shredded and melted in your mouth. It was an interesting recommendation and I could see that other tables had likewise been sucked into ordering this dish.

steamed pork spare ribs

All up, it was a cheap and relatively decent meal. My hubby had a relatively unpleasant experience following the meal - not sure if it was due to the food or the oil, the beers, or just sheer exhaustion... But don't let that stop you from trying to foods - it was kinda tasty afterall.

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money -7/10
Overall - 28/40

Shanghai Memory
267B Liverpool Rd,
Ashfield, Sydney
NSW 2131
Tel:(02) 9716 6085

The Cove - Drummoyne

On the recent aussie day public holiday, my hubby and I decided to drive around. We drove to many places randomly - Breakfast Point, Abbotsford, Chiswick... until eventually we ended up at Drummoyne. We stopped just short of the factory outlet (at Birkenhead Point) and landed at the Cove, a nice little cafe overlooking the pool and the ocean.

Coffees were ordered first. My hubby's extra extra strong cappuccino was good, as was my mocha. Lots of people were ordering coffees just takeaway so that must mean that the coffee here is normally of decent quality.

coffees

Food-wise, my hubby's choice was the parmesan chicken open sandwich ($18.50). It came as an appeasing plate of parmesan and herb crusted chicken tenderloins on toasted turkish schiacciata bread. Accompanying this was tomato, avocado, sundried tomato pest, house aioli, mixed greens and micro herbs. It was pretty delish :)

parmesan and herb crusted chicken sandwich

After eyeing the smoked salmon open sandwich on the next table, I decided that I wanted one ($17.50). This was a generous portion of smoked salmon with avocado, spanish onion, capers, wild rocket and salmon roe on toasted schiacciata bread. Funnily enough, whilst my hubby's bread tasted nice and toasty, my bread was stale and chewy and spread with slightly over-powering herbed goats cheese. But bread aside, everything else was good :)

smoked salmon toast

Ambiance here is great, service is friendly, coffee is good, food is decent... so why not? :)

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance- 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30/40

The Cove
Henley Marine Dr
Drummoyne
NSW 2047
Tel: (02) 9719 3022

Albee's Ktichen - Campsie

My friends suggested a good Malaysian place in Campsie - so when we were lost on where to eat for the night, we decided to check it out. Albee's isn't a flash restaurant (looks kinda dingy) but is definitely buzzing with activity and pleasant aromas.

We decided to order the hainanese chicken rice ($10), kangkong with chilli and preserved bean curd ($12.80), and butter king prawns ($19.80). Drink wise, my hubby went for the milk tea and I decided on a white coffee. Drinks were not bad - but not as awesomely strong (ie. strong tea/coffee flavour) as some other places.

teh terik - $4

kopi susu - $3.80

The hainanese chicken rice was really good. The chicken was smooth and succulent and the rice was awesomely fragrant. The soup was meh - msged ish. The kangkong here was AMAZING. Maybe it's just that I haven't had it in a while but it was packed full of flavour. The preserved tofu bean curd thing was silky smooth and strongly flavoured. And the last but not least, the prawns were really something different. The shell was deep-fried and crispified and sprinkled full of this sweet ish powder. I think the "butter" bit may actually be pigs fat - which really took the dish to another level. I have to say, it was probably really unhealthy as I immediately felt the sore throat coming along. Worth it though I think :)

Hainanese Chicken Rice - $10

Kangkong with chilli and preserved bean curd - $12.80

Butter king prawns - $19.80

All up - don't come here for service or the ambiance. But the food here is worth a return visit.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 29.5/40

Albee's Kitchen
282 Beamish St
Campsie
NSW 2194
Tel: (02) 9718 8302

Ta Fong - Flemington

Hunting for a quick lunch in Flemington, we found ourselves eating none other than Pho. We entered Ta Fong, which is a Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant as it seemed reasonably packed with people. It had quite an extensive menu... but out of the entire menu, I ordered my usual - beef ball and beef tripe noodle soup (as I really like it), and my hubby ordered the special beef noodle soup (as he panicked and didn't know what to order) LOL :)

Anyway, both phos came it. It was yummy :) The soup was sweeter than a lot of other broths but tasty and delicious anyway. The noodles were perfect and soaked up the soup well (whilst not being too soggy) and my beef ball and beef tripe were good! I think my hubby enjoyed his noodles too!

beef ball beef tripe pho

special beef pho

Not a bad Viet/Chinese place. Soup's sweeter than normal - but sweet suits me :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 29/40

Ta Fong
128 Henley Road
Homebush West (Flemington)
NSW 2140
Tel: (02) 9746 5486

Pho 54 - Cabramatta

My hubby and I wanted crispy chicken noodle and hence we drove ALL the way to Cabramatta for Tan Viet only to find... it was closed!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!! >.< It was closed on the day we visited til Feb *sighz* just missed it.

After walking around a bit, we decided to eat at Pho 54 instead. Here, I went the usual route and ordered Pho - a beef tendon and rare beef noodle soup ($8.50), whereas my hubby ordered a mixed rice thing with pork chop, shredded pork and crab cake ($8.50). On top of that, I couldn't resist but order their ice coffee with milk ($3) - and that was definitely a good option. The coffee was rich and strong and sweet and perfect!

My pho was simply deliciousness! The broth was aromatic and flavoursome - had a good punch to it. The beef tendon was tender and the beef was OK too. The noodles were yummy and thick and smooth and YUM :P

ice coffee

beef tendon and rare beef pho - $8.50

My hubby's rice mixed dish was interesting. The pork chop was really tasty and tender but the rest of the mix was just average ish. The shredded pork was not to my liking as it was dry and somewhat bland. Nonetheless, my hubby seemed to like it.

rice mixed plate of pork chop, shredded pork and crab cake - $8.50

When at a pho place, I think it's best to order pho. The soup here is pretty tasty and cheap. Not a bad option in Cabra :)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28/40

Pho 54
2/54 Park Rd
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9726 1992