Coffee Warehouse Cafe & Deli - Homebush

There's this cafe/deli on Parra Rd that I drive past quite often and every time, I drive past amazed. It could be a weeknight or a weekend... no matter what it is, and up to relatively late, there's always quite a crowd. So one night, I just had to drag my hubby to check it out.

This Cafe/Deli not only serves Di Stefano coffee, it also offers barista classes. There's screens on top of all the coffee machines that lets you eye how your coffee is made (usually to perfection). And though their coffee seems popular here, their pizza seems even more so.

Hence, for this night, we ordered a Chargrilled Baby Octopus ($12.50) and a Gamberi pizza ($25) to share. The chargrilled baby octopus was marinated with lemon & lime, parsley and a bit of chilli. Tossed well and chargrilled to be super tasty and tender. The octopus sat on top of fresh rocket and the whole this was doused with extra virgin olive oil. Was quite delicious.

Chargrilled Baby Octopus - $12.90

But the highlight was definitely the pizza. It smelled AMAZING! The pizza base was the perfect thickness. Crispy yet chewy at the same time. Smothered with rich tomato sauce, the perfect pizza base was topped with king prawns, bits of anchovy, fresh parsley and cheese. It was ZOMG deliciousness!!! One of the best pizza's I've had so far. The puzzle of why so many people ordered pizza here (even though it was all-you-can-eat ribs night) was finally solved :)

Gamberi pizza - $25

Looking around at the customers eating amazing looking desserts, my hubby and I just couldn't pass. I tested their gelato and chose pistachio and chocolate. The chocolate flavour was super super dark and rich. It wasn't too sweet and the cocoa flavours lingered in your mouth. It was yum. The pistachio, however, was a little bit of a let down. Maybe it was simply outshone by the chocolate.

Gelato (2 scoops) - $5

My partner's creme brulee ($8) sat temptingly on our table. Super thick caramelised sugar top was smooth rich coffee vanilla bean brulee. I'm not a creme brulee person and yet, I had the urge to gobble his dessert all up. I didn't need the biscotti which came with it though... the brulee was awesome enough :)

Creme Brulee - $8

All up, this was quite an outstanding dining experience. Sure, the service is slightly lacking in that they seemed short-staffed for the amount of customers but the food, the buzz, the atmosphere was all excellent. Definitely a place to return to for dinner again and again.

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall- 30/40

Coffee Warehouse Cafe & Deli
17-35 Parramatta Road
Homebush
NSW 2140
Tel: (02) 9764 8822

Tosung Firewood BBQ - Homebush

Upon high recommendation by our Korean friend (repeatedly), my partner and I decided to check out Tosung Firewood BBQ which was around the area where we lived. Our friend said that the smoked duck was to die for - and hence, we were all up for a duck night! To our disappointment, duck was sold out for the evening >.< Hence, we had to settle for our usual favourites at Korean BBQs.

First to come was a range of sauces and condiments. We each got a salad and a cold soup. The cold soup was vinegary and filled with veges - I think it's meant to be a healthy thing to drink following unhealthy bbq stuff, or maybe it's to cool our burning mouths down (as we tend to eat the meat straight off the hot plate without waiting for it to cool down properly). There were only three other varieties of side dishes - a sweet potato mash puree type thing (which I didn't really like), pickled onions, and pickled chinese cabbage.

condiments

We opted for one side dish to complement all the meat - Jap Chae ($12). This was a good array of veges with beef all tossed in super yummy potato starch noodles. This was quite delicious - the flavours were all there, it was hot and steamy, the noodles were nice and soft, there was just enough sauce.... Mmm.....

Jap Chae - $12

In terms of meat, we had the ox tongue ($18) and the pork belly ($17). My partner claimed that this was probably the best pork belly he has had in Sydney - and given the number of Korean bbq places he's been to and his love of pork belly - it was a pretty big claim. It was soft, tender, juicy and you could tell that the meat was "fresh", like it wasn't the type that has been sitting around for days before they served it out. There was a good meat to fat ratio - just enough so that the meat kind of just melts in your mouth. The ox tongue was also good. Thinly slices, tasty and chewy but not too chewy - just the way it's meant to be.

Pork Belly - $17
Ox Tongue - $18

As we were in a firewood bbq place, it made no sense to not order any smoked stuff. Hence, out last choice was the firewood pork rib ($25). Coming out pre-smoked and firewooded, you're meant to heat it back up on your stove... and... this was heavenly. Smoky flavour infused throughout the meat, super super tender - the meat just falls off the bone... and it was just amazing! Really yummy ribs - I ate so much of these :) If the firewood ribs are this good - would the duck be even better?

Firewood Pork Rib - $25

All up, it was a good recommendation by our Korean friend. The restaurant seems to be a bit in the middle of nowhere - but there's a big carpark and a lot of Koreans who dine here (which is always a good sign). Definately worth a re-visit :)

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30.5/40

Tosung Firewood BBQ
17-35 Parramatta Road
Homebush
NSW 2140
Tel: (02) 8756 5252