Ponsonby Central - Auckland

It's my first trip to NZ - and I have to say that Auckland certainly has that super chillax feel to it. Barely able to sight people, barely crowds and yet, restaurants and delicious-looking cafes abound. One such restaurant-dense area is Ponsonby Central - a market full of delicious looking food! I have to say, our indecisiveness on our visit left us walking up and down and back and forth for the better part of an hour. Tasty looking meatballs? A delicious looking burger? Super yummy crepes? Inject-your-own donuts? At the end of a long deliberation, we opted for 'el sizzling Chorizo' - an Argentinian BBQ place.

After choosing the place, our next dilemma was to figure out exactly what to order. The chefs/waiters at this little joint were nice, friendly and luckily, patient enough with us. Should we get a platter? or one of those awesomely juicy short ribs that the man next to us were eating? Or maybe a pork belly? After much umming and ahhing, we opted for the deliciously looking chunk of beef short rib and a chorizo.

The beef short rib was delicious! The meat, particularly that close to the bone, was medium rare and super duper tender and tasty. YUM!!! Hubby did eat a lot of it, but if it were in front of me, I would be picking up the bone and devouring it! (loosing what ever little lady-like manners I have). The chimichurri sauce was also really tasty :)

beef short rib

My chorizo was not what I expected. The sausage was full of flavour, but it was a bit pink in the middle. Being pork, I was a bit hesitant, but the waitress assured that the pork was pre-cooked and that it was meant to be a bit pink. I took a dive, ate it anyway, and didn't get sick :) The bread was also cooked on the grill - it was a bit dense but it went well with the meats. The toasted almond slices on top of the salad was also heaps delectable.

chorizo

After the meaty meal, we walked by 'the Dairy', the shop next door and couldn't pull away from their ice cream cookie sandwich. This was two fresh cookies of our choosing, sandwiching a large scoop of icecream, also of our choosing, all topped with fairy floss. ZOMG sugar overload!!! We had the anzac cookie and the choc fudge cookie with a butterscotch icecream... and between the two of us, we were unable to finish it. It got a bit messy to eat though, as if you bite the freshly baked cookies, the icecream gets squeezed out of the sides.

icecream cookie sandwich

Loved the food aromas here at Ponsonby Central. Would not say no to another trip here just to try the other stores.

El Sizzling Chorizo & The Dairy

136-138 Ponsonby Rd

Ponsonby Central

Auckland

Element 6 - West Ryde

Being hungry on a Saturday morning but with only a limited amount of time landed hubby and I at Element 6 at West Ryde, a hipster trendy-looking cafe joint not too far away from home. There was crazy amount of people here already when we got there around 11am, all seated around tables that were relatively too small, and with chairs that look cool but aren't altogether comfy. But that's IN, right?

There were too many things on the menu that we wanted but we finally settled on a couple. Hubby settled on a way-too-healthy smoothie - the 'green with envy'. This green concoction had kale, celery, spinach, mint, cucumber, and apple all whizzed up, sweetened naturally with agave syrup. He really enjoyed it, and amazingly, I did too. My skim capp was decent too.

green with envy smoothie

skim capp

When our food came out, I experienced ultimate food envy. Lucky for me, hubby allowed free access to the source of my envy. The crazy looking and smelling dish comprised to rosemary garlicy mushies of all kinds. It was served with two perfectly poached eggs, squeaky yummy haloumi, baby spinach, roasted tomato and sourdough. Hubby also added bacon to it all. SOOOO awesome.

Garlic Mushrooms

I probably would have loved my meal too if it wasn't overshadowed by the garlicy mushies. I got the chorizo roll with egg, cheese, tomato and delicious aioli. The chorizo was tasty, same with the egg and cheese...Unfortunately, the sauce and the tomato made the bun a bit soggy and unsavoury.

Chorizo roll

We had a pretty tasty meal at Element 6. Probably would come back some time for some more tasty garlicy mushrooms.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Element 6
65 Ryedale Road,
West Ryde
NSW 2114
Tel: (02) 8021 2838

Ribs & Burgers - Rhodes

I was starving. And I had a burger craving for some reason. Logical outcome? Finding the closest burger joint possible - which in this case, was at Ribs & Burgers at Rhodes. There was just a small crowd there but the service was relatively quick. Whilst in line, hubby eyed the signage for a Milo thickshake. Milo? who can resist? Not us!

The Milo thickshake did not disappoint. It was super thick and quite milo-y - meaning that it was absolutely delicious! However, due to the thickness of this, if I was to chug down the whole drink, I would not have enough stomach space to eat anything - even though I was starving! I would definitely order this again though - soooo tasty :)

Milo thickshake

Burger-wise, hubby got the original with beetroot whereas I got the cheeseburger (with swiss). The sesame seed bun was good but nothing really to write home about. The patty was juicy but not super tasty, and the rest of the ingredients were fresh. Overall - the burger hit the spot, satisfied my cravings, but it was probably not the best burger we've had. I would come back if I had another burger craving, but if the craving was not there, I might order the ribs here instead.

hamburger with beetroot

cheeseburger

Chips on the other hand, was amazing! Crispy, golden, deep-fried, fluffy perfectly cooked chips. YUM! Chips here are a must!

chips

I have a feeling I will be back - even if its just for the shake and chips :)

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Ribs & Burgers
Shop 53-54 
1 Rider Boulevard
Rhodes NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 9743 0880

Smoky BBQ foods

My hubby loves BBQed stuff. He loves all different types of barbeques - korean, jap, charcoal, steak on the barbie, Bunnings sausage sizzles... everything! Recently on our trip to the US, the smoky BBQ was a 'must visit' (many many times) type of venue.

In Chicago, there was Blackwood. It was smoky and simply delicious! You could smell this place from a mile away! On our visit, hubby had the pulled pork in a bun. My choice? The beef brisket - on the platter. It comes with a variety of side dishes to chose from - the pickles and radishes were complimentary. The other stuff - baked beans, coleslaw, baked mac and cheese, were all worth it's price. What I also couldn't draw myself away from was their housemade lemonade - love that stuff! Super refreshing and not too sweet :)

The pulled pork was tasty and tender. You just bite into it and loads of smoky, porky flavour just fills your mouth. The bun was good - but clearly, the meat was the hero of the dish. Hubby also loved their baked beans.

pulled pork in a bun with baked beans

As good as the pork was, I think that the beef brisket was our preferred meat. It was juicy and tender, slow-cooked for like 16 hrs or something like that! I got this awesomely smoky, hint of chilli, and tomatoey sauce on top. Deliciousness! It was 'melt in your mouth' goodness. And the mac and cheese? More please!

slow cooked beef brisket with mac&cheese

There are other BBQ joints around the USA. One other was Mighty Quinn's. Here, I couldn't resist but order their pork ribs. This was AMAZING. Pork ribs v Beef brisket? I'm a fan of the super smokey super tender pork ribs! :) Hubby also really liked this. As we were eating sooo much that day, we only ordered the one meal.

ribs

But would hubby let us leave the states without trying the beef brisket from here? Of course not! So one night - pretty late... like 11pm... we ran from our previous commitment back here, just to line up and order their brisket. I know that my photos are pretty poor (given that it's just from my phone and with really little lighting), but honestly, it was delicious! It's hard to say which briskets were better - the one from Blackwood or the Might Quinn's. All I know is that hubby would die to have places like this back in Sydney :P

slow cooked beef brisket

Blackwood BBQ
305 W Lake Street
Chicago, IL, 60606
Tel: +1 312 621 9663

Mighty Quinns
103 2nd Ave
NY 10003
Tel: +1 212 677 3773

Guest Post - Sydney's BEST speedy sushi

Sushi is the perfect food when you’re on the go: it’s light, full of energy and packs a pretty good flavour punch. It’s also pretty spill-friendly (as long as you go easy on the soy), making it ideal for a speedy business lunch.

Words and Photography provided by Menulog.

We’re lucky to live in a city that has embraced the art of Japanese cuisine and has such easy access to fresh seafood. Outside of central Sydney, however, it can still be difficult to track down genuine, quality sushi. Here are some quality restaurants around the city that will ease your craving for good sushi on the go.

Ichiro’s Sushi Bar, Mascot

What to order: The Aero, Botany and Bourke signature sushi rolls.

Yume, Gladesville

What to order: Brown rice sushi to be extra virtuous.

Watermoon, Potts Point

 What to order: Beautifully fresh sashimi.

Okonomy, Five Dock

What to order: The Entree (assorted sushi and sashimi) set.

Paper Planes, Bondi

What to order: The chicken teriyaki and salmon bento – for a taste of everything.

Thai Paragon (Menulog takeaway) - North Strathfield

What's better than being able to lounge at home after a hectic working day? It's being allowed to lounge at home, order your dinner from the comfort of your laptop and have your dinner dropped off at whatever time you please. AND no washing up! :)

After much browsing and indecision around on Menulog - No.1 for Online Takeway,  I decided on a Thai restaurant down the road from us at North Strathfield - Thai Paragon. Thai Paragon is one of those Thai places that I've been driving past day in and day out for the past three years, each time saying that we've got to try it. Browsing the menu on Menulog was very easy. After you choose your  dishes, a confirmation of the order and time is sent to my email (and mobile) promptly. Also - my meal was delivered pretty much on-the-dot of when I asked for it to arrive!

An extensive look over the menu left me with the decision of curry puffs, pad thai, and beef masaman curry. For some funny reason, when it came to the actual order - my pad thai became a soft-shell crab with papaya salad... No idea how it happened, but it gave me a bit of a shock when I opened my takeaway and found no pad thai! Nonetheless, it was quite an enjoyable meal :)

The curry puffs were quite delicious! The pastry was buttery and flaky. The curry bits inside - potatoes, carrots, peas - all mixed with a mild curry, was tasty and hit the spot for me.

curry puffs

My accidental soft-shell crab with green papaya salad was okay too. The crab was deep fried a bit too dark for my liking, but it was still tasty. As for the papaya salad? It was just like any other. My only complaint would be that the box looked a bit meager when we first looked at it...

soft shell crab with papaya salad

The beef masaman curry with the addition of a roti was my favourite for the night. The curry was creamy and flavoured just right. The beef was also super tender and fell apart easily under the fork. Would definitely want seconds of this one!

beef masaman curry

roti

I definitely appreciated having no cooking no washing and virtually no moving after a tough work day. For this purpose, Menulog well exceeded my expectations - easy to browse, easy to order, delivered super promptly. As for Thai Paragon, I wouldn't mind another meal from here:)

Thai Paragon 
Shop G2, 24 Bakehouse Quarter
George Street
North Strathfield, NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 7005
http://www.menulog.com.au/takeaway/north-strathfield
http://www.menulog.com.au/thai-paragon-north-strathfield

Pappa Rich - Chatswood

For a chillaxy lunch, hubby and I found ourselves at Pappa Rich in Chatswood - partly due to much consultancy of the Entertainment Book. We were greeted by friendly welcoming staff and an extensive yummy sounding Malaysian menu.

Took us ages to choose, but we finally decided on a noodle dish each. I ordered a Coffee+milk tea+ jelly drink which I LOVED. I would have appreciated a slightly strong coffee and tea flavour, but the drink did the trick anyway.

Hubby's noodle dish was the Curry Laksa. It was a rich and aromatic spicy coconut brothed noodles (thick eggy hokkien-style noodles) with prawns, mussels, eggplant, tofu puffs, bean curd, fish cake and bean sprouts. It smelt really good ... but... the benchmark for a good laksa has been set really high (thanks to the laksa place at unsw matt building) and unfortunately, this one fell a bit short of that.

Curry Laksa

I really liked my Prawn Mee, which had a really delicious prawn broth to it. It was a bit chilli, but I was determined to soldier on. There were thick egg noodles, prawns, half and egg, chicken, bean sprouts and water spinach. It was quite yummy. Maybe not the most awesome prawn mee I've had, but it hit the spot.

Prawn Mee

All up, not a bad Malaysian restaurant. Not the best but for the price (esp after Entertainment book discount), it was pretty decent.

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

Pappa Rich
63A Archer St
Chatswood
NSW 2067
Tel: (02) 9411 3207