Knafeh - North Strathfield (pop-up)

My friend told me that Knafeh, the hipster Jerusalem street food truck, was going to be popping up at the end of my street for a few days. Having passed on the opportunity to try it at previous markets and festivals due to long lines, I just had to go. Being on the corner of George St and Parra Rd in North Strathfield, I was thinking that there'd be less lines... but I couldn't be more wrong.

Lines and waittimes were still plentiful, even though it was in the carpark in the middle of no-where. We ordered a knafeh ($8) with ashta booza ($4). There's a good production line happening with hipster-looking men (with beards ofcourse) making this seemingly simple Levantine dessert.

The Knafeh is a thick, porridgy, subtly sweet baked cheesy blob with a crunchy crushed cereal-like top. The added booza was like a clotted cream with thick, sticky texture. Crushed pistachios on top was a good addition and unlimited sugar syrup was at our disposal. I believe that this is a love it or hate it dessert. And judging by the lines - loads of people love it. Unfortunately, I don't think this is for me...

 

If you want to try this place, they will be here again from 19-22nd of Feb!
 
Knafeh (pop up)
Cnr George St & Parramatta Rd
North Strathfield
NSW 2137

Ryde Haejangguk - North Strathfield

The Korean Restaurant on our street keeps changing names. The latest name is Ryde Haejangguk - seems to have the longest name compared to it's predecessors - and it also seems to have attract the most amount of patrons.

Side dishes are OK but I'm so spoilt by 'Jonga Jip' (Eastwood) where you get like 11 side dishes that four side dishes just seem a bit dismal. Nonetheless - the kimchi and the fishcake was pretty tasty.

We had contemplated getting a hot pot, but at the last minute, we decided on a small soup each. Hubby got the lamb soup whilst I got the ox bone soup. Hubby really enjoyed his lamb soup - super lamby flavour and tons of perilla seeds and green vege strips (perilla leaves maybe?). Hubby dunked his meat in this mean concoction of gochujang, perilla, mustard and soy, making it even tastier.

My ox bone soup was super sizzling when it got to the table. The soup was nice and white, lots of shallot and big strips of meat. The soup felt really clean and gave the illusion of healthiness. Not bad.

So this place is pretty tasty - but there's a korean dumpling restaurant that just opened opposite it. I'll have to try that too and compare them both! :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Ryde Haejangguk 
1-3 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 8746

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

Bar Biscotti (2) - North Strathfield

We decided to walk down the road for breakfast one morning and landed at Bar Biscotti. It was one of those rare relatively sunny weekends and quite a lot of others had the same mindset as us.

I ordered a mocha frappe and hubby got a long black. My mocha frappe was quite delicious tasting and was  also cool and refreshing after our brisk walk.

mocha frappe

In terms of food, hubby ordered their big breakfast which had 2 eggs (which he opted for fried), pile of bacon, sausages, hash brown, rocket, tomato and toast. Everything tasted pretty good and it was definitely big enough to leave hubby feeling super super full. 

big breakfast

I hadn't had eggs benedict for AGES so I just had a huge craving for it. The poached eggs were perfectly runny and awesome. There was a good amount of smoked salmon and baby spinach. The hollandaise sauce was smooth and creamy but tasted less strong than other hollandaise sauces. Not bad though :)

eggs benedict

It was a pretty decent breakfast. The service was friendly enough. Just don't come here with a full bladder though - coz the bathrooms are all the way across the road in the carpark.

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

Bar Biscotti
24 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 6451

Gangnam Korean Restaurant - North Strathfield

Previously named Jangdory, this Korean restaurant in North Strathfield seemed to have capitolised on the recent PSY - Gangnam Style craze, changing their name to 'Gangnam'. Compared to previously, there is a wider selection of foods and the incredible Korean patron ratio seems to make it legitly Korean.

We had been here previously whilst it was Jangdory and found the food to be pricey but yummy. After their name change, I think that their prices have stayed at their high point - definitely expensive for Korean food standards. But we were already there and seated so... oh well. We ordered the fish cake hot pot ($35) to share.

We were first greeted with a selection of Korean side dishes. All were relatively yummy. My favourite was probably the chili radish cubes. I even braved the green chilies and was surprised to find that they were not spicy at all! Our fish cake hot pot came out MASSIVE! Sooo much fish cake! The soup was clear and comforting (especially on a dreary rainy day) and the fish cakes were quite yummy. But honestly, there's only so much fish cake one can eat. Next time, we'll have to remember to order this when more people are around!

side dishes

Fish cake hot pot - $35

So even after their name change, they continue to attract a lot of Korean patrons. The quality of their food is good, albiet pricey. But you get what you pay for :)

Ratings:

Food - 8/10

Service - 6.5/10

Ambiance - 7/10

Value for money - 6.5/10

Overall - 28/40

Gangnam Korean Restaurant

Shop 2, 1-3 George Street

North Strathfield

NSW 2137

Tel: (02) 97468746

Outback Steakhouse - North Strathfield

For a quick bite, my hubby and I decided to dine out at Outback Steakhouse at the Bakehouse Quarter. It was pretty much a full house on a Sunday night and the place was totally bustling with customers and waitresses alike. We figured that the mains were probably enough to feed us and hence, decided to skip the entree.

Hubby ordered the 'outback special' which is a sirloin cut whereas I opted for a more marbled, succulent ribeye steak. Steaks come with either a soup or a salad, and a side dish (e.g. chips, mash, jacket potato etc). I have to say, I think that one of the main reasons why we like Outback Steakhouse is because of their soup. The soup of the day that we got was the creamy potato soup. This was amazingly rich, creamy, potatoey, starchy, super super YUM. It came with freshly baked bread. So amazingly deliciousness!!!

Potato soup with freshly baked bread

Hubby's sirloin with jacket potato was not bad. Cooked medium-rare, it was full of flavour and relatively more lean compared to my ribeye. My ribeye, likewise cooked medium-rare, was less flavoursome but more tender and succulent, probably because ribeyes tend to be more marbled. Nonetheless, both steaks were cooked quite well. My chips were also really yummy - crunchy outer, soft fluffy inside and nicely flavoured.

Sirloin with jacket potato

Ribeye with chips

Not a bad joint for a steak. Will be back I think :)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Outback Steakhouse (North Strathfield)
Restaurant Level 1,
3 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 8756 5741.

Jangdory Gomtang Restaurant - North Strathfield

My friends and us wanted to chomp down a steak at the Outback Steakhouse in North Strathfield only to find that we were faced with a crazily packed restaurant. Dejected, we went for the next best thing - Korean beef broth noodles at Jangdory Gomtang Restaurant. My hubby and I had been here before, when it first opened, and the only thing on the menu was just their Gomtang noodles. Their menu has exponentially expanded since. One more thing - if you happen to have a same day boarding pass from Korean Air or Aeseana - you get 20% off! LOL :P

Side dishes were not crazily varied, but each was very yummy and well pickled. The four of us decided to share a plate of Bossam ($45). Massive amounts of steamed pork came out - each piece with a good meat to fat ratio. The pork was really tender and silky smooth due to the fat. When eaten with kimchi, a mix of oysters and pickled chili radishes, garlic, chili, tiny pickled fermented shrimp (saeujeot) and a thick saucy paste - all wrapped up in either sesame or lettuce leaf, it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUSNESS!!! :P Mmm YUM

Side dishes

Bossam - $45

My hubby and a friend both opted for a combination Gomtang noodle ($18). There was sliced beef, ox knee and ox tail, all in a milky white beef based soup. It was yumminess.

Combination Gomtang Noodle Soup - $18

Likewise, my dumplings (which came in the same yummy white beef soup) were super super massive ($15). The dumplings were meaty and hearty and came with bits of seaweed and rice cake. There was also a small plate of beef mince (or maybe it was pork mince) which is meant to be eaten with the dumplings.

Dumpling soup - $15

Last but not least, a cold soybean noodle soup ($14) was ordered by my friend. According to my friend, it was thick yet kind of tasteless. Our Korean friend said that it's meant to be eaten with a soy-sauce or chilli type sauce - neither of which appeared present on the table. I guess it was an interesting choice but not too much to our liking.

Cold Soybean Noodle - $14

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Jangdory Gomtang Restaurant
Shop 2/ 1 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 8746

Bakehouse Garden Korean BBQ - North Strathfield

Default dinner option for us seem to be either Charcoal Chicken (at El Jannah) or barbequed meat of some sort (either Jap or Korean style). Instead of going to Tosung this time, we decided to try something new - Bakehouse Gardens Korean BBQ within the Bakehouse Quarter.

Side dishes were pretty good - broccoli with chili sauce, eggplant, kimchi, pickled chinese cabbage. Good amounts of lettuce were supplied to supplement our barbequed meats.

sides

For this night, we opted for a beef bulgogi hot pot ($40) which was a sweet soup with a heap of beef bulgogi, mushrooms (button and straw), onions, rice cakes, and potato noodles. This was really yummy. The beef was tasty and tender. However, the pot is rather deceiving - it's rather shallow, meaning that everything boils and cooks super quick. Delicious anyhow :)

beef hot pot

We also opted for 2 barbequed meats - marinated beef short rib ($19), and pork belly ($14). OK - so the portions aren't massive, but the meats are absolutely deliciousness!!! My hubby said that the pork belly here is just as good (if not better) than Tosung (whom he'd previously named as the best pork belly in Sydney). That is a BIG call. But not one without reason. It was melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and deliciousness!

Marinated beef short rib - $19

Pork Belly - $14

I have to say, the service here was pretty amazing. At one time, there were THREE waiters surrounding our table putting plates down, swapping plates, cooking our meat. Not only that, the grill was changed like 3-4 times during the course of dinner (where we only really cooked 2 meats). Not a bad place - cheap too! Definitely worth a revisit

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 32/40

Bakehouse Garden Korean BBQ
11 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 8746 0299

Cheeky Chocolate - North Strathfield

Looking for an Adriano Zumbo inspired cake without the normal Adriano Zumbo lines? Look no further than this sophisticatedly frenchy-looking dim-litted chandelier-filled chocolate cafe in North Strathfield.

Cheeky Chocolate only opened in the recent few months but quite often I see it packed full of people when I drive past on a Friday-Sunday night. Not only that, Adriano Zumbo does consultancy work here. Hence, I jumped at the first opportunity to drag my hubby and a few friends to sample the cakes here.

First thing that caught my eye - the glass cabinets filled with awesome looking cakes, macaroons and hand-made chocolates.

Cheeky Chocolate

My hubby was a party pooper and opted for a liquid dessert of chocolate thickshake. He asked for it to be extra thick. It came out only slightly thicker than a milkshake. Unfortunate.

Chocolate thickshake

One of my friends chose the mango cake. This was a square slab with a mango layer center, marshmellowy whiteness enveloped the mango with dusted yellow mango powder all over it. My friend enjoyed it muchly. In my tasting of it, it was an interesting texture, and sweet but not overly so.

Mango cake

Another cake which was ordered was the passion-fruit and white chocolate cheesecake. The top cheesecakey layer was light, the passion-fruit was flavoursome and the white-chocolate third-tier was slighty more dense and a good sweetness. The biscuit crumb base was also deliciousness~

Passion-fruit cheesecake

My eye landed on the chocolate caramel tart. A fantastic chocolate biscuit tart encased gooey fluidy chocolate mixed with caramel. All this was topped with peanut brittle. It was amazing! Rich, dense, chocolatey, heavenly!!!

Chocolate caramel tart

Fantastic desserts in a chillaxy friendly environment? Who wouldn't like it. For those alcoholics - there's cocktails galore here too! Definitely worth many re-visits :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 8.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 31/40

Cheeky Chocolate
11 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9764 5966

Bar Biscotti - North Strathfield

We woke up early on a Saturday morning and I was starving! Hence, for convenience sake, we went for breakfast down the road at Bar Biscotti :)

It was a hot day so I decided to order a chocolate thickshake. It was tasty and yummy... but... slightly not thick enough. It was half thick - the bottom was OKish, but the top half was like a milkshake.

Chocolate thickshake

My hubby's cappuccino was also decent ish. Like we thought previously, the reason why the coffee is not as awesome as the ones in Melbourne is due to the milk. Hence, with normal Sydney milk, I guess it was an OK coffee.

Cappuccino

Food-wise, my hubby went for the 'Big Biscotti' ($16.50). This was a pretty huge plate of stuff with 2 eggs (cooked how you like - my hubby went for fried), a huge pile of tiny mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, several sausages, a hash brown and a pile of thinly awesomely toasted bread. My hubby said that the bread was amazing! Everything else was not bad either.

The Big Biscotti

I decided to order my usual - eggs benedict with smoked salmon. Lightly toasted muffins topped with generous servings of baby spinach and smoked salmon slices and poached egg. The poached egg was unfortunately, overcooked. No ooziness. A shame. The hollandaise sauce was tasty though :)

Eggs benedict with smoked salmon

Breakfast was not bad. But when we went to pay the bill, they were like "$88.50 please" which left my hubby and I flaberghasted. "WHAT?!?!". Turns out, they mixed up the tables and put the next table's bill on our tab too~ So I guess that if you're eating here, be sure to check out the bill! :)

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

Bar Biscotti
24 George Street
North Strathfield
NSW, 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 7333

zenja (2) - North Strathfield

We were on our way to brunch in Eastwood or Burwood when we decided we were too hungry and wanted food RIGHT NOW. Hence, the car suddenly stopped on our road where Zenja was conveniently located. Our last experience at Zenja left me with mixed feelings - awesome food, crappy service. Nonetheless, we took the risk.

Contrary to our last experience, we were whisked away and seated immediately, the menu was provided shortly and our order was taken promptly.

Everything came out in a timely fashion and the service was friendly and attentive!!! So the lesson to be learnt here? Only visit Zenja when the crowds haven't appeared yet.

My hubby ordered a "flu fighter" ($5.50) which was a mixture of pineapple, orange and apple juice with a hint of ginger. Sounded healthy enough and tasted primarily of pineapple juice with subtle ginger. I ordered my usual - skim mocha ($3.50) and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth and creamy it was. It was just strong enough in coffee and chocolate flavour, well balanced and at perfect temperature. It was as good as Melbourne coffee!!! Well, I thought so anyway :)

flu fighter - $5.50

mocha - $3.50

Foodwise, my hubby opted for the french toast ($11.50). This was two thick-cut slices of bread immersed in egg mixture, served with maple syrup, crispy bacon and grilled tomato. I'm used to eating french toast asian style, which has peanut butter dripping in the middle of the two bread slices, but I guess this style is slightly healthier.

french toast - $11.50

I remembered how awesome my eggs benedict was last time ($13) and hence, went for it again. It came with THREE huge eggs poached to perfection, a good heap of smoked salmon, a small serving of baby spinach and nicely toasted turkish bread all with a decent portion of hollandaise sauce on top. It was a winner! So deliciousness. But I have to say, 3 eggs is slightly overkill. I tried to palm an egg off to the hubby but he wouldn't take it.

Eggs benedict - $13

We had an almost perfect Zenja experience this time... until we went to pay. The bill came to $29.40 (as we had an entertainment book voucher). We gave $50 and got $20 change. Sure, we were going to tip - but I would like that to be a choice. I want to get my change then choose to leave it for them. Shouldn't that be the way it's done in Australia?

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 31.5/40

Zenja
5 George St
North Strathfield
NSW 2137
tel: (02) 9746 9334