Devon on Danks - Waterloo

We hadn't been out to brunch in a while as I was sick of paying ludicrous amounts for hipster avocado smash on toast. So when hubby took me to Devon on Danks, I was a little weary... especially as it looked exactly like Danks Street Depot (a place where I've had really good and really average experiences).

Agreeing to sit on the high seats meant instant seating for us. My coffee was actually pretty delicious. Smooth and aromatic.

skim cappuccino

Foodwise, hubby got the soft shell crab roll. Crispy soft shell crab sprinkled with sichimi pepper, nori sheets, wasabi mayo, tobiko, pickled cucumber, daikon, and carrot, all served in a soft hot-dog style bun. It was actually really tasty. Really good textures and loads of flavour.

soft shell crab roll

I couldn't look past the 'Dr Seuss's Green egg and ham'. This was a juicy caramelised thick cut bacon - half meat and half fat - super duper tasty and succulent, with a 63 degree egg topped with pea puree and green tomato ketchup. Zomg YUM! But definitely not something you could eat lots of... 

green eggs and ham

There were cronuts and donuts displayed across the counter, all looking beautifully delicious. I simply couldn't resist but to order the Milo and chocolate ganache cronut. Unfortunately, looks are deceiving. Or maybe, I'm just not a huge fan of cronuts? It wasn't crispy or flaky enough and had a bit too much oozy custardy ganachy stuff inside... I think it's just me. I'm sure it's a good cronut and loads of people around us were ordering multiple cronuts.

Milo Cronut

I quite liked the food here but it does come at a price. Although there's more seating here compared to their Surry Hills branch, there's probably still a bit of a wait for seats at popular times. The food is fresh and comes relatively quickly and service is efficient but not really that attentive.... but overall - worth a try.

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

Devon on Danks
2 Danks Street
Waterloo
NSW 2017
Tel: (02) 9698 7795

Public Dining Room - Balmoral Beach

Before Christmas, we took my parents to Public Dining Room at Balmoral Beach. I love this beach and I love all the eating places around this beach but I have never actually dined at Public Dining Room before. Having flicked through the menu, I was full of anticipation.

It was an awesome summer's day and so, a table by the window gave us a fabulous view of the beach and all the beachgoers. And as the sun doesn't set until after 8pm, we had this amazing view for a while.

The four of us ordered two starters to share - the scallops and the smoked ocean trout. The scallops were seared to perfection and served with sweetcorn puree and chorizo. Did you know that scallops are perfect pairs with corn and chorizo? Cos this was absolutely deliciousness!!! The cured ocean trout was also refreshing, really fresh tasting with flavours balanced well.

scallops with sweet corn puree and chorizo

cured ocean trout

Perhaps they had too many customers and were understaffed but our mains took seemingly forever to come... Luckily, when they did come, it was really good! Hubby had the Brodetto, which was an Italian seafood soup. This was really seafoody and flavoursome. The prawns were massive and the broth was rich. My only qualm with this was that the bread came in the soup, making it soggy an mushy... I would have wanted the bread on the side so that I could choose when I want to soak up the juices.

Brodetto

Mum had a really awesome pasta. Short strozzapreti pasta was served with massive king prawns, nz clams, zucchini, bottarga and a hint of chilli. I have to say, I actually really liked this slightly creamy concoction. Tasty! Dad's 'fish of the day' being wild caught barramundi was possibly my least favourite of the night. Not that the fish wasn't cooked well... it just lacked the 'wow factor' that the other dishes had. The fish got served with clams, cuttlefish, and chorizo, all cooked perfectly.

strozzapreti with king prawns

wild caught barramundi

My dish was the 'melting' huon tasmanian salmon. It was gorgeous! Sous-vide to perfection, flaky and melt-in-your-mouth. Sooo good. Atop of the amazing salmon was crispy salmon skin. Perfect pairing! Moreover, there was a little salad of purple potato, asparagus, quinoa and watercress puree. Loved it!

Sous-vide Huon Salmon

The sides that we ordered, baked broken potatoes and brocollini were both good but not as awesome as our main dishes.

We were all super full but I couldn't resist but some dessert - or at least, I couldn't. I ordered the 'four tastes of valrhona, aero style, which the waitress had lots of trouble explaning to us what it comprised of. I believe that they melt various flavours of valrhona chocolate (milk, white, dark, sweet) then pump air into it, reform the chocolate, then chop it up in various shapes. It did taste a lot like Nestle's "aero". And I'm super thankful that the waitress bought out four plates and forks cos there was no way I could have finished this on my own!!! Definitely one for sharing!!!

Valrhona chocolate, aero style

I loved the food at this place. It's a great dining venue with really yummy food. Maybe I'll try to book this place again when it's less busy as I didn't like waiting 45mins for my mains... but I guess that my food was so delicious that I could overlook it... a little.

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 8.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 31/40

Public Dining Room
2A The Esplanade
Balmoral Beach
NSW 2088
Tel: (02) 9968 4880

The Century - Pyrmont

A family friend had their 90th birthday recently and they invited us to attend their birthday dinner at The Century in the Star. The menu was pretty extravagant, the food was pretty tasty, and the waitstaff were pretty friendly and patient with us. And so, it was a good night all up :)

One of the first courses of the night was the lobster sashimi. It came on an impressive bed of smoking liquid nitrogen - just for the 'wow' factor, but it really didn't need it as the lobster sashimi itself was pretty 'wow' itself in terms of being sweet and super fresh tasting. Being so close to the fish market, we not only got pieces of lobster sashimi, we also got and oyster and salmon sashimi  - both of which were really tasty.

Course two was XO pipis on vermicelli. This was pretty steaming hot and well sauced. Everyone happily chomped on this and there were no complaints. So pretty good dish :)

Lobster braised with ginger and shallot was next. There was a pretty massive plate of lobster and had tons of meat. Funnily enough, this lobster had a more crab like texture - less chewy and more sweet - and so, I quite liked it.

The next course was abalone slices with veges. There was soooo much abalone. All thinly sliced and stir-fried. It wasn't chewy and tough like I expected but because it was so thinly sliced, it was subtly sweet and soft and delectable.

A steamed coral trout was next. Steamed really well, the meat fell off the bone. Pretty good for fish :)

Chicken and noodles, as well as garlic lettuce came next. These were pretty average compared to the rest of the meal. The noodles might have lacked a bit of flavour. Possibly needed a bit more salt or a bit more sauce? But noodles are noodles - and I eat all noodles.

Fruit, biscuits and Chinese 'birthday buns' came next. The birthday girl got the massive bun (which unfortunately was hollow) and the rest of us go the little buns which had red bean paste in it. Nice end to the night really.

The Century @ The Star
80 Pyrmont St
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9566 2328

Good Luck Chinese Restaurant - Enfield

After a super difficult and long long week at work, all hubby wanted was duck and so duck we ate. We'd talked about going to this Chinese restaurant in Enfield for years so I was pretty pumped that we finally could visit 'Good Luck Chinese Restaurant' for their popular Peking Duck.

Between the two of us, we couldn't really eat much more than the duck. (and remember to pre-order the duck at least 1 hr before you visit the restaurant). The duck comes in 2 courses - the pancakes and either the soup or deep fried duck. I don't know if we were tucked in a corner of the restaurant or if we looked young, but we were ignored for quite some time. When the duck finally came, it was gloriously crispy and good looking :)It was tasty and succulent and a little bit oily, but really deliciousness! The pancakes were definitely homemade cos it was a bit thick... and very often stuck together. But the yumminess of the duck makes up for the shortfall.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much the extent to which the yumminess ends. Our second course was the soup. It was a bit dismal. Lacked taste. A bit of duck bone, some shallots and a few bits of chinese cabbage... It was slightly not tasty and non-delicious.

We also ordered a small side dish of cold noodles. This was likewise a bit dismal and non-delicious and I would recommend against ordering it.

So I guess that this is a small Chinese restaurant that is really good for Peking Duck (but maybe order the fried version for the second course) and ask others for recommendations for what else to order here (definitely not the cold noodles).

Good Luck Chinese Restaurant
182 Liverpool Road
Enfield NSW 2136
Tel: (02) 9747 4625

Burger Project - Sydney

You know how you hear about place that's meant to be good but then receives tons of negative reviews and you're like - 'I don't think I want to go there' except you really want to try it for yourself to see if it really is as crap as others say it is? Well - Burger Project is one of these places.

We didn't know how bad the crowds would be for Sat lunch so we got to the burger joint at 11am when it opened. It was pretty empty. As we sat outside waiting for our friends googling all the blogs on the place and seeing pic after pic of dry, unappetising burgers our expectations dropped lower and lower - even when we saw Neil Perry go in and out of the store.

I decided to order the cheeseburger ($8.90) whilst hubby got the spicy pork belly burger ($9.90). My cheeseburger was largely disappointing. You'd expect a quality juicy and tasty beef patty coming from Neil's kitchen, 36 month grass-fed Cape Grim beef brisket and all, but what you really get is a pretty bland, slightly dry slab of ground beef. The bun itself was not much better - it had this stale dense dryness to it. Not really sure how to describe it but it wasn't good. There also wasn't enough of Neil's "special sauce" so the whole thing was a bit of bland boring eat. Way different to the awesome cheeseburger from Shake Shack (if that's what they were aiming for).

 Hubby's spicy pork belly burger was a bit better. The chilli added the flavour and really, can't go too wrong with pork crackling in a burger. The bun was still a disappointing factor though.

 The triple-cooked chips were actually pretty good. Crispy and crunchy. However, apart from the top ones which were a good chip length, there were tons of scrappy little bits and pieces in this cup.

 Our friends also ordered the crispy hot wings (3 for $9). They said that it was pretty good. The wings were of a decent size and crumbed in a salt and sichuan pepper mix. At $3 a wing - you'd definitely hope they're pretty tasty~

So all the reviews we read before entering the burger joint were not lying. Burger Project is really quite disappointing as far as burgers are concerned. Not really worth a visit if you have other options. And not really a place you'd revisit.

Ratings:
Food - 6/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6/10
Overall - 26/40

Burger Project
World Square Shopping Centre
Shop 1106 (next to DTF)
664 George Street
Sydney, 2000

Oliveto Ristorante & Bar - Rhodes

We live quite close to many yummy looking restaurants but it had taken us a few years to try out Oliveto - an Italian restaurant with a view of the bay. I was thinking that being kind of in the middle of nowhere, the restaurant would be quieter but it was the complete opposite. The restaurant was bustling and super super busy (and really quite loud) at 8pm on a Friday night.

Many items on the menu sounded delicious so it took us ages to decide what to order but at the end, we decided on the antipasto plate to share, a prosciutto rocket pizza with anchovies, and a mixed mushroom pappardelle.

The bread came with olive oil and balsamic. The bread was pretty dense - not my type. But hubby managed to polish it off with the antipasto. The platter came with prosciutto, beef carpaccio, chilli salami, cheese, artichoke, eggplant, capsicum, egg frittata, and olives (both green and black). All the meats were really really good. I especially liked the beef carpaccio - heaps tasty!

After the antipasto, we were both already quite full. There was no way hubby was to finish his pizza. However, it was really tasty somehow - I don't know if it was the cheese or the prosciutto or the anchovies but something in this pizza made it delectable.

My pappardelle smelt absolutely wonderous. Fresh herbs with mixed mushies and home-made pasta. YUM! It was mouth-wateringly delicious. The pasta was perfectly al-dente and mixed with just the right amount of flavoured olive oil.

Neither hubby nor I had enough stomach space to do dessert but looking around the restaurant, dessert looks amazing. As does their grilled seafood (def food envy there). We felt that Oliveto was a heaps tasty Italian restaurant which is well worth a re-visit.

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

Oliveto Ristorante & Bar
443 Concord Road
Rhodes, NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 8765 0006

Eating in Jeonju

Now whilst Busan is the Seafood capital of Korea, Jeonju is the Food capital of Korea, home of super fresh ingredient and super tasty food. Being just a couple of hours (via KTX) from Seoul, hubby and I couldn't resist but to do a day trip here to have the best Bibimbap in the world. Or at least, this region is famous for bibimbap (and was having their annual bibimbap festival the week after we visited). Word of warning - we went on a Saturday (and I don't know if it was just THAT sat) but it was super crowded, full of local Korean tourists.

In Jeonju, there is Hanok Village, a village full of olden day Korean dwellings. This is were the majority of the tourist attractions lie - pavillions, a Confucian school, tea houses, traditional wine making places and so forth. I think this is also where Koreans take their kids to stay the night to teach them the traditional way of living. Above all those touristy things - there is food galore! So much street food!!! And stews, and tradition "royal table eats" (where you get a table full of food) and of course, bibimbap.

The bibimbap place we chose was a little walk away from the village. Upstairs in level two, the place was full of people, all eating the same thing. There's really two choices - the bibimbap with cooked beef and the bibimbap with raw beef. And like any good Korean meal, it comes with a table full of side dishes, all super tasty and super awesome and super refillable. This bibimbap had so many different types of root veges, it felt clean, wholesome, healthy and was really quite delicious. I'm usually not one who likes rice, but I loved this bibimbap and was almost able to finish this massive bowl of rice!

Street food-wise, who can resist some liquid nitrogen ice-cream. The workers at this shop completely hooked us in (along with some friendly Ahjussi's ) but taking these chocolate biscuits and pouring liquid nitrogen on them. When you put it in your mouth, it leaves this really cold, super crisp feeling. The worker was like 'chew quickly' and you realise why straight away. Don't chew quickly enough and that biscuit is going to be stuck to your tongue for the rest of your life! LOL Btw, this tiramisu icecream was deliciousness :)

A spectacle not to be missed at Jeonju this Sat was the amount of people lining up for things. People were lining up for all types of street food - particularly for Mandoo, for this baguette burger, croquettes and PNB. PNB is this super famous bakery that sells chocopies. You know how you get chocopies at the Korean stores here and its like, meh... PNB sells chocopies that are like OMG it's soooo big! The chocolately biscuits sandwich just the right amount of marshmellow and jam and it's all wrapped in this chocolate coating. It's not too sweet and not too dense. Pretty much just right for a chocopie. Hubby was a fan and I ate some (which is saying something as I usually don't even glance twice at chocopies).

After much deliberation, we also lined up and got his 'baguette burger'. This was a cheese, mincey, pizza-y mixture stuffed inside this super crunchy yet super soft baguette bun. Koreans definitely know what they are doing when they are making bread, donuts and deep-frying and this baguette burger was no different. We were initially disinterested and underwhelmed - puzzled by why the line was so freaking long but after one bite, we were sold (even though our stomachs were already full). It was cheesey, meaty and had the right amount of chilli.

Right before our baguette burger experience, we actually had probably the best Beef Rib Soup I've had in my life. This beef rib soup was really really tasty. The soup was just teaming with  the essence of beef bone and the beef? So succulent and fall off the bone. It left this warm fuzzy feeling within us. I wish I had some of that soup now :)

In Jeonju, there's also meant to be something called 'Bapsang' which literally means - a million side dishes. I suspect that you can get this in any of the house-stay places in Hanok but we didn't get to try as the place recommended to us by our friend was closed down :( Maybe next time! Jeonju is really a great eating day trip! Must go if you have some spare time in Seoul.