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CAFE CRE ASION

6/28/2013

Cafe Cre Asion is literally a a hole in the wall, you wouldn't realise it unless someone told you! But I'm glad I stumbled across it. I actually heard about it a few months ago because word has it that they have some of the best macarons in Sydney. On a couple of occasions I actually tried to looking for this cafe but was unsuccessful. After lunch one Friday, my friends and I were actually looking for a cafe to get a drink and relax, I didn't have Cafe Cre Asion in mind at all but while we were walking towards World Square I saw turned my head to the right checking for cars and then there it was Cafe Cre Asion! I didn't even say anything and I just turned and started walking towards it, it was as if I found gold or something :P

Cafe Cre Asion is a cute, little Japanese cafe that is the size of a shoe box. There are a few tables inside and outside- my friends and I joked that we shouldn't move or breathe when sitting on these petite chairs. We were quite full from lunch and dessert (foodie day out!) we all just ended up ordering cold beverages. The drinks list has the usual coffees, teas and iced drinks. My friend and I ordered the iced coffee with milk and my other friend ordered the green tea latte- she wanted it cold which was an additional $1. The staff are very friendly and polite, which is always a big plus :)

Iced coffee with milk

As you can see in the above pictures the presentation of the iced coffee was as cute as a button! It totally matched the cute and little theme running through the cafe :P Being a big noob I actually poured the milk into the small cup containing the coffee :P - just a note you're meant to pour the coffee into the milk. My friends and I were obsessed with the jugs that the milk/ drinks came in and of course we took a million photos of it! The iced coffee was very refreshing and it actually gave me a kick around 11pm....not good when your body is really tired but your mind is just buzzing from the caffine! I would definitely recommend during the early hours of the day, not the late afternoon! :P

Iced green tea latte

I definitely want to come back to try the famous macarons! There was A LOT of flavours to choose from, there was two customers that stood at the cabinet for more than 30 minutes deciding which flavours to get- my advice would to just buy all the macarons! :P I'm super happy that I finally found Cafe Cre Asion and I know for sure this will be my new place to hang out with friends!

Let me know if there are any cafes just like this around the area :)

Happy eating x

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CHEFS GALLERY

6/28/2013

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This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went...

I have known of Chefs Gallery for a really long time but I have never had the chance to go eat there, so when a long awaited catch up with my friend came up I knew exactly where I wanted to eat. I actually had quite a high expectation for this restaurant, just because of it reputation and decor (it could definitely pass as a high class restaurant).

We arrived around midday and was lucky enough to get table because around 20-30 minutes later there was a lot of people queuing outside to get a table.

The prices are definitely not worth the amount and quality of food you receive. If you want cheap, large and good dumplings or noodles I would recommend you go to somewhere in Chinatown. We ordered the fried dim sim sampling platter, prawn dumplings, noodles with chargrilled wagyu (we didn't want the Sichuan spicy soup so we got chicken broth instead) and the famous steamed piggy buns (the main reason why I wanted to eat at Chefs Gallery :P).

Prawn Dumplings | $7.90

The prawn dumplings was very standard but 4 dumplings for $7.90, I don't think it was worth it but nonetheless still tasty :)

Fried Dim Sim Sampling Platter | $15.90
- Vegetarian Spring Rolls (2pcs)
- Crab Meat Spring Rolls (2pcs)
- Calamari Wontons (2pcs)
- Fried daikon radish cakes (2pcs)
- Fried mini bread rolls (2pcs)

This fried dim sim sampling platter seemed to have an abnormal amount of oil. I know that fried food is extremely oil but I didn't expect my spring roll to be dripping in it (image above). My friend and I was very disappointed with the quality of this platter, but since we were paying for it we forced ourselves to eat it. I would recommend the steamed platter but if you don't mind the oil then enjoy the fried platter :P

Noodles with chargrilled wagyu beef (instead of Sichuan spicy soup we substituted it with chicken broth) | $15.90

The noodles with chargrilled wagyu beef was very delicious but it was little bit bland, maybe because we didn't have the Sichuan spicy soup. The wagyu beef was very scarce but I guess that's what you get at restaurants for that price :P Out of all the dishes we ate, this was my favourite (besides the piggy buns!).

Steamed sesame 'piggy face' buns | $7.90

If there is one thing that you must MUST must order at Chefs Gallery, it is the piggy buns!!!! Definitely worth it :)

Overall, I think Chefs Gallery is a little bit overrated but at least now I can say I ate there :P The service is very good and the atmosphere is very lively. The quality of the food is not the best and quite standard but if you've never eaten there before then I recommend you go check it out and let me know what you think :)

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KEPOS STREET KITCHEN

6/26/2013

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Kepos Street Kitchen is located on 96 Kepos Street, Redfern. It is a 10-15 minutes from Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills (we discovered that after lunch, so it's a given that we went there after :P). Kepos St Kitchen is a cute little corner cafe among residential homes. It is actually very, very small so we were very lucky to get a table, because towards the end of our meal I noticed that a lot of people were queuing up/ waiting for seats.

Kepos St Kitchen has a very interesting and extensive menu (they had felafel on the breakfast menu- so we had to get that!). We arrived around 11:30am so we opted for the breakfast option :)

My friend and I ordered two dishes; soft baked eggs and tomato shakshuka, coriander tahini with sourdough ($15) and dad's favourite breaky- felafel, hummus, labneh, dukkah, hardboiled egg, tomato salad with schiacciata bread ($16). The baked eggs were really good because of the spices they put in it, so it definitely had a different flavour to the usual baked eggs. The felafel in the dad's favourite breaky platter had a very unique taste, I haven't eaten that much felafel before so I can't really judge if it was good not but definitely very tasty :)

Soft baked eggs and tomato shakshuka, coriander tahini with sourdough | $15

Dad's favourite breaky | Felafel, hummus, labneh, dukkah, hardboiled egg, tomato salad with schiacciata bread | $16

Carrot Juice

Overall, I really enjoyed the food at Kepos Street Kitchen and I already plan to go back to try the other dishes they have to offer. I definitely want to try the churros with salted caramel!! :) And of course, the prices are standard cafe food prices- most dishes are above $10. I recommend going around 11am (any time before 12-1pm) because it gets quite popular.

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FOURATEFIVE

6/18/2013

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Why was six scared of four?
Because four ate five.

Fouratefive was the first cafe in Surry Hills that I ate at... this was where the love for Surry Hill cafes and cafes in general began :) Located on 485 Crown St among other great cafes sits Fouratefive, a small homely cafe. Fouratefive is one of the cafes I would keep going back to if I couldn't decide where to eat because I know I'll get value for money and the most importantly, delicious and filling food.

Fouratefive was buzzing with people, as usual, but we were lucky to get a table for two as soon as we arrived. The waiters are extremely energetic and friendly, and for me good service is always a big plus! :)

As per usual, the food definitely satisfied my hunger! We ordered two dishes to share; Baked eggs and pulled pork sandwich on sourdough. The pulled pork was a little bit spicy but nonetheless anything pork is good :) The food took awhile to come (maybe because of the baked eggs) but it didn't bother me since I was too busy catching up with my friend.

Baked eggs | Moroccan baked eggs w/ almonds, labne & organic sourdough | $17

Pulled pork on grilled sourdough w/ fresh cucumber, aioli, apple & tomato chutney & rocket (choice of either in sandwich or salad form) | $13

Hot chocolate | $4

Overall, I really like Fouratefive in terms of the quality of the food, and the price is the standard for cafe food in Surry Hills. I have read some reviews saying they had to wait a long time, so I recommend you go on a weekday around 11 or maybe later like after 1pm. Most cafes only get crowded during weekends. Also Bourke St Bakery is located just around the corner from Fouratefive, so I suggest you save some room for their ginger creme brulee tart :)

Bourke St Bakery | Lemon tart ($4.50) & Ginger creme brulee tart ($5)

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AMPERSAND CAFE & BOOKSTORE (Surry Hills)

6/13/2013

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Surry Hills has definitely become the "go to" place for me for cafe food. After hearing that my friend has never been to any cafes in Surry Hills before I had to take her! We decided to eat at Ampersand Cafe and Bookstore, which is located on Crown st (next to the library). I have never been there before so I didn't know what to expect. This cute cafe is located on the corner and it has a very homely feel to it. It is a two- leveled cafe, the top level is the bookstore/ library- but you can eat up stairs too.

At the entrance is a sign saying "wait here to be seated" we waited for a few minutes but no waiters seemed to be around so we just entered and took a menu from the counter. They have a breakfast (all day) and lunch menu, that is full of variety and caters for certain people e.g. vegetarian dishes. I ended up ordering "The Ampersandian" (which is basically a breakfast plate) and my friend ordered a ham and cheese melt on toast. We also got a hot chocolate each, which was perfect since it was cold. I felt that the dish I ordered was quite pricey for the amount I got- it is $16 + $2 for sourdough bread, but nonetheless I was very hungry so this really satisfied my hunger :)
*You order and pay at the counter*

We decided to sit upstairs, because my friend wanted to :P but upstairs is like a little library, it has a very peaceful atmosphere. There were some people studying there and reading in the library, for some reason I thought of Narnia when I saw all the book and old furnishing :P

At first we decided to sit outside on the balcony but after awhile it started to smell a bit funky, I think it was because the balcony was facing the main street. So we moved inside a comfortably sat at a large table that had a view of the reading area and outside.

The Ampersandian | Crispy potato hash brown with thyme roasted field mushroom, semi dried tomato, poached eggs and asparagus. Served with béarnaise sauce Gluten Free (+ sourdough bread- extra $2) | $16

Ham and Cheese Melt | Ham, cheese, tomato on sourdough bread | $9

Hot Chocolate with Lindt Chocolate | $5

Overall, Ampersand Cafe and Bookstore is a very cute and cosy cafe, but it is quite over priced however the food is quite tasty. I think there may be less expensive places that serves similar dishes :) This is a good cafe to study and relax in :)

(Also thanks to my friend for providing me with some of the photos) :)

Ampersand on Crown Cafe & Bookstore on Urbanspoon

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YEBISU IZAKAYA

6/13/2013

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Izakaya: are essentially Japanese taverns – drinking houses with a menu of small dishes for snacking while drinking. It literally means “stay sake shop” so traditionally this was a place where you could sit and drink on the premises. In today’s izakayas you can order food and drink and hang out with friends for an evening.
[http://kampai.us/izakayas]

Yebisu Izakaya has recently opened in Regents Place (next to Town Hall), and ever since its opening it has been attracting a lot of people. So get ready to wait or get there early if you want a spot :) My friends and I arrived there at around 6:30pm and we had a group of 7, we were told there was a large enough table for us however there is an 1.5 hr eating time limit (since it was busy) but a few of my friends had not arrived yet. So we decided to walk around and come back later once everyone arrived. The second time coming back we wait for about 15 minutes until we got a large enough table.

At the end of each table is an iPad where you order your food, ask for service, check your orders and the bill. This place is very similar to Wagaya and Mizuya (with the touch screen menus). A physical copy of the menu is also provided.

As we had a fairly large group we ordered quite a lot of food, but the portions are very small since it is meant to be a "snacking" place. My friends also ordered a lot of alcohol, that's why our bill was high, since I was driving I didn't drink so the overall cost for me was not as much as what my friends paid :P

We ended up ordering the usual Japanese dishes like Takoyaki octopus balls, sashimi, pork gyoza, edamame, bbq squid and Wagyu beef hot pot. The hot pot was extremely small, it was basically only enough for two people, but since we ordered a lot of small dishes it filled us up. By the end of the meal I don't think I was completely full but still very content with the food we ate.

The atmosphere of Yebisu Izakaya is very lively and the restaurant is lit with bright neon- lights that resemble Japanese street signage. The size of the restaurant is actually quite small, that's why there are limited seating, resulting in long waiting times.

Edamame | $5.80

Pan Fried Pork Gyoza with Terriyaki / Ponzu Sauce | $7.80

Takoyaki Octopus Balls | $7.80

BBQ whole squid with butter | $15.80

Mix sashimi entree | $15.80

Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot (Sukiyaki Soup) | $32.80

Touch screen menus

Hard copy of the menu

The bill

Overall, a very good place to experience Japanese Izakaya, but if you want a good filling meal I wouldn't recommend this place. However, this is a fantastic place to hang out with friends :) So I highly recommend it for social gatherings!

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MALAY VILLAGE (CITY)

6/10/2013

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Originally, we wanted to go to Nonya (another Malaysian restaurant) which used to be located above Malay Village but unfortunately it closed down :( It has now been replaced by a Hong Kong Cafe.

I've been to Malay Village before so I already knew what to expect. The portions of the food are generous and very authentic. My friend, who is from Malaysia, quite enjoyed it and said it was almost as good as the food in Malaysia. We did not order any spicy dishes as I can't handle spicy food :P

Malay Village has outdoor and indoor seating. The outdoor seating has a view of the kitchen where the roti is made. It is very impressive how they make the roti- throwing it up in the air and spinning it on one finger, I know for sure if I tried I would drop it.

We ordered quite a lot since we had two very big eaters with us. After a long time deciding we ending up ordering; Roti Canai (the original Mamak Roti), Roti Telur (roti filled with egg), Pandan Chicken, Penang Duck Egg Char Kaoy Teow, Nasi Lemak Istimewa and Oh Chien (more info below).

The service is also really good, I always get served by this one waitress and she's really friendly, helpful and patient :) So overall I'm very satisfied with the service.

We were charged a 10% surcharge since it was a public holiday (Queen's Birthday).

Roti Telur | Roti filled with egg | $6.50

Roti Canai | The original Mamak roti | $5.50

Pandan Chicken | Chicken wrapped in pandan leaf | $6.00

Oh Chien | Finely battered omelette studded with juicy oysters- Favourite Malaysian hawker's dish | $16.80

Penang Duck Egg Char Kaoy Teow | Work fried flat rice noodles with spicy chilli sauce, prawns, duck egg, chives and crunchy bean sprout | $15.90

Nasi Lemak Istimewa | Fragrant coconut rice, served with egg, anchovy, peanuts and cucumber | $14.90

Mamak Village opening at UNSW! :D we're all going to get fat..... but don't worry we'll burn it off by walking up and down the main walkway :P

Overall, I'm very happy with the quality of the food at Malay Village and the service. It is definitely a good place to share food with friends and eat delicious Malaysian food :)

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KRETA AYER (Kingsford)

6/6/2013

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Kreta Ayer recently just opened in Kingsford, this was evident with all the congratulatory flowers and the busy setting of the restaurant as everyone wanted to have a try of this new Malaysian restaurant. My friends and I decided to have lunch together after our last class of semester 1 and what a good way to celebrate over some Malaysian food!

We arrived a bit after 1pm, it was quite busy since it was lunch time. We were lucky to get a large table at the back of the restaurant. It took us a long time to order, as we are very indecisive group of people :P, in the end we ended up ordering the "traditional" dishes- Stir Fried Char Kway Teow with Clams, Hokkien Fried Noodles, Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang and Hainanese Chicken Rice.

After deciding what we wanted to eat we called the waitress over to take our order, when she arrived at our table we told her we wanted to order, but quite rudely she rolled her eyes and said that you write your order on a special form that is provided to us. You can't blame us for not knowing, as this was everyones first time eating here. On the order form you just write what you want and the quantity. Overall, the service as this restaurant is very poor (it may have just been the waitress who was taking care of our table). So don't go there expecting top service, because you won't get it. :P

I was not that impressed by the quality of the food, I have had far better Malaysian food (I highly recommend Petaling Street Malaysian Hawker Food- which also recently opened in Kingsford- There is another branch on George St in the city). The prices are standard, starting from about $10 a dish.

Hokkien Style Noodles | Pork, prawn, squid, Chinese chives, egg and bean sprouts | $10.80

Char Kway Teow with Clams | Stir fried noodles with prawns, clams, Chinese sausage fish cake and bean sprouts | $10.80

Hainanese Chicken Rice | $10.80

The chicken was extremely pink, I was quite worried it was undercooked but my friend said that's how its meant to look like. I've eaten a lot of hainanese chicken rice in my lifetime and I have never seen it so pink before. So if you can't deal with pink meat (like me) I recommend you don't order this. Luckily, none of us got sick after eating this.

Nasi Lemak | Steamed coconut rice, boiled eggs, fried peanut, fried anchovies, cucumber slices and ikan bills | $11.80

Milo Godzilla | Milo with ice cream and whipped cream | $5
Holicks Godzilla | Holick with ice cream and whipped cream | $5

Bandung Drink | Rose syrup with grass jelly and strawberry milk drink | $4.50

Fired noodles anyone? :P

Menu

The bill

Overall, I'm not that happy with this restaurant, I felt that it is lacking in a lot of areas. This may be due to since it just opened but the quality of the food was definitely a let down and the service could of been better. However, if you're looking for a decent meal around Kingsford this could be the place to try.

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