Om nom nom noming around Sydney!

New Shang Hai - Chatswood

2009-08-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Food: 8/10
Service: 5/10
Cuisine: Chinese/Shanghai
Value: $12 for an average dish
Decor: Simple, very "Food Court" like.
You'll like it if: You enjoy dumplings.
You'll hate it if: You were part of Pavlov's experiment, you'll be hearing bells ringing all the time.

I wanted to see my Pup tonight as I recieved bad news about Meiko today from the vet :(

So, to cheer me up he took me to dinner at New Shang Hai for dumplings.

Unfortunately pup has taken the receipt so I don't know how much things cost or what they are called exactly! I'll edit the post if I can find the receipt.

Om nom nom noming around Japan

2009-08-25T05:14:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year (March/April) Pup and I went to Japan. I thought I'd share my food pics with you here.

I miss Japan so much. It was the best holiday ever! Lots of love to my Pup as he put up with my sookiness and my bad sense of direction. Without him, I think I would still be stuck in a JR train station somewhere.

A few pics of my favourite snacks below...

Convenience store sandwich. Usually my breakfast. Fresh daily!

Convenience store cream sponge. The softest, creamiest sponge ever!

How I miss real bento boxes.

Our favourite bakery. Vie De France. Pup and I had bakery snacks nearly everyday!

Some dude in Osaka making us Okonomiyaki at our table. Yay!

I made this at the Instant Ramen Museum in Osaka.

We had so many cute drinks in Japan. My favourite was the Natchan range.

Bvlgari Cafe in Ometosando Hills. Very expensive and fancy pants.

Dodgiest place for yakitori in Shomben Yokocho. Interesting though!

Cute danish bought from Johan Paris Patisserie.

Pup holding the cutest bear snack ever! Very dry and cakey though. Freshly made in Akihabara.

For more Japanese food pics and Japan pics in general, click here. Enjoy!

Grill'd - Crows Nest

2009-08-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Food: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Cuisine: Burger Joint
Value: $10 a burger on average
Decor: Kitsch, talking cows, sheep and chickens on the walls.
You'll like it if: You want to try a "New Burger Joint"
You'll hate it if: You want to enter and leave the restaurant discretely without having the staff yell greetings and thanks to you.

I had to take one of my pets (Meiko) to a specialist vet in Crows Nest, so I dragged my sister along for the ride. Meiko had to stay over night at the vet so, to cheer us both up, we went for some burgers.

My sister ordered a Crispy Bacon and Cheese burger. She really liked it and said the pattie was the best bit.

Crispy Bacon and Cheese Burger $10.90

I ordered a Caesar's Palace. A chicken fillet burger with caesar dressing, bacon and cos lettuce. It was pretty standard. Chicken was nicely cooked though. Not dry at all. I'm not a huge fan of MASSIVE rolls as they get messy and you get crusty roll bits everywhere. Sometimes, they are so crusty they stab the roof of your mouth. Luckily, this one didn't. I've been here before and I've had a Summer Sunset. I much prefer that burger.

Caesar's Palace Chicken Burger $11.90

We both got a snack size serving of the chips which I adore! I think its the herbs on it that I love so much? Or maybe because I had so many crunchy chips in my serve. (I don't like soft, fat chips very much). We also got herb mayo to dip our chips in! A good combo.

Side of Grill'd Herbed Chips $3.00

I took my sister here cause of the novelty, don't think I'll be back there again for the burgers though. It was meh. I could just go in for chips and herb mayo again though!

Grill'd
57 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest NSW 2065
(02) 9436 0699

Ribs and Rumps - North Ryde

2009-08-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Cuisine: Ribs/Meat/South African
Value: Mains are approx $40, so its not for a regular visit!
Decor: Modern, wooden, tribal theme
You'll like it if: You love meat
You'll hate it if: You are vegetarian

Pup and I decided to go to DFO to find a dress for his sister's wedding in November. I didn't find a dress but we found a few other unnecessary items of clothing. Pup bought me these:

Black and Silver Sequined Converse All Stars!

On the way home from DFO we were hungry and decided to have a late lunch, very early dinner. We ended up at Ribs and Rumps at North Ryde. It was 3pm and the staff there were lovely enough to let us order as the kitchen closes at 3pm. There were only 3 other tables left in the restaurant and the staff told us we could take our time. It was nice and quiet.

I ordered the Ribs and Ribs combo with Beef and Lamb Ribs with a side of baked potatoes. Ribs are sooooooo good. I love them so much! I really love the sauce too. I always say to myself I'll get half a rack. I never do! I also started eating and remembered I should of taken a photo first!

Beef and Lamb Rib Combo $43.95

Pup ordered the Full Rack of Beef Ribs with a side of chips. The bones were so massive, I told him he looked like Fred Flintstone eating ribs.

Full Rack of Beef Ribs $39.95

We didn't finish our ribs, we had to take a puppy bag home. Made a nice rib sub the next day for lunch though!

Massive bones on the beef ribs!

I like Ribs and Rumps better than Kelly's at Bondi Junction, except they have the nice Brioche there. I've also been to Tony Roma's and Hurricanes and I still think Ribs and Rumps do a better job and give bigger servings too!

Ribs and Rumps
11 Talavera Road
North Ryde02 9805 1199

Satay Inn - Kingsgrove

2009-08-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 4/10
Cuisine: Chinese/Malaysian
Value: Cheap & Cheerful
Decor: Old School Asian
You'll like it if: You enjoy Malaysian food
You'll hate it if: You are after exceptional service

Friday dinner with my sister, Pup and Winam at an all time favourite which is cheap and cheerful.

Luckily Winam took her camera as I forgot to bring mine. I will probably end up buying a smallish camera to chuck in my bag as I can't be bothered lugging around the one I currently have, hence all the camera phone pics.

If you ever venture into the St George area, this is a place you'll have to visit. Communication with the staff was a little difficult, but forgiveble with the tasty food.

For starters we ordered Chicken Satay. I think they actually fry their chicken, but the chicken was not tough at all and the sauce was nutty and full of flavour. We ordered 2 servings as there are 4 sticks per serve.

Chicken Satay Sticks

We actually ordered quite a few dishes. Pup who usually eats alot had a late lunch so he wasn't so hungry and neither was my sister!

I think their Hainanese Chicken Rice is the best in the St George area. Maybe even the best I've eaten in Sydney? Soft chicken, flavoursome rice with a nice sauce!

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Sizzling Garlic Prawns, pretty standard really. Personally I thought it wasn't garlicy enough. It looked like there was a lot there, but I don't think it was fresh garlic, so the garlic flavour wasn't very strong.

Sizzling Garlic Prawns

Salt and Pepper Eggplant! Thanks to my sister, we ordered this great dish. Who would have thought it was so good. Crispy egg plant, with five spice mix, salt, pepper, garlic and chilli.

Salt and Pepper Eggplant

Malaysian Beef Brisket Curry was a little disappointing. It looked like it was heated in the microwave. It did not look very appealing but it was a tasty curry. Kind of reminded me of the Thai "Gang Karee".

Malaysian Beef Brisket Curry

I always go back to this place, it doesn't disappoint, especially when it was $72 for the 4 of us! That's only $18 each! Don't forget to look at what is on offer on the walls here. They are usually the best meals! Its opened every night except Tuesdays.

Thanks again to Winam for the wonderful pics!

Satay Inn
430 Stoney Creek Rd
Kingsgrove NSW 2208
(02) 9554 8889

Les Macarons!

2009-08-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I made Almond Macarons with Chocolate Ganache. They tasted really good but looked kinda ugly. I think it's because I didn't make the Almond meal fine enough? (Yes, I made the meal myself!)

The guys at work thought they were fine, but compared to the ones at the patisserie, these La Renaissance ones in particular...

they were pretty ugly. About 1/2 looked decent.

A couple of weeks ago, I made Hazelnut Macarons with Salted Caramel. These tasted really good.

A little sweet though. These ones were prettier and about 3/4 looked decent. I'll keep trying!

My next adventure is Pistachio Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache. I'll let you all know how it goes!