Photolog: Cafe Cre Asion

The best macaroons I've tried to date.

Not only are the Asian flavours interesting enough, the sweetness of the macaroons are not overwhelming. It's perfect for those who enjoys macaroons without the "sweet indulgence". We initially intended some for a friend's birthday, but couldn't resist buying another box of 8.

Cafe Cre Asion
21 Alberta Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Photolog: Danks Street Depot, Waterloo

Coupon on a deal website landed us at Danks Street Depot. They were famous for what they do, so we just had to go for it. Just a photolog today, simply because I don't quite remember the experience (it was ages ago, but I guess photos would suffice for now). K bought three of those coupons with the intention to bring his family to enjoy the brekkie they offer at DSD, but alas there wasn't time to do so before the coupons expire! Lucky for me, I went only once. But unfortunately for K, it was difficult decision making x 3 on the menu. 

Latte which was ordinary I reckon. 

We had poached pears which was complimentary with the coupon. 

Smoked salmon and herb omelette (A$19.50) - A rolled fresh herb omelette filled with toasted crumbs, topped with Woodside goat's cherve and Manuka smoked King Salmon. 

Creamed eggs with truffle oil (A$19.50) - Two eggs cooked with cream and butter, served soft with chopped chives, truffle oil, roasted field mushrooms, herbed tomato and sourdough toast. 

It was rather empty on a weekday morning, but it was excellent for us to enjoy a quiet morning chillaxing. 

Danks Street Depot
1/2 Danks Street
Waterloo NSW 2017
Tel: (02) 9698 2201
Website

Photolog: Project 8 Café, Ultimo

I've been offline for almost three weeks now, I am guilty! Was pathetically down with some major allergy that I was almost out of uni for a bit, sigh. To document a little of uni life, I skipped my first mid semester exam ever! Having said that, I applied for special consideration and have yet to receive a reply from them (do they always take ages to respond?). But anyhow, I have resorted to TCM since western medicine isn't working well for me, well unless I opt for steroids which have enormous side effects that I wouldn't be able to handle. Right now, I am on some sorta having light diet so might not be spending much eating out (argh). 

Today's photolog is on Project 8 Café, which is a relatively new kid along Broadway. I remember first seeing that unit being renovated, got excited when renovation was midway because we can easily tell it's a café and not another bubble tea chain (Easyway previously resided in that unit). Finally got down to visit with Project 8 with a longtime friend J. 

I like how they served coffee in mismatched cups and saucer. It makes the experience a little more interesting than mundane white cups. 

Banana was lightly toasted and not burnt, which is plus point because burnt breads are tough. Not the best banana bread around, but it was still pretty good. 

Would definitely visit again since it's along the walk down to uni or into the city. 

Project 8 Café
137 Broadway
Ultimo NSW 2007
Tel: (02) 9280 3216

Photolog: Pinangsia Noodle House, Haymarket

In the vicinity, there seem to be so much food around. We walked past Pinangsia Noodle House on a Monday but it was closed. We returned back for dinner a couple of days later and boy, we were glad! 

Self serve hot Chinese tea during a cold rainy day - perfect!

The noodles had lup cheong (dried Chinese sausage) in them! Craving for it - satisfied! Everything cooked with lup cheong is particularly delicious. The noodles weren't too salty and had a slight wok taste (wok taste is important in Asian food, especially stir fried dishes). Delish noodles!

Hainanese chicken rice with mushrooms. The chicken was a little dry and the rice wasn't as flavourful as authentic Hainanese chicken-rice rice. Nevertheless, it's still yummy. 

Pinangsia Noodle House
13/8 Quay St
Haymarket NSW 2000

Photolog: Garden BBQ Buffet, Sydney

Korean BBQ Buffet at $21, I doubt we can find anything cheaper than this!

They offer a good range of cooked food and uncooked, so if you're too tired from cooking the meat, just go grab some cooked food. The buffet lasts one and a half hours so it's pretty good value. 

Garden BBQ Buffet
1-7 Albion Place
Sydney NSW 2000

Photolog: Rengaya, North Sydney

Salmon and Avocado Salad - Chopped salmon, golden caviar, avocado, sliced onion and mixed vegetables, served with creamy sesame dressing ($15.90). The cream and citrus dressing accentuated the flavours of salmon and avo. It makes the mixed green salad light and refreshing with a tangy taste within. 

Salmon and avocado salad ($15.90)

Wagyu "Yukke" - Wagyu beef tartar served with finely chopped shallots, sesame oil, garlic and egg yolk on top ($13.90). Having a fresh supply of beef, it is no wonder that the raw beef was sweet and made a yummy dish when mixed with the egg yolk.

Wagyu "Yukke" ($13.90)

Wagyu OX-Tongue - Juicy and tenderness, served with natural salt and citrus pepper ($33.90 for 100g). Chewy and mild on taste.

Wagy OX-tongue ($33.90)

Wagyu Chateaubriand ($81.80 for 100g) or Wagyu Tenderloin ($66.90 for 200g) - Beef that melts in your mouth.

Unagi-Mabushi - Chopped eel with Japanese pepper (san-sho), salmon roe, finely chopped shalots, egg and red pickled ginger decorated nicely on top of rice. Teriyaki sauce is poured in, to complete this superb dish ($42.90 for large). The unagi is well marinated and grilled, the rice is moist, sweet and pearly goodness, the seaweed, shredded egg tamago, salmon roe, and sweet sauce. You can't not have any! This large serving was advised to serve 4 pax, but this huge portion is enough to feed double that number!

Unagi-Mabushi ($42.90)

Shiratama Cream Anmitsu - Kanten with shiratama and sweet red beans topped with vanilla and green tea ice cream served with sweet black syrup and seasonal fruits ($14.90). We requested to swop one scoop of the green tea ice cream to sesame. The sesame ice cream didn't have a strong sesame taste and smell, while the green tea flavoured was average. The red beans were really sweet on its own, and the black syrup was just.. not very useful. The kanten jelly was great accompaniment to the dessert. 

Shiratama Cream Anmitsu ($14.90)

"WA 和 (Japanese)" Plate - Green tea crème brûlée, warabimochi with sweet black syrup, shiratama zenzai served with tea ($18.90). The green tea crème brûlée is less like a custard and more like a cream. The warabimochi (mochi with soybean powder sprinkled on top) is best to have with the black sugar syrup. A unique dessert indeed. 

Will definitely visit again for the BBQ!

Disclaimer: Description and food prices are taken off the menu on Rengaya's website. Remarks are personal opinion. 

Rengaya

73 Miller Street

North Sydney NSW 2060

Tel: (02) 9929 6169

Sonoma Bakery, Glebe

After heard of how yummy their bread is, I arranged to catch up with my friend at Sonoma Bakery! The café isn't too far away from the main road, a short walk along Glebe Point Road found us with a satisfying lunch and an enjoyable catch up!

Pumpkin Quiche. I'm guessing it is because I can't quite remember since it was too long ago. 

Chinese pulled pork sandwich. This was absolutely yummy! The mayo was exceptionally sweet and together with their homemade bread, this is perfect. I will definitely be coming back for more pulled pork sandwich.

Latte. My latte came after the sandwich and it was slightly disappointing. Perhaps there were too many people and orders, they even missed out on my latte order. 

Hazelnut tart. My friend bought this tart home and we all had a little bit of it just to try. If I remember it right, this had a slight rum taste in this? 

Not the best review of Sonoma Bakery, which means I need to visit them again, soon! 

Sonoma Bakery
215 Glebe Point Road
Glebe NSW 2037
Tel: (02) 9660 2116

Photolog: The Meeting Point

Just found some photos which I haven't posted before! I should start posting them, if not they'll only go to waste sitting in my hard disk.

We used a voucher that entitled us to two mains and two drinks. Not many photos because we felt weird with only just us in the restaurant, perhaps we were too early for lunch. Can't quite remember what were the dishes we had, that's why this is only a photolog.

Well, I remember I got sick of the fried noodles (below) after a while. There was so much noodles and it was so filling. 

Though of out focus, you can probably tell how tall the drink is. I couldn't finish it anyway. 

I think we paid either $10 or $20 for the voucher, which was pretty worthwhile even if it's $20 for two persons. But I reckon we won't be visiting again, unless we have a big group because they have this huge space on the second level - perfect for a big group!

The Meeting Point
9-13 Hay Street
Haymarket NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9280 3680

Rumah Makan Immanuel, Ultimo

We were in for some fried chicken and Indon food, so we googled and managed to find this place! It was a pretty long walk though (we walked from Central Station), and so glad we finally found it. We might not visit again because of the location, but will definitely visit for the food!

Ayam Panggang - Indonesian marinated flame BBQ chicken with homemade chili on side ($7). It may look extremely black and charred, but it's definitely not. The BBQ sauce was really sweet and the chicken was tender. Do request for chicken thigh meat or you might end up getting chicken breast meat which would be really dry! Each dish is served with salad and chili. 

Ayam Panggang ($7)

Ayam Lunak - Shallow fried soft bone chicken (edible bones) with homemade chili on side ($7.50). We were intrigued by the soft bone chicken after reading about it on Street Food, so we had to have a go at this. It's true! The bones are edible, albeit having to chew on it for quite a bit. The chicken was a little dry, but we can't have edible bones without deep frying it so.. no choice! It's worth a try.

Ayam Lunak ($7.50)

Nasi Goreng Special - Special Indonesian fried rice (chicken, eggs, veggie) with extra fried egg on top ($9). Major cravings for nasi goreng got us to order this! This had a rather high salt level, so the rice was salty yet tasty at the same time. 

Nasi Goreng Special ($9)

We will visit again! 

Rumah Makan Immanuel
Shop 197, 392 Jones Street
Ultimo NSW 2007
Tel: (02) 9552 2145