Welcoming the Sheep, Goat, Ram- Whatever!

Happy Lunar New Year! There is no other way to celebrate than to have a cold beer on this hot day. Love going to Base at The Parade, Norwood as they carry Little Creatures.  

And ooh, they give out free popcorn!

 

 

Chicken wings and salt and pepper calamari to share-

I do apologise for the lack of posts; being lazy and overwhelmed with the many happenings of life. I will try to be better this year!

Base Bar
234 The Parade
Norwood
Adelaide

Taste of home

Guess what's cooking on a 37C hot day?

Oxtail soup! My dad's #1 dish. 

I thought I will take a stab at this dish. So yes, it is simmering on my stove top now. =)

Now, how about a icy cold drink?

Cafe Pavé by Trak Norwood

Latte

It is almost sad to say it tasted burnt. It has been a long while since I tasted coffee bitter in such a way as I do not add sugar in mine. 

Sleepy Tuna, it is called. Tuna in port, mustard mayo on a bed of avocado and lettuce. 

I personally found it amusing when the first hit into my mouth was the taste of spring onions. While eating, the only question running through my head was ''Where's the avocado?''. I noticed the avo spread on my

friend's but where's mine?!

 

Goody two shoes which translates itself as poached chicken with dill on a bed of avocado and lettuce.

A fresh healthy option, I guess. 

I liked the idea how cyclists can park their bikes, hanging on the wall. I also liked the little potted herb plants on the table and they were all different from rosemary, thyme and more! I was merely disappointed with the coffee and wished I could have tasted avocado somehow. Just my luck, I guess. 

138 The Parade

Norwood

08 8431 5711

Sugar rush!

For the first time ever, we've planned a dessert party and all invited guests were to bring a dessert to share. 

L-R from top: spiced butterfly cookies, fried rice, orange & poppy seed cake, cream puffs and chocolate sea salt & olive oil cupcakes. 

 L-R from top: red velvet cake, berries cheesecake, lemon tart and pavlova

 From top (clockwise) : berries smash, durian cake, banana caramel cupcake, brownies (with and without nuts), batik cake (also known as hedgehog) and funny faces biscuits. 

I'm glad we ''allowed'' our guests to bring in savoury dishes if sweets were not their thing. At least it provided  a slight balance to the party. Besides fried rice, we had chicken claypot rice which was totally yum. A few friends were game enough to eat the strong pungent king of fruits! One thought it tasted as bad as it smelt, another thought it tasted like passionfruit. I am one of the very few who is actually okay with it, neither love it nor hate it. 

Happy Australia Day, everyone!

Adelaide Pho

A long due catch up with a friend at Vietnamese Pho. It was only a week before since my friends raved about the yummy food. Perfect timing, I jumped onto the opportunity as soon as my friend suggested the place.  

Some sort of dry pork noodles. My friend placed her order so quickly, I missed it entirely. She thoroughly enjoyed it. 

As a first timer, I had to order their combination pho noodles. Pho is definitely a must have; for a Vietnamese restaurant has to hold true to its reputation. I do love it. It has less msg compared to a few other restaurants I know. I definitely had an awesome brunch with pho and Vietnamese coffee, along with great company of course!

199 Waymouth Street
Adelaide SA 5000
08 8212 0997

Swinging Bowl Satay

A place which reminds me of home. A place which has been in Adelaide for years now. A place which I have never been to until now. I fail. 

Fried squid, sambal egg and ayam masak merah. I would go there just for the ayam masak merah- which they have named it as 'sweet chilli chicken'. NO WHERE CLOSE by name, but definitely by flavour! 

My company ordered the ayam masak merah too, and lamb! 

I have been told that the prices have gone up heaps ever since they opened. They do have special prices for students but I personally find it expensive. I am looking forward to try their beef rendang as I have been told its amazing. Dodgy seating by the way, but I guess it is all about the food. =)

18 Stephens Place

Adelaide SA 5000

Season of lamb

Back to do some cooking (finally, I know). 

We started with every intention to cook our lamb shanks in the oven. It was so spontaneous! We planned for roast veggies (pumpkin, carrots, red onions-yummm) and obviously the beautiful meat-off-bones lamb shanks for dinner. =) To be honest, both of us are at a health condition where we shouldn't be near lamb at all.

After much nagging from parents, we made it into a stew on the stove. It didn't turn out bad, but definitely oily from all the fat from the lamb. I am not a big fan of lamb, I have to say, due to the high content in it but I love the tomato based stew with all that flavour. Simple flavours of cherry tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, herbs, garlic, onion and of course, LAMB (or to be specific, fat from the lamb) ! Stewed for so long, it is meat off bones too!

Spring has sprung. Time for lamb?

Our place is the place for you: TGIF

 Who would have thought I'll be excited with TGIF being in town? The first TGIF in Adelaide, along with 6 other Fridays operating only in Victoria. How exciting is that!

It has been here since Nov 2011 and I know, I have been a bit slow lately at discovering things. I HAD TO GO there after a long day at work as I totally deserved a 'happy hour'! Hurricane (rum, sweet and sour, grenadine, passionfruit and orange juice) and my all time favourite buffalo wings, YAY! I'm glad to say this branch has not disappoint me with their buffalo wings  The Hurricane, on the other hand, tasted like a yummy cough syrup. Hmmm...

I was there early and avoided the crowd as the place was totally packed when I left. To be honest, their food aren't mind-blowing yummilicious but I have this feeling I'll be back.

TGIF Adelaide
1 Sturt Road, Oaklands Park,
South Australia 5042.
08 8296 5777

Weekend Brunch: Japan in Adelaide

Hot ramen on a cold wintery day!

Ramen served with kimchi, chasyu, egg and vegetables. I have to say, I am not a big fan of chasyu (Japanese BBQ pork marinated and boiled in a mixture of soy and spices) but I felt like kimchi. *hearts*

It is definitely not authentic Japanese ramen but then again, it's a hot bowl of ramen on a cold wintery day!

Ajisen Ramen 

Shop 35 Regent Arcade

Rundle Mall.

Weekend Brunch: Another Asian Invasion

There's a new kid in town! And he's Asian! 

Ok, Bing Boy has been around for a year now. It is just me falling behind the fad. Just a quick intro, it is a food concept which attempts to bring in Chinese street food onto Australian shores, beginning in Adelaide! 

To quote from the menu, "it is a thin wheat omelette wrap with egg, green onions, coriander, sesame seeds and crispy wonton pieces made hot and fresh with fillings of your choice." They currently have 8 different fillings for you to choose from, however, you may add any extra bits (at additional costs).

I chose the Smoking Salmon: Tasmanian smoked salmon, avocado, mixed pickled vegetable, baby spinach and mayonnaise. I was sceptical initially. How would cold smoked salmon taste when wrapped in a warm crepe-like omelette? (Gosh, please bear with my descriptive words).

I didn't mind it at all! The wrap was not as hot as I thought it would be and I am not a fan of mayonnaise, but that's okay. It would also be a good grab-n-go lunch but I obviously sat down to enjoy while attempting to take shots. Definitely a better option than other Asian takeaways in a food court, I would say.

Bing Boy is now open in three different locations around Adelaide CBD; Southern Cross Arcade, Myers Centre and Renaissance Arcade.

Brrr... to the start of cold weather

This is a long overdued post- and I truly mean WAY overdued. Things have always been hectic among our authors- heaps of changes with reality and of course, as mentioned before, travelling. Before we start our second travelogue, here's a post to fill up our missing gaps. =)

  

Now, what did I mean by long overdued post- here's our introductory post on Sing Sing Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant.

 You know what this is...

Vietnamese Rice Paper Seafood Rolls- I am currently at the stage where I like going through all the trouble of wrapping my own cold rolls. This is obviously pre-wrapped.

Satay beef with peanut sauce- not a big fan of peanut sauce. However, my rellies absolutely loved it.

Steamed rice paper with meat loaf- We were not expecting anything of this size. It was huge, I ended up having this as a take away. We were also expecting rice paper similar to cold rolls texture, however, it was a plate of noodles itself. o_O

Beef rice noodles soup, of course! Hot and steamy, perfect temperature for our bean sprouts. *hearts* This is possibly a good time to upload these photos, great for the upcoming winter.

60 Ridley Grove
Woodville Gardens, SA, 5012

Ph: 08 84451061

Why are there so many changes online? Having to get used to a new editing site and a new layout on blogger is a chore at this stage.

Let's squeeze in some chocolate!

What do we do during the long Easter weekend? Well, go on a road trip, of course. We had all the intention to go to Market 190 but if you are smarter than we are, you would have known that Market 190 no longer exist and is replaced by Bracegirdles. =(

Mocha and the usual big brekkie for me and the vego option with chai for the girlfriend. =) Just as much as I would have preferred a latte, I am at Bracegirdles after all so ''Let's squeeze in some choccie!''

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable Easter with family and friends!!!

Bracegirdles McLaren

190 Main Road

McLaren Vale

08 8323 8558



After work drinks and more!

My favourite chill out place! I love it sooo much, I have been there 3 times last week. To note, the photos are a compilation of two separate occassions.

Jugs of Grace Sangria are $15 on Friday Happy Hours (5pm-7pm) as well as on Sundays all day. =) *Woohoo* The Wagyu cheese burgers were really good too. Miniature but yum~~

They were so good, we had to get more! It makes perfect sense. This time, we ordered yummy fries too.

On another occasion, a friend ordered the fried chicken. She appearred to truly enjoy it, but here's my review on the chicken during my first visit.

I had the soft fish tacos. They tasted alright, however I found it all too messy. I wasn't able to eat the tacos without having the black beans and all the other bits falling off.  

Grace The Establishment
127 The Parade
Norwood SA 5067

Travelogue Adelaide Day 4: Time to say goodbye with Dim Sum

So this travelogue began with a luncheon when I first landed in Adelaide. Just a few hours before my flight back to WA, we lugged my luggage to the city just to have one last food experience together. And what is better than a traditional yum cha session?

There’s such a variety here at T-Chow; there’s even quite a number of options for someone like me! Mmm…I really loved the food here. It was really tasty.

Too cute to eat! Chicken and mushroom dumplings (I think).

The not-so-pretty prawn and mushroom dumplings. It tasted alright but I think we could have done without it.

Delicious deep-fried squid - packed with 'heaty' goodness.

‘Zhar leong’ (rice flour noodles wrapped around chinese fried dough)! Oh, how I miss this.

The ever so filling seafood noodles. It was so good. This was the only thing we could not finish.

‘Dan tart’; my first love. YUM!

This was really one of the best dim sums that I've had. It’s a shame I could not take the leftover noodles back to WA. I miss it already. This place is definitely on my list for my next visit to Adelaide! *very very subtle hints to Mich*

T-Chow
City Centre
68 Moonta Street
Adelaide SA 5000

Travelogue Adelaide Day 3: Pancakes 24-7

Instead of dressing up and dining at a restaurant prior to attending the theatre, we ended up having a late night snack at The Original Pancake Kitchen. Feast your eyes on our selection – we ordered both sweet and savoury, of course!

Blueberries on warm buttermilk pancakes which were soaked with the warm sauce from the berries and served with vanilla ice cream .

The German Feast. Pancakes with kranski sausage, bacon, tomato and two eggs! Need I say more?

The one and only, Cottage Fried Potatoes served hot with grilled ham pieces, spring onions and generously dressed with sweet chilli sauce and a dollop of sour cream.

Another good thing about this place is that you can have sweet or savoury pancakes (or both) anytime you want! Imagine pancakes for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, high tea, dinner, supper and all the snack times in between! *hearts* 24-7.

This is a definite must for me. It's on my list for a next revisit.

The Original Pancake Kitchen
13 Gilbert Place
Adelaide SA 5000

Travelogue Adelaide Day 3: Reminiscence

Is there a meal that you would always eat when growing up? I guess I had a variety, but one of them was chicken rice. Good old fashion chicken rice with sauce and garlicky chilli sauce.

We went to Chinatown Café to satisfy my craving for chicken rice and Mich ordered the mee goreng. Each dish costed approximately AUD$7.
My thoughts? The chicken rice was a tad dry. A bit more sauce would have been perfect, but at least it was served with broth and it was satisfying. The mee goreng was quite yummy too! I particularly liked the toufu bits in it; Mich obviously did not.

Nonetheless, this meal reminded me of home...

Chinatown Cafe
(Cash only)
38-41 Moonta St
Adelaide 5000 SA