Calabur cafe – hidden little gem in Bondi Junction.

January 19, 2019Leave a comment

Calabur cafe is super close to Bondi Junction Westfield and Eastgate shopping centre. Walking by, you would probably not notice it, underground off the Main Street. Definitely make it a destination to visit.

It’s a vintage, rustic style place, with exposed bricks, pipes, rustic chairs, succulent plants, and feels like some of the cafes we’ve seen in Bangkok. They hold a few events like live music and charity fundraise too.

On walking in, the waitress and waiter were super polite and were warm and friendly. We took a seat at a table for two, and they offered us a larger table if we pleased. Very nice atmosphere!

We ordered the granola fruit market which was delicious – greek yoghurt with granola, kiwi fruit, blueberries, kiwi fruit and passion fruit, there was also some honey to put atop the creation. It looked beautiful, a real work of art!

We also had the ‘spicy’ Onsen eggs, which actually were not too spicy, served with avocado, heirloom tomatoes, radish, carrot and mushrooms.

The ‘magic’ noodle salad of purple steamed butterfly glass noodles that are meant to turn a lighter purple with a touch of lemon, served with carrot, seaweed, cucumber, zucchini, radish and a sesame dressing. You can have this with raw fish, so we opted for the tuna. This is a lovely fresh and healthy dish.

The coffees were excellent and a nice smooth brew.

Thai food at any time of the day @ Boon Cafe

January 18, 2019January 18, 2019Leave a comment

Cafe by day, thai street food style eatery restaurant by night. Located in “Thai Town” in the Haymarket end of Pitt Street, Boon Cafe is a winner in our books, especially for cheap eats.

The cafe has a good vibe to it and the decor is modern and has a market place vibe to it with exposed brick walls, a bicycle up on the wall and rustic flowers at each of the tables.

Inside the same building is an attached Asian grocer and fruit and veg market selling plenty of sauces, noodles, frozen foods and fresh items to cook with. The counter also has pre-prepared meals to purchase and take to work or home to reheat.

The cafe has a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. At breakfast you can grab a western meal, pan-baked eggs or congee.

At lunch time, some of their sandwiches sounded brilliant – basically it’s the typical thai meals on a Sandwich! Wow, like chicken cashew sandwich, mushrooms and holy basil sandwich or a fried chicken and papaya salad burger. It’s gotta be seen and ordered for sure!

We were there for dinner. The food is described as Isaan cuisine (from Northern Thailand), with Som Dtum, grilled and fried dishes, warm salads and fish, and rice or noodles. We ordered the larb soon sen / spicy glass noodles and minced chicken. I asked for mild, and it unfortunately came out way too spicy. The waiter was observant enough to notice and offered to replace the dish with a new, and less spicy one. We appreciate this gesture.

Our favourite dish of the night was the Padt Mee Kha ti – like a pad thai, this one has stir fried thin rice noodles but with tamarind, tofu, coconut milk, garlic chives and shredded omelette. This was super tasty and we’d easily order it again.

If you’re just here for dessert, there’s pandan croissants, toast with house smoked chilli relish and dried shredded pork or condensed milk and milo to name a few. Combine this with a coffee or matcha latte, homemade iced tea or traditional thai coffee, and you’ve got yourself a great combo.

The food here is super tasty, and the menu items are actually inspired and interesting! Prices are extremely reasonable too, and for $6, an entree sized soup is amazing.

Boon Cafe

http://www.booncafe.com

425 Pitt St Haymarket 2000

Jally’s Cafe @ Camden

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019Leave a comment

We love that the cafe has a bit of history to it. In its previous days it was a garage owned by a chemist in the 1970’s. The cafe is opposite what once was a theatre, you’ll see reflections of Camden’s historic past on photographs on the wall. This is brilliant, considering Camden is one of Australia’s oldest towns.

This was turned into a cafe in early 2017 and it looks like a rustic garage with indoor and outdoor seating (made of light wood) and there’s also a backyard garden area.

Its vision is to serve wholesome food and great coffee. Open early, you can pop in for your morning coffee rush. They have plenty of varieties of milk if you have certain health requirements.

Food wise, the kitchen is open 7am – 3pm.

Whether it be smashed avo, bacon and egg rolls, pancakes or a brekkie bowl, we’re sure you’ll find something up your alley. It’s predominately a healthy menu. They’re pretty popular for their range of Acai bowls too.

We went for the brekkie bowl with quinoa , kale, mushrooms, roast pumpkin, avocado and 2 Holbrook eggs with almond dukkah . They were kind enough to replace the avo with feta for me, and add chicken. A super healthy dish and it was quite big, so I took a bit home.

We also had a gluten free dish – the zucchini, lemon and feta fritters, served with roast pumpkin and tomato, beetroot hummus, rocket and poached Holbrook egg. We both thought the pumpkin on both dishes was super flavoursome.

Plenty of options are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free etc, so you will definitely find something for you.

There’s a heap of health based bars and sweets in the front counter, as well as pre made salads for those on the run.

Jallys also have a whole foods store in Whitemans arcade. It’s stumps me why it’s not next to the shop, but it’s worth a look. Selling grains, nuts and environmentally caring products, we purchased a few things. They give a card for a free coffee which is a bonus.

Jally’s Cafe

10 Larkin Pl, Camden NSW 2570, Australia

https://www.jallys.com.au

Three Blue Ducks @ Rosebery

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019Leave a comment

The Three Blue Ducks concept began in Bronte and they’ve since expanded with stores now in Byron Bay, Rosebery and Brisbane. They also host weddings and functions and you often see them at other events off site. With a big team of staff, you will note one of them is an ex-Masterchef contestant.

Stores vary in look and menu, however their approach is the same. We went to the Rosebery store which could be described as an open kitchen, large dining space and rustic decor. The store also sells some homely products like chopping boards, keep cups and cookbooks.

The restaurant group likes to use ethically sourced and organic produce and generally from local suppliers, ensuring the menu has fresh food, and as such the menu continues to evolve.

We were pleasantly greeted, taken to our table and perused the menu. Entrees, larger plates as well as the weekly sandwich special (this day was a smoked lamb) and even a bottomless brunch are on the menu. We were visiting mid week so unfortunately a bottomless brunch wasn’t on the cards for us, perhaps another time.

We ordered the oysters, which were beautiful. served with a shallot and red wine mignonette, the flavour was very refreshing. The lamb kofta was incredibly tasty, served on a spread of romesco, parsley and accompanied with a flatbread. This was a very good dish, but probably a little pricy at $19 for the size.

The other dining partners chose the poke bowl, with the addition of kingfish. A good serving, quite fishy with all the seafood and kingfish too, topped with a poached egg. Again, a lovely meal, but well above your typical price range for a poke bowl ($27).

We also had the wood roasted kingfish. Perfectly cooked, with a crispy skin and served with charred broccoli and a macadamia cream, pickled chilli and anchovy vinaigrette ($35). Flavours worked really well and the wood roasting enabled the natural fish flavour to be retained.

Other menu options include BBQ prawns, porchetta, sticky chicken, pumpkin salad and a buttermilk chicken burger (to name a few).

The bar has a range of boutique beers and ciders, cocktails and a wine list, as well as tea and coffee.

It is a lovely place to dine, staff are warm and welcoming and service was prompt. The food was extremely delicious, but it’s probably a little overpriced. We would recommend this for a special lunch. There’s a brunch menu too which we’d be keen to try at some point.

Three Blue Ducks

1/85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018, Australia

XS Espresso @ Prestons

January 8, 2019January 11, 2019Leave a comment

The new XS Espresso store is in a large space in a shopping complex featuring a new Woolworths off the Camden Valley Way.

It is styled similarly to the other stores and an open coffee window for people ordering take aways.

The young girl front of house was lovely and took us to a table. It it was extremely busy and buzzing with diners so took a while to get our order taken and served. However the manager was extremely helpful and generous. On our visit, it was only a few weeks old so they’re understandably busy and learning the ropes.

The menu is pretty much the same as the other stores, known for their freak shakes, over the top sweet dishes like pancakes and waffles, and a number of burgers. Don’t come here if you’re worried about your waistline. It is certainly a place to indulge.

We shared three dishes between us: The New York, New York – normally 250 g sirloin, but they had run out so we got the lamb – with roasted chat potatoes, asparagus, tomato and sweet potatoes with chimichurri. A super big serving and all components were very tasty.

I’m always keen for a healthy dish and there was only a handful of this category, so we ordered one of them. The “Happy Bowl” was bright and colourful and filled with nourishing goodies like quinoa, mashed sweet potato, kale, beetroot hummus, boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and radish. We added some chicken to it for the protein and polished this meal off quickly between us.

The other members of my party wanted a sweet option, and so opted for the absolutely beautiful ricotta hotcake. Extremely light and fluffy, it’s one of the better ones we’ve had. Topped with summer fruits and vanilla cream – we’d thoroughly recommend this.

They have Campos coffee, which we enjoyed, as well as smoothies and shakes. We tried the lovely banana smoothie and it was presented so nicely too.

You can’t visit XS Espresso without a freakshake. We opted for the XS Surprise / a Nutella and crunchie base, topped with fairy floss and a waffle cone, complete with a kinder surprise and covered with honeycomb and hundreds and thousands. Your family will go crazy for this! (And afterwards 😉

When you’re keen to indulge, pay XS Espresso a visit – it’s in a convenient location and very spacious. Enjoy!

XS Espresso

Shop 5/1975 Camden Valley Way, Prestons NSW 2170, Australia

Where cafe meets craft

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019Leave a comment

The Press Shop is locates inside a Bespoke letterpress shop in the stunning town of Bowral in the Southern Highlands.

Locally owned, they source and prepare quality food and focus on using small farmers, producers and local supplies in order to best highlight what the Southern Highlands region has to offer. With fruits and vegetables from Moonacres farm, Piccolo Farm, Highlands organics, Brillig Farm, Living Earth Farm to name a few. There’s truffles from Robertson truffles, olive oil from white chapel grove, mushrooms from Li-Sun, meats from maugers and Robertson village butchery, eggs from Taulca Park, honey from the Honey Collector, this café really shows respect to their local area.

Head chef Nathan West has put together a delightful menu using these fine ingredients, and the meals tasted so fresh and were absolutely beautifully presented on the plate.

Lunch is served from 12 – 3pm. As we were in a group, we were able to sample a few of the menu items. We would describe this as simple food, done in a very elegant way, showcasing the skills and vision of an inspired chef.

The Waffles were served at a nice lunch size, not overbearing like many cafés these days. Topped with a refreshing coconut sorbet, peaches, mint and a white chocolate crumble. This dish is vegan and dairy free.

The local greens frittata was laid beautifully on the plate atop a goats curd and decorated with herbs and lovely thin slices of potato crisp.

The potato gnocchi was incredible. Served with new season tomatoes, roast onion puree, vino cotto and herbs, this dish is perfect for everyone, including vegetarian and vegan diners.

Something more filling and very approachable is the Taluca Pork free range Cuban Sandwich with pickles. Fresh bread, great meat and served cut in half with cheese and a side of cucumber and herbs.

There’s also a roasted carrot dish, zucchini salad, beef brisket sandwich, eggs benedict and even a kiddies menu. I’m presuming this menu would change seasonally.

Drinks wise, the coffee was great too. Speciality coffee, using beans from Cultivar, who source these from Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Costa Rica. You can have a regular milk based coffee, filter coffee, or a flavoured one like turmeric, matcha, velvet (beetroot) or a hot choc. Organic teas, wild-grown herbal teas, house made iced tea, kobmucha and milkshakes are also on the menu.

At the back of the café is a beautiful letter press shop selling handcrafted papers, cards and other lovely gifts. You can also see the letterpress machines and can understand the work that goes into making products of this quality in the old fashioned way. It’s lovely to see them preserving this century old art form.

Come for a few meals, coffee and leave with a satisfied belly and a few handicraft purchases.

The Press Shop

www.thepressshop.com.au/

391-397 Bong Bong Stret Bowral, The Southern Highlands, 2576 NSW

Healthy food and store @ Hills Organics

December 26, 2018December 27, 2018Leave a comment

Hills Organics is a cafe inside an organic food store. As soon as you walk in you can’t help but go straight to the shelves and have a peek at all the various healthy products in the store.

After we’d finished browsing the shelves, we sat down and had a look at the menu. Everything sounded so inviting.

We decided to go for the Keto Breakfast Plate as we were quite interested to try the keto bread. This dish was (gf,df) and consisted of an in-house made macadamia keto bread (gf). avocado, kaleonaise sauce, organic mixed salad leaves, smoked salmon, cashew cheese and organic poached eggs. The bread and the cashew cheese was super tasty!

The sunshine bowl was very refreshing and was served in a cute coconut bowl which made us feel like we had escaped to somewhere tropical for a bit.

Staff were very friendly and looked like they enjoy working there which could be because it is operated like a family orientated business. Overall a good vibe and lots of wholesome goodness to enjoy. Although it is located in a business area, the atmosphere is so relaxed you don’t even realise that it is.

Another thing to note is that if you’re into all things healthy and organic, you most likely won’t leave this place without a thing or two. We ended up getting some Kombucha and a few protein snacks for the road.

Regent Place

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018Leave a comment

Regent Place, located right in the heart of the CBD, just off George St, offers a range of eateries and boutiques for you to enjoy.

We’ve been numerous times to try the different eateries, showcasing a multicultural flavour. On this occasion we visited to watch the Taiko performance, some brilliant drummers who were playing around the centre alongside a visit from Santa.

On the lowest level, level 9 you’ll find Assembly Bar and Restaurant, Daiso store, Nail art and more. We ate at Yakinuku Yokocho and had dessert from Fujimi Doriyaki and a pearl tea from Coco.

On level 10 you’ll find lots of dessert options such as Oh! Matcha by Chamona, Uncle Tetsu and Aqua S. But there’s also restaurants like the ever popular Chefs Gallery, Yakitori Yebisu, as well as some clothing stores too.

On level 11 is a medical level with a variety of practitioners to suits many needs.

As you can see, it’s really a one stop shop!

Below are some of our favourites!

Desserts

There’s plenty of places to enjoy some Asian inspired desserts. We enjoyed the Matcha ice cream with a mochi from Oh Matcha.

There’s also the famous sea salt ice cream at Aqua S! We have popped in just a few times. On this occasion we had the white chocolate macadamia and sea salt flavour. You can also get a range of exciting add ons like popping candy and fairy floss!

We also enjoyed some delicious Fujimi Doriyaki Japanese sweet pancakes that come with a variety of fillings; Nutella, red bean, peanut Nutella and many more, take your pick.

Coco Tea have arange of milk pearl based teas with heaps of flavours. We tried the Bubble ‘Gaga’. You can select your own amount of ice and sugar to your flavour preference. The flavour of it was passionfruit which was a nice change from a milk tea.

Restaurants

We love Chefs Gallery for dumplings! You can get sweet or savoury. We especially love the emoji custard dumplings! It’s always busy so you may need to line up, but it’s worth the wait.

Yakiniku Yokocho is a great little bbq place on the bottom level of Regent Place shopping centre. You may have to wait a little while for your table but you can browse the shops whilst you wait. It’s a touch screen order menu and with a good selection of meat and sides to cook yourself on the bbq grill in front of you. You receive an array of sauces to flavour your meat, though with such good quality meat, it isn’t really needed. We ordered a few sides and enjoyed the salad as well as some sashimi. You can order highball cocktails and also beers. A great little Japanese dinner location.

Yakitori Yebisu

When you’re in Japan, it’s a must to visit Izakaya to sample all the marvellous food it has to offer. It also gives you the opportunity to taste many different things when there are small plates to pick from. Yakitori Yebisu is a taste of Japan. Japanese memorabilia adorns the walls and it feels like you’re in Japan.

We begun with a wagyu hot pot, tender beef in a beautifully flavoured soup with vegetables and tofu. We also got some ramen to go with it. This was a great meal for a cold winters night. When you’re at an izakaya, you can’t go past yakitori – pork, seafood, chicken, your choice! We had some juicy chicken thigh, nicely seasoned.

There’s plenty more to eat, do and see – so be sure to check it out yourself

Regent Place

501 George St

Sydney NSW 2000

9am til late, 7 days a week

Spring has sprung a new menu @ Auvers cafe Rhodes

October 27, 2018October 27, 2018Leave a comment

We are all excited when Spring turns the corner. Not only becuase there’s less rain (well sometimes), but because there’s beautiful flowers, and of course, new menus at our favourite cafes. Creative dishes with exotic cultural inspirations, there are plenty of options that are out of the box and a twist on your basic breakfast choices.

New dishes on Auvers’ menu include:

Mushroom Valley Pudding – mushroom bread and butter pudding, lentils, cheese, almond and mushroom sauce
Heart Of Ocean – twice cooked salmon on a sourdough, pickle fennel and radish, vinegared yolk, lime caviar, nori and grape gazpacho
Ox Tail Spaghetti – with crispy kale, sea grape, angel hair chilli, mushroom and cheesy kombu butter.

We tried the new Soft Shell Crab Rice Burger, available for a limited time only. Created collaboratively with @chubbytraveller, it is made with – with crispy kale, roasted tomatoes, vinegared yolk, cripsy lotus and teriyaki bonito hollandaise sauce. The mix of Chinese, Japanese and western inspiration, makes for a super interesting and tasty dish.

We also had Auvers’ version of the traditional eggs Benedict with a buttery flaky toasted croissant and ham with pulled pork. Their Hollandaise sauce is a little different, with our well loved ponzu juice and a corn salsa. In addition to this dish, you will find Onsen eggs (slow cooked at 60 degrees).

The most loved dish was the Apple Crumble French Toast, served with chestnut, apple ricotta, black sesame crumble on a brioche bun with black sesame tuile. This is throroughly recommened for the sweet tooths out there.

Drinks wise we had a regular milk based coffee as well as hojicha latte, which is perfect for matcha lovers.

Tasteful trendy decor and a comfortable cafe with classic ambience makes for an enjoyable brunch setting.

Located in Rhodes, close to the shopping centre and public transport, so it’s easy for anyone to visit.

Auvers Cafe, Rhodes
2/42 Walker St, Rhodes Sydney
Phone: (02) 8040 2403
http://www.auverscafe.com.au

Where to find nourishing food that is ethically sourced – Three Beans, Mosman

July 24, 2018July 24, 2018Leave a comment

Three Beans in Mosman is one of the stores in the plethora of locations operating under that name. Three Beans are known as company which focuses on providing nourishing food that is ethically sourced and healthy.

All the food is said to be free from additives and preservatives and are sourced from local suppliers to ensure the freshness and quality of the flavour. Three Beans also uses local suppliers who share the same ethics of following strict animal welfare practices so not only will you be enjoying healthy/delicious food but you will also also have a healthy/good conscience.

A variety of healthy options for those that are health conscious such as smoothie bowls and healthy bowls. Each menu item lists the kilojoules in each so that you can make an informed eating decision.

We selected some healthy options on this visit. There were so many healthy bowls which we liked the sound of such as the ancient grain salad or green breakfast bowl. On this occasion we went for the nourish bowl. It was packed with goodness such as smoked salmon, grains, peas, kale, avocado, red cabbage, carrot, onion, coriander, egg and flavoured with a ginger dressing. We loved the combination of flavours, as well as the beautiful presentation of this dish.

As we were there for a breakfast visit, we ordered one of our regular go-to’s, porridge. The porridge at Three beans is a chia and oat version which we loved! It was topped with berry coulda, banana, berries and honey.

Not to worry if you’re not in the mood to go all healthy as there’s also bacon and egg rolls, beef burger, croque monsieur or the pancakes. You can also select a range of sweet baked goods.

Drinks wise, you’ll find all your favourite coffee and tea options, frappes and smoothies. Here, they also do dairy free smoothies and we tried the refreshing açai smoothie with açai berries, blended with coconut water and bananas. Milkshakes are also an option and the cookies and Creme one would be a favourite of plenty!

There’s something on the menu here for everyone, they have a kids menu too. If you’re in the area, certainly make this a cafe to stop by at!

thewhereto

food | travel | lifestyle

Tag: breakfast