Friday 30 August 2013

Copious amounts of dessert!

Apart from a lovely 18th celebration last weekend, I was guilty of indulging in way too many sweets and carbs!

Early Saturday morning, prior to our study session, my friend and I were in Rundle Mall running a few errands when we spotted some 'cronuts' while walking past Signore's in the David Jones food court.


What's that? You're yet to discover the cronut? Let me quickly fill you in; a cronut is a croissant and donut hybrid first created by Dominique Ansel in New York. They've taken the world by storm, with 'imposters' appearing everywhere (see here). They've become so popular that people are even willing to fork out $100 per cronut in New York. Insanity!

Now, I call these 'cronuts', with quotation marks, because they don't seem to be as delicate and pristine as Dominique Ansels's (though I do appreciate that would be very difficult). 

We'd seen them the weekend before but thought we'd try Jenny's Bakery's cronuts first (the bakery in which cronuts first appeared in Adelaide, apparently). However, since we'd stopped here for coffee, we decided to try one anyway! We guiltily ordered a Raspberry cronut to share.

Raspberry cronut $6.50

It was definitely better than we thought. Not too sweet, even with all that cream and glaze, and the dough was nice and airy. However, we thought it could have been even flakier to capture more of the 'croissant' element of a cronut. Also, the presentation is not quite as delicate as ones we have seen - they seem to have been cut in half and filled with the cream. Nonetheless, a pretty solid effort and we rather enjoyed it.

Signore's on Urbanspoon

- - -

That evening, while picking up my sister in Prospect, we decided to make a quick stop at Devour to pick up some takeaway desserts. Since we really enjoyed our previous visit, we expected to wowed get again!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Panna Cotta $8
5 pack of macarons $12


 Apologies for the dodgy lighting - I did what I could while sitting in my car!

From top to bottom: black sesame, salted caramel, red skin, peanut butter and jelly, grape hubba bubba

We actually found that they were too sweet, and that the texture was only improved by over night refrigeration (we didn't finish them all!). My favourite flavours were definitely red skin and grape hubba bubba! I find it amazing how they manage to capture those flavours in a macaron. Genius!


The Peanut Butter & Jelly Panna Cotta was delicious, however a little too sweet as well. I couldn't finish it in one sitting because I couldn't handle how sweet it was, mainly due to the layer of 'peanut butter' and jam on top. I definitely enjoyed the panna cotta part, though.

A little disappointing this time round, but I'm sure that won't stop me from going back and dining in properly!

Devour Dessert Bar on Urbanspoon

- - -

As a post study session treat, my friends and I stopped at St Louis' for some ice cream!



Wild Strawberry Junior chocolate-dipped cone with extra cream and chocolate fudge $4.20

Peanut butter-cookie and caramel fudge $4.20

Two of us ordered this and it was delicious! Definitely better than what I ordered on my first visit.

St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert on Urbanspoon

Sunday 25 August 2013

Beyond India [2]

An extremely busy weekend saw me celebrating the 18th birthday of another one of my friends, as well as doing lots of driving, studying and eating!

First of all, a big happy birthday to one of my best friends, Sophie. It's hard to believe she's 18 when she is in fact the smallest (height wise) in our circle of friends! 



She celebrated with a lovely dinner at Beyond India, one of our favourite restaurants. (See my first review here.) She was kind enough to let us order whatever we liked! We ordered a lot more since there was one curry per person, however I could only snap a few photos of the curries around me.

Beef Patiala 

I ordered the Beef Patiala as it was something I had never tried before. I loved the rich flavour and the slight punch from the mild chilli, though I wish the chunks of beef had been more tender.


 Chicken Korma

 Butter Chicken

Chicken Tikka Masala


Naan basket

Absolutely delicious! I can never get enough of the cheesy naan. 

 Sophie's first legal drink, a Swirling Sari cocktail!

 Cutting her cake, a delicious Apple & Berry cake from Muratti's

We had such a great time, with the food and service being fantastic and prompt, as per usual. I'm quite sure that Beyond India is without a doubt one of the best places in Adelaide for Indian food!

Once again, happy birthday Sophie!

Beyond India on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Burger Theory

It's quite shocking that I haven't blogged about Burger Theory before! It has probably been there from the very beginning of the burger craze in Adelaide. I just can't resist a burger and fries whenever it happens to be close by! On this particular occasion, I was in the CBD and it was parked at Hindmarsh Square.


 There was some light rain so we borrowed one of their bright umbrellas!


Our order for lunch!

No. 1 with fries and a drink $15

No. 2 $11

We couldn't fault anything apart from the overly salty onion confit with pancetta - a first in ~10 (I think) visits! Apart from that, we were very pleased with lunch. 
Burger Theory rarely disappoints, and today it definitely lived up to our expectations. Definitely worth the hype and a try if you haven't yet done so. The service and food is always fantastic, and I promise it will not disappoint. Just remember to follow their Twitter or Facebook pages to keep up with their daily locations!

Overall 9/10

Vy
xo


Burger Theory on Urbanspoon

Sunday 18 August 2013

Priceline Haul [3]

Hi everyone!

Priceline is currently having a massive sale, which 50% off the entire Maybelline range. I decided to pop in early yesterday morning - the calm before the storm! It was lucky that my friends and I were the only people in the store.
  
 All my purchases. A grand total of $109.90


 Real Techniques Core Collection $44.99

First off, this wasn't on sale but I bought it as a gift for a friend. I have my own set and they're fantastic. I definitely recommend them, especially for beginners. If you're able to shop online, I know iherb has them for a much lower price!

 Maybelline Falsies Waterproof Mascara $9.62
Originally $19.25

Finally the right version of Falsies for me! I mistakenly bought the non-waterproof version, and then the Falsies Everlasting but found that I wasn't happy with either one. The former, being non-waterproof, made my lashes look pretty good but caused them to droop and lose their curl since I have the typical straight Asian lashes! The latter just didn't appeal to me and I liked the formula less than the non-waterproof one. However, this one is perfect! It gave me clump free, long lashes and held the curl really well. 

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner $6.97
Originally $13.96

Maybelline Master Liner $6.25
Originally $13.50
My favourite of all 'drugstore' eye liners! I have oily lids, one of which is slightly monolid-like, so smudgeproof and waterproof liners are a must for me. I decided to stock up, even though both of the ones I'm currently using have quite a bit of product left in them.


Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Too Cool' $5.97
Originally $11.95



A steal at only $5.97! These are amazing - they give an intense colour pay off and will last from the moment you apply it to the moment you decide to remove it. Fantastic for people who have oily lids like me. I had my eye on 'Barely Branded' as well, but unfortunately the 2 stores I visited were both out of stock! I will be visiting Priceline again next week before the end of the sale, so hopefully they would've restocked everything.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in 'Medium' $9.47
Originally $18.95

Definitely one of my favourite concealers. Perfect for under the eye as well as over blemishes. My shade is light but I bought this for my sister since she is much more tanned than I am. 


Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in 'Coral Crush' $8.47
Originally $16.95

Absolutely gorgeous colour! It isn't too drying on the lips and has a fairly moderate staying power without a lipliner. I'll definitely be purchasing a few more of these on my next Priceline visit.

Maybelline Baby Lips in 'Energising Orange' $1.97
Originally $3.95

I'm sure everyone knows of the hype surrounding these. This is my 4th Baby Lips and they're great! I usually like to have a lip balm everywhere (seriously - in my bag, wallet, car, bedroom, study desk, bathroom etc :P) and this was such a steal! I'll definitely be purchasing a few more on my next visit.

 Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover $8.99
Originally $10.89

I wanted to try out some new eye make up removers since I ran out of my favourite Garnier one, so I picked this up since it was on sale for 20% off. So far, I really like it but I still prefer the Garnier 2-in-1. It works quite well but it just doesn't have the same lightness that the Garnier one does.

 Nivea 3 in 1 Waterproof Make-Up Remover $7.19
Originally $8.99

Another make up remover I picked up to try out. It has the consistency of a thin moisturiser which I don't actually like very much. It takes quite a bit of product to remove waterproof makeup, mascara especially, but it definitely has the moisturising properties. I don't think this is a product I will be repurchasing after I finish it.


If you haven't been into Priceline recently or you need to stock up on a few beauty products, I definitely recommend you visit ASAP! The sale ends on the 26th of August - I know I'll be back in a week's time to pick up some more goodies!

Vy
xo


Thursday 15 August 2013

Nordburger

Another burger joint in Adelaide! Nordburger is fairly new to the burger scene, but I'd heard a couple of good reviews so my friend and I ventured over to Norwood for lunch at the beginning of the week. 


 A few seats by the front and at the counter, as well as some standing options at the back. We chose to sit right by the counter!



 Fridge of soft drinks, including American ones such as Dr Pepper and Tab, above their shake station


 Nordburger $7.90
Beef, pickles, tomato, lettuce, mustard, ketchup, Nord sauce
Small Tater Tots $2.50
Salted Caramel shake $7

I decided to go with the Nordburger. It contained all the typical burger fillings, as well as their special Nord sauce. I really enjoyed it! The beef patty wasn't as thick and juicy as those from Burger Theory, but they still tasted great, especially with the Nord sauce. I also liked how the bun was quite soft and sweet, and was in a perfect ratio to the fillings. 
The tater tots didn't taste like the cheap frozen ones you buy in supermarkets, so my friend and I enjoyed them a lot! The burger and tots may look like a small serving, but I was stuffed by the end of the meal.
The salted caramel shake was DELICIOUS. I loved the distinct flavour of salted caramel and how it wasn't too overpowering. I'd definitely recommend it to salted caramel lovers like myself!

 Hotburger $8.30
Beef, pickled jalapeƱo, red onion, Doc's coleslaw, chipotle mayo
Large tater tots $3.00

This was the 3rd time my friend had ordered this burger and she loved it! 

We didn't end up finishing all of the tater tots or the shake, so we took them back to school and my sister was happy to take them off us. Even after the 5 minute drive back to school, they still tasted great, albeit a little closer to room temperature!

I noticed that a person behind the counter had a pretty cool tattoo! A fork, knife and spoon. Dedicated lover of food, maybe?

I have to say I had a great first experience here. The people behind the counter were really friendly, especially the person who served us - he actually made an effort to hold a conversation with us when he noticed our uniforms. Pretty cool! We were also able to see the food being cooked and assembled, and I noticed that the bench tops were always very clean and well organised. My friend and I were able to pick up on the system they had going on the benches, which we thought was very effective in allowing food to be quickly made and sent out. Our food was ready within 5 minutes, though my friend had been here before for dinner and had to wait 30 minutes for her food. Nordburger also offers takeaway, which would come in handy!

Great food in a great location. I can't wait for the next time I visit! I have my eye on their pretzel specialty shake.
Overall, 8.5/10.

Vy
xo


Nordburger on Urbanspoon