Wednesday 29 October 2014

Sean's Kitchen

A place I have been looking forward to trying since discovering it is Sean's Kitchen. To be quite honest, I didn't know much about the restaurant until it popped up on Urbanspoon and after doing a bit of research, as well as studying the menus, I knew I just needed to try it! The bestie and I decided to treat ourselves to lunch here in celebration of her officially joining the workforce (yay!).



Love what they've done with the space! Lots of natural lighting and I love the warm copper tones.


The bar


Duck fat chips $10

Seeing 'The Signature' next to this on the menu really swayed us to order it. They were delicious while hot - crunchy and perfectly salted - but as they cooled down, they became a little chewy and not as appetising. We did regret not eating them faster because they were great when they arrived at our table! The ketchup wasn't anything special and tasted like just normal tomato sauce.


Mac & Cheese $8

AMAZING.
Perfectly seasoned, creamy and a very indulgent side. Not good for the summer bod but seriously so delicious! This would make the ultimate comfort food dish in winter, but in all honesty I'd happily eat it all year round. For what you get, it's also a great price. Of all the dishes we ordered, this was our absolute favourite. We would've licked the pan clean if it wasn't considered socially unacceptable.  You've really got to try it! 

Crab 'n' Cheese Melt $20
king crab, bechamel, cheddar

My favourite thing about this was that you could actually taste and distinguish real crab meat from everything else. The crab was in a light, creamy and lightly seasoned mixture. It was great with a bit of lemon juice drizzled over the top. A lovely dish with light, fresh flavours!

Orgy of Mushrooms $24
ricotta gnocchi

Being a mushroom lover, this caught my eye the first time I looked at the menu. I loved the different textures of all the mushrooms and the earthy colours on the plate. A+ presentation! The ricotta gnocchi was soft and fluffy, and there were some pieces where the ricotta was still visible. Unfortunately the yellow sauce was quite bland and lacked a punch. I was expecting a light citrusy tang but it was just oily. Another little let down was that I found bits of egg shell in some of the gnocchi (eek!). 

Top: Baked New York Cheese $12
Bottom: Lemon Meringue Pie $12

 The cheesecake had a strange, grainy texture and an unusual flavour which was I thought was overly egg-y, not quite what we'd expected from a cheesecake. Neither of us finished our halves. The base was our favourite part, probably because it had soaked up the syrup from the rhubard and strawberry.

The lemon meringue pie was great at first but eventually I found it a little too sweet. Thank goodness we were sharing everything because I don't think I would've been able to finish the entire slice by myself! I really liked the pastry which had a slight toasted coconut flavour (I think?) and wasn't too buttery. We also thought the dehydrated raspberries on the side were pretty cool! Both desserts were a rather generous serving size.

 The bill + rocket seeds!

Even though the food wasn't absolutely perfect, I still feel like we had a fantastic experience. The service was impeccable, with water being constantly refilled, food taking at most 20 minutes to arrive at the table and staff periodically checking in with us throughout the meal. Given we were there for lunch on a Monday when the restaurant wasn't absolutely packed, I still feel like everything was of a high quality and would remain so even in peak lunch/dinner hours.

Not very kind on the uni student budget, but there's nothing wrong with a treat once in while, right? The service, presentation and overall experience are well worth it. Prices would be considered a little steeper than your average meal but this place isn't average! With that incredible mac & cheese being only $8 and the desserts coming in at the $12 mark (minus the cheese platters), I'd definitely say it's worth a visit.
I can't wait to come back to try out more of the menu as well as some of the cocktails!

Sean's Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Sunday 26 October 2014

Zootz Kitchen Bar

A beautiful Sunday last weekend called for lunch by the beach with some of my closest friends! We'd had an early morning so were looking forward to a light but satisfying lunch before going on a beach walk. We headed to Henley Beach and were lucky so be seated on a reserved table that hadn't been claimed at the super busy Zootz.

[My iPhone 5S was stolen a few days ago so thank you to my lovely friend Julie who let me borrow her phone for a few quick snaps of the food!]

Zootz Caesar Salad $24.90 
Baby cos salad mix with crispy bacon, croutons, parmesan & Zootz own caesar dressing topped with a poached egg

The only salad that I will never have to force my bestie to eat (she's really not a fan of salads). A refreshing salad with a surprisingly light caesar dressing that was absolutely perfect for the hot weather that day! The croutons were deep fried and were holding in an insane amount of oil; tasty in a way but also terrifying for the health conscious. We were all looking forward to her stabbing the poached egg to uncover the gooey yolk, only to be disappointed when she cut it open to reveal a hard centre.

Zootz Special Focaccia $13.90
Chicken, bacon, cheese & lettuce with a seeded mustard Hollandaise

Pork Belly Focaccia $15.90
Pork belly, bacon, cheese, tomato, avocado & lettuce

Three of the girls enjoyed their focaccias (2 Zootz special, 1 pork belly), with each one saying the one they ordered was better than the other! The verdict was the Zootz special had great flavour and the pork belly was surprisingly tender.

Jo Jo Go Go Pizza $15.90
Regular - 4 slices
Pesto Base, cheese, avocado, chicken, feta, bruschetta tomato

Excuse the finger in the corner.... I am evidently not cut out for using Samsung phones!
Seeing pesto, avocado and feta all in one meal drew me to this pizza. A rather generous size for a single serve (I could only finish 3/4 of it), the pizza wasn't too heavy with toppings which made it very easy to eat. The base was thin with a doughy yet still crunchy crust, and the chicken was very tender. Definitely something I would recommend!

The service wasn't the best on this particular occasion with one of the waitresses being a little snappy while taking our order. Apart from that, the food came out quickly without any fuss, and we barely had any complaints! This is a great spot for any of the big meals of the day, with Zootz being open from 7am every day. We saw a few big breakfasts coming out since we were having an early lunch and I must say, they looked incredible! I've also had dinner here with my family and would also recommend the Seafood platter for 2 - a very generous serve of fried seafood, chips and salad that is great for sharing. I'm not too sure what the low rating on Urbanspoon is for because I've enjoyed every one of my visits here! Such a great spot to enjoy being outside in the summer (although there are indoor seating options) and I will no doubt be back in the upcoming warmer months.

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My first visit to Zootz at the beginning of 2013:

 Oven Baked Zucchini Boat $20.90

It was a beautiful sunny day in late January when a bunch of my friends and I visited Zootz to celebrate a 17th birthday! I wasn't craving any form of meat that day so I opted for a vegetarian dish. This look amazing when it came out - everyone was staring at it with envy! It tastes as good as it looks. The zucchini was baked to perfection; not too soggy but not too hard. The roasted capsicum, sun dried tomato, red kidney bean and Napoli sauce filling topped with cheese was delicious! The sautéed spinach with candied balsamic was a great side. Definitely recommend this!

Zootz Kitchen Bar on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Cafe Troppo

A gorgeous sunny morning a few days ago saw me catching up with a friend over a relaxing breakfast at Cafe Troppo!



Pot of green tea $4

Mushie Omelette $11
Sauteed swiss brown mushrooms, fresh herbs and grated local parmesan baked into a hearty omelette and served with fresh greens

A rather enjoyable breakfast, particularly if you're like me and love eating mushrooms! The omelette was cooked to perfection and the fresh spinach salad really lightened up the entire dish.

The Poachie $14
Two soft-poached eggs with fresh greens, organic Hills avocado and troppo poesto on rye sourdough and topped with fried SA haloumi

My friend went for the poachie and he had no complaints apart from the rye sourdough which he found to be too hard.

I've visited Cafe Troppo twice now and have enjoyed it both times. (Last visit to Cafe Troppo here). The service is rather relaxed, almost too casual at times, but I have always enjoyed the food. I really like how they change up the menu every season to ensure only the freshest local produce is used and make an effort to be environmentally sustainable. Definitely somewhere I would recommend with affordable meals that make you feel good about yourself and the environment! 

Cafe Troppo on Urbanspoon

Monday 20 October 2014

Cow & Co

Cow & Co is a super cute little frozen yoghurt shop on King William Road which I walk past almost every single day. They serve delicious, sugar-free frozen yoghurt with flavours that are on rotation, including original, coconut, spirulina and raspberry. You serve yourself, then add a variety of toppings such as fresh fruit, chopped nuts or gummy worms, weigh it at the counter and pay! I believe it costs $3 for every 100g. 


They also serve hot soup, coffee and fresh juices. It's such a cute little place with the friendliest staff! Great for a slightly healthier treat whenever you get a craving for something sweet.
Shout out to the lovely Aimee, a regular reader of my blog who I had the pleasure of meeting here a few weeks ago :)

Cow & Co on Urbanspoon

FB's Fancy Burger

Burger cravings brought a group of 5 hungry uni students back to one of our favourite burger joints in town, Fancy Burger! Tucked away on Synagogue Place just off Rundle Street, FB's is the perfect place for a mid study session lunch being only a short walk away from the universities in town, or a quick lunch while doing some shopping. 




Indoor seating options. Last time I was here, there were separate tables seating approximately 5-6 people but it seems like they've pushed all the tables together to form a long communal table, which I've found is very common in the more modern eateries these days. 

 Outdoor seating options

Between the 5 of us, the girls and I tried out three different menu items today.

 Satay Chicken $10.90
Juicy breast chicken , tangy satay sauce, herby mayo, salad, relish

Two of us, including myself, went for something none of us had ever tried before. I found myself really enjoying it, mainly because I was afraid the chicken breast would actually turn out dry. Generous amounts of the satay sauce masked the dryness, if there was any, and made this a very enjoyable burger! I don't generally like thicker burger buns and was worried that it would be too dense, but it was absolutely fine.

 Fancy That $9.50
100% South Aussie beef, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, herby mayo, salad, relish

A favourite at FB's. Once again, it didn't disappoint!

Crispy bacon and cheese $11.50
100% South Aussie beef, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, herby mayo, salad, relish

Yet another favourite! This was Kym's first time trying this burger and she really enjoyed it.  

Large Chips $6.50
+ Tomato relish $1.50
+ Herby mayo $1.50

Some of my favourite chips in Adelaide, right here! They're consistently fried to perfection and coated in a delicious herbed salt. A fantastic accompaniment to any burger! The five of us couldn't even finish this along with our burgers! I'd say the small chips is a rather generous single serve as a side, although it would be perfect if you're feeling extra hungry that day. Also, my favourite dip would be the herby mayo.
 I have a guilty confession to make... The bestie and I have actually managed to finish an entire large chips between the two of us as a ridiculously unhealthy (and embarrassing) dinner while staying late at uni to study. That's what studying optometry and pharmaceutical engineering does to you, apparently! #thestressisreal

Fantastic service and food as always, FB's has never disappointed any of us! I'll happily take this over Grill'd ANY day.

Edit: Students get a 10% discount, just flash your ID cards at the counter when you order!

FB's Fancy Burgers on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Milkaholic

After our dinner at Base Bar, our group of 12 decided that squeezing in a little bit of dessert was necessary. We wanted to visit the Aviary but it didn't open until 8pm, so we walked to Milkaholic, a place I'd heard about but never had the opportunity to try.


The lighting in this photo is quite deceiving - it's the darkest lit cafe/restaurant I have ever been to!









The waitress pointed us to the back room since we had such a large group and pushed some tables together for us. It was SO dark (again, the photo is deceiving), with only a few light bulbs and a candle on each table.


Antioxidant Warm Berry Crumble $12.50
Stewed apples, rhubarb, blackberries, cranberries, goji and blue berries with a toasted butter oat crumble and coconut ice cream

I felt like ordering a hot dessert so decided on the crumble. The berries and apples were too mushy for my liking and I couldn't really distinguish between all the different berries. It was also too sweet, but that could be personal preference. The ratios of the dessert were a little off, with the crumble being more of a scattering of oats over the top. Writing up this post, I noticed that the ice cream flavour was meant to be coconut, but all I could taste was vanilla. Also, because the crumble was still nice and hot when it came out, the scoop of ice cream was reduced to a puddle within minutes!

Nutella Chocolate Kronut $11.50
with Nutella chocolate sauce, toasted hazelnuts and chocolate chip ice cream

My friend who ordered this is a huge fan of Nutella. Unfortunately, she said the sauce tasted like cheap chocolate sauce and nothing on the plate tasted like Nutella! Aside from that, the cronut itself was okay but nothing spectacular. 

Peanut Butter $11.50
with warm homemade salty caramel and peanut butter ice cream

Apparently there was nothing even remotely salty about the homemade salty caramel.

Nutella Chocolate Sundae $9.50
with triple chocolate chip ice cream, toasted hazelnuts and crushed chocolate nut 

My friend who ordered this found it too heavy and chocolatey, and I could tell she had nothing to rave about. She also said the melted chocolate over the top made everything melt too quickly making it not too satisfying to eat.

[Back] The Bango $7.50
Mango & apple juice, frozen bananas, ice cream
[Middle] Frozen Hot Chocolate $7.50
Milk, chocolate and ice cream
[Front] Lychee Mint Sorbet $7.50
Lychees, fresh mint, ice, lemon sorbet

Apparently the Bango was reminiscent of a Boost juice and the Lychee Mint Sorbet had far too much mint in it, evident from the bright green colour.

Iced matcha green latte with ice cream $7.50

They added a scoop of what tasted like banana ice cream to one of the birthday girls' iced latte which she thought was very strange. Who would've thought to pair banana and matcha?

Cappuccino $5

I'd say this was quite an average experience and don't think Milkaholic is on par with some of the other fantastic dessert bars in Adelaide. The food and drinks were nothing special and I won't be rushing back any time soon. The service was quite standard; I don't really have anything bad to say about it but it didn't stand out, either. The atmosphere was quite nice apart from being sat in complete darkness. They were playing some jazzy, classic tunes and screening old black and white films on the TV. In saying all this though, I don't think it's enough to get me to come back soon.

Next time I'm in Norwood and considering going for dessert, I'd head to the Aviary or even Gelatissimo instead!

Big thank you to all my friends who helped me take photos of everything in almost complete darkness by shamelessly turning on their iphone torches! Thank goodness we were the only customers sitting in the area out the back...


Milkaholic Dessert and Breakfast Bar on Urbanspoon

Monday 13 October 2014

Base Bar

A BIG happy birthday to the beautiful Michelle and Camella who treated our group of friends out to dinner at Base Bar to celebrate their 19th! This was my second visit to Base and I was very impressed the first time so I couldn't wait to come back, especially since they had changed the menu. 

Margherita $15
Roma tomato, garlic, oregano, bocconcini & torn basil

Barossa meats $21
Tomato base, bacon, shaved ham, salami and mushroom

A firm favourite amongst the group, particularly for those who like eating mushrooms.

Bianca $12
Mozzarella, parmesan, rosemary, garlic, sea salt and olive oil

This was like eating garlic bread with cheese on top. Seriously addictive!

Prosciutto $22
Salami, prosciutto and kalamata olives

All the wood fired pizzas were just how I like my pizzas - simple toppings on a thin and crispy base. Delicious!

Free range chicken breast sliders
Provolone cheese, salad greens and garlic aioli served with fries

[Back] Pulled pork sliders
House slaw and chipotle aioli served with fries
[Front] Vegetarian sliders
House made veggie pattie with salad leaves and a cucumber mint yoghurt served with fries

Of the 3 slider options on the menu, I tried the pulled pork and was unfortunately quite disappointed. The pork was quite dry, tough and lacking in flavour. Thank goodness for the house slaw and aioli which stopped it from being bland. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the other sliders!
The chips. Oh. My. Goodness. I probably could have eaten an entire mini deep fryer basket-full! They were piping hot with a thin but crispy outer skin and soft, doughy innards. Also perfectly salted! Great on their own but I think they would've tasted amazing with a bit of aioli.

Base Bar continues to impress, and is the perfect destination for dinner on a warm summer evening with a really relaxed atmosphere. I would definitely recommend it for the great food and cocktails, which I didn't have this time round but really enjoyed the first time I visited. 

Just a few pictures from my first visit - 

The spread

 Kiwi Caprioska and Cosmopolitan

A great option for dining in small groups of around 6-8 people (we had 12 and had to have two tables pushed together!). They don't take bookings so it's better to get there a little earlier to ensure you get a table. Service this time was a little too casual and rushed, but we weren't too fussed - we were too busy enjoying each other's company!

Once again, happy birthday to C & M and thank you for dinner! 

Base Bar on Urbanspoon