The Aviary Dessert Kitchen

Two of my best friends and absolute favourite twins in the whole world turned 20 this past week (Happy birthday, M & C!) and they decided to treat us to a spot of dessert at the Aviary. A few of us have been before and have hardly ever been disappointed, so I was excited to return and had my fingers crossed for a slightly different menu to my last visit so I could try something new.

Eton mess $9.80

Meringue, lashings of Nutella mousse, fresh strawberries and almond and hazelnut praline 

I'm not usually a fan of meringue but there was just something about this that I really enjoyed... yum!

Lychee pearl $9.80

Lychee icecream encased in a pink guava granita on a bed of lychee jelly and vanilla and raspberry swirl custard 

Fresh, fruity and refreshing flavours that worked well together. Perfect for something light but still satisfying on a warm night! 

I can't believe it's not... snickers $10.90

Peanut butter panna cotta, chocolate ganache and caramel

The panna cotta was not overly creamy and the peanut butter flavour wasn't too strong, which in a way was a good thing because that chocolate ganache was super rich! I also loved the crumb which added to the creamy textures.

Raspberry, lychee and pistachio gateaux $9

I can't remember much about this but the girls assure me it was light and fruity, and everything was very well balanced. 

Blueberry and white chocolate mousse cake $9

Not as much of a 'punch' in flavour as the others we tried. Still delicious, I bought this to takeaway for my sister and she still liked it. We thought maybe the cake base could be replaced with something a bit denser and it could make it even more delicious!

A truly lovely little spot for dessert. With a great menu with old favourites as well as new additions, there is such great value and friendly staff that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend trying it out if you haven't already!

Light Bulb Cafe

The bestie and I are always on the hunt for new places to eat. On one particular occasion, coinciding days off from uni automatically signalled for us to catch up over one of our shared loves (food), so we headed over to a place we'd been eyeing for the past few weeks - the Light Bulb Cafe.

SALA artwork

Electricity juice $6.90

Carrot, mandarin, pear, ginger

Apple crumble smoothie $7.90

Banana, cinnamon, canadian maple syrup, ice cream, yoghurt, coconut milk

This was SO good! I can't recommend it enough especially if you like apple crumble. I loved the creaminess and there is the perfect amount of cinnamon and maple syrup in it. You can barely taste the banana!

12 hr sous vide pork belly w parsnip & vanilla puree, charred pumpkin and broccolini $22

No complaints here! Beautiful presentation and great flavours. The parsnip and vanilla puree is definitely something different, we couldn't quite decide whether or not we liked it.

Sugo baked eggs w chorizo, buffalo mozzarella, broccolini and sous vide eggs $18

Perfectly cooked eggs in a flavoursome tomato base, this was filling and very satisfying. The bits of chorizo throughout added a bit of extra flavour and the crusty bread was delicious with the tomato!

The Light Bulb Cafe is a wonderful place on the more quiet end of King William Road. Although it was quiet when we went (around 11am in the middle of the week), lots of people were coming in and out getting takeaway coffee and lunch. There is great service, with the chef himself coming out and asking about our meal. We loved what we ordered and I can definitely picture myself coming back to try out more of the menu.

Kenji Modern Japanese

A rare thing happened a few weeks ago: Dad was craving some fancy. He's usually into huge servings of good hearty food. Think steak, huge plates of spaghetti marinara or a big bowl of pho. He'd visited Kenji previously for his friend's birthday and wanted to take our family here for dinner. Having a quick look online, I saw that this was right up my alley - Japanese food! One of my favourite cuisines of the moment. I'm always down for sushi, but when we arrived and I saw the specials board along with other dishes on the menu, I was in a real pickle! We ended up choosing sushi to share as starters and then each had a main dish.

Adelaide roll $18

Prawn, apple, cucumber, avocado, tobiko (flying fish roe)

Aburi kingfish roll $18

Flame seared kingfish, asparagus, shiso leaf, oroshi ponzu

Salmon delight roll $18

Hutt roll $19

Scallop, avocado, cucumber, fried shallot, salmon roe

The sushi rolls were all beautifully presented and everything tasted very fresh. We enjoyed them all, I can't even pick a personal favourite!

Wagyu sirloin steak $40

With roasted mushroom mash, cherry tomato & edamame horseradish salad

Poached duck leg in orange and hoji tea $38

Smoked duck breast with red rice and pickled quandong

Shicimi roasted wild venison fillet $38

With creamy parnsip, pickled nashi pear, pan fried red mizuna, black radish, porcini teriyaki sauce

Katsu curry $36

Wagyu beef curry with panko crumbed wagyu beef, rice and house made Fukujin pickles 

This was so ridiculously satisfying. The panko crumbed beef was so crispy and the curry itself was full of flavour. Also a very generous serving size, I couldn't finish it! The remainder of the dishes were also delicious, with the only criticism being that some were overly salty. I liked how they've tried to create a fusion between western food and Japanese ingredients and flavours. By the time we'd finished our mains, we were all full and couldn't even manage dessert! 

A lovely little place which I imagine would be perfect to treat yourself out on a quiet date night. On the week night evening we visited, it was rather quiet but I imagine it could get quite busy towards the end of the week. I like how they haven't tried to squeeze in as many tables as possible so there was still room to manouvre between them. As always, it's good to be able to eat and have a conversation without hearing everything that's happening over at the next table. I wouldn't mind coming back here for dinner at all!

 

St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert [2]

St Louis is one of those places I end up when I'm out with friends and we have last minute a craving for something sweet. If we're not at San Churros, then we're here. One of my favourite things to order is their fondue which is super easy to share and always satisfying. 

St Louis fondue for two $24

Warm Belgian waffle pieces, mini profiteroles, hot cinnamon churros and fresh strawberries served with a generous portion of warm melted chocolate for dipping

The churros are not overly crunchy which is what I prefer, the waffle pieces are drizzled with a bit of honey (I think?) and of course there is no better combination than fresh strawberries and melted chocolate. My only complaint would be the profiteroles (not filled with anything) which I found tasted too bland on its own and didn't have a very nice texture. They've been the same every time we've ordered the fondue. But really, covering them in chocolate really does help. Other than that, it's a generous serving size and really perfect for sharing.

A great place to satisfy any sweet cravings but definitely be prepared to line up for a table on Friday and Saturday evenings! They also have fab ice cream - refer to one of my older posts here for more pictures.

PS. The Churros martini is a nightmare. Hot caramel, melted ice cream, soggy banana pieces and churros left wallowing in the mess. Not worth even half of the price on the menu. It's probably the only one to avoid!

Taverna Greek Psistaria

This place is hands down one of my absolute favourite restaurants in Adelaide. It's quietly tucked away on Hawker St but the restaurant itself is always vibrant and busy. Because it's so close to home, my family loves ordering takeaway for dinner but of course it's always nice to occasionally dine in. On this occasion, I took my super fussy other half in the hopes that I could find a restaurant which serves Greek food that's on par with what he's had overseas.

Greek salad $11.90

Couldn't fault it. Also that slab of feta was so satisfying to break as we ate the rest of the salad. 

Taverna Mix Grill $41.90

I wish I could have captured the look of absolute glee on his face when this mountain of food arrived in front of us. This photo really doesn't capture how huge it was! Fried calamari, grilled lamb cutlets, chicken souvlaki, grilled prawns and pita bread were piled onto a bed of hand cut potato wedges. All perfectly cooked and flavoured, especially that chicken souvlaki, we did our best to make our way through it but had to admit defeat and doggy bag about a quarter of it. 

Guys I can't recommend this place enough. It's good for almost all occasions; my dad has had a few boys' nights here, I've seen birthdays being held in the dining section upstairs, I've seen plenty of huge family gatherings, we'll be introducing some of our other friends to this place soon on a double date and I'm seriously considering having my birthday dinner here too. However, I probably wouldn't recommend it if you're after a quiet date night because it is always bustling. The value is also great, we spent around $50-60, were stuffed the brim and had leftovers for the next day. I'd also recommend booking ahead if you want to dine in.

Get on it!

 

Estia

The Greek food obsession is SO real when it comes to my date nights. My boyfriend and I love our Greek food, and although we don't like to stray from our favourite (Taverna Greek Psistaria) we don't mind trying out new places either. I'd heard about Estia from one of the girls at work so we decided to give it a go. We usually like ordering a salad and a mix of grilled meats at Greek restaurants which we always end up comparing to our favourite. At Estia, they recommend sharing smaller dishes called mezedakia, so we ordered a few which were served on lemon pilaf with a salad.

Elliniki $9.50 

A solid Greek salad, though neither one of us were very keen on the spring onions.

Keftedes $11

Meat balls spiced with garden mint, spring onion and garlic, served with tzatziki

Tis skaras arnaki $12.90

Lamb fillet marinated in olive oil, lemon and selected spices, chargrilled

Calamari tiganito $13.50

Local calamari lightly floured and fried

My favourite of the three was the grilled lamb which I thought was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The rest of the food was okay but nothing special. I must say, our favourite Greek still remains at Taverna. If anyone has any recommendations for good Greek food, please let me know! I've also tried out Kefi which is also fantastic but I prefer Taverna because it's not even 10 minutes away from home.

Sah Modern Mediterranean [2]

My boyfriend and I were after a light dinner one night and decided to try out Sah for some tapas and paella. We often drive past on our way home and I have visited previously (see here) but hadn't thought to return. Now for the fussiest eater I know to want to try out a restaurant I hadn't suggested, I thought, why not? 

Chicken and parmesan croquettes $3.50 ea

Very cheesy, but probably a little small for its size. 

Greek style chicken marinated in garlic, lemon and oregano $13

We love Greek food, and this hit the spot!
Ps. for top notch Greek food, our favourite restaurant is Taverna Greek Psistaria. I haven't written up a blog post on it yet because I order take away from there allll the time, but do expect one in the future when we go back to dine in!

Chargrilled Moroccan spiced lamb cutlets with cumin yoghurt $14

Good flavours but again, nothing too special. 

Paella mixta for 1 $29

Locally sourced chorizo, chicken, prawns & calamari

My boyfriend was excited to try this because he'd never had paella before. We were expecting something incredible for a paella which placed 4th best in the world. The rice was cooked beautifully, as well as the chorizo, chicken, prawns and calamari. It was quite salty though and definitely needed a drizzle of lemon juice over the top to freshen it up. The only thing it was missing was the characteristic layer of crispy rice. 

Not bad for a light dinner, but probably a bit pricey for what we had. There was nothing too memorable here although we still enjoyed our paella. I wouldn't mind returning but again, it's not something that will ever top my list of places to re-visit.