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!

 

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.

Papparich

My family has been a little obsessed with Papparich lately. I think it must be the extensive and affordable menu as well as the efficient service, which is what my parents tend to look for in a restaurant for a larger group. It's been a restaurant we fall back on whenever none of us can decide on what to eat. Despite the long lines, we've never had to wait too long for a table. Here's a taste of what we've ordered on two of our past visits, which has caused us to leave absolutely stuffed to the brim! 

Teh Tarik

White coffee with coffee jelly

Teh Tarik with coffee jelly

Pappa special biryani rice with sambal eggplant, fried chicken & sambal prawns

Roti telur with curry chicken

My absolute favourite!

Oriental chicken chop

Egg noodles

We've also tried the laksa and satay skewers, which were both great, as well as the fried chicken skin which I personally did not like at all. I'd recommend it for people who aren't afraid to try new things and are looking for affordable lunch and dinner options. I am not at all an expert on Malaysian cuisine although I did get a taste of it on a trip to Kuala Lumpur a few years ago. Regardless of that, I'd say it's a pretty good feed especially if you go in a large group and can try a bit of everything!

Mr Bulgogi

My friends and I have developed a slight obsession with Korea lately and when we heard of a new Korean restaurant located less than 10 minutes away from one of our homes, we just had to book ourselves for dinner! We were most looking forward to the fried chicken which we had seen photos of all over social media.

Soy chicken bibimbap $15.50

We initially wanted to order the bulgogi bibimbap but were informed that they had run out. I didn't find anything special about this bibimbap and probably won't order this particular one again. The soy chicken was quite bland and we regretted not ordering the spicy pork bibimbap!

Korean fried chicken half & half $32

Original style deep fried chicken

Soy sauce seasoned fried chicken

The batter was thin, light and crisy. The original style was lightly seasoned while a thin glaze-like soy sauce was drizzled over the top of the second flavour. The original style could have been improved with a bit more flavour as we found it a little bland. The soy sauce seasoned chicken would have been improved by a slightly thicker sauce - the thin sauce either soaked right through and made the batter soggy or just dripped off the chicken. Also not all pieces of chicken were identifiable - some bits were wings and drumsticks but we weren't too sure what the rest were! Some pieces ended up being boneless while others were literally all bone. The pickled radish and [rather bland] coleslaw added a bit of freshness to cut through the chicken.

 Chicken Gangjeong Half & Half $32

Original style with crispy rice cakes

Sweet and Spicy Style with potato

Eating boneless fried chicken is just so satisfying. The sweet and spicy chicken was my absolute favourite that night! I loved the thick sauce, which was not too spicy. It made the deep fried tteok even better. Would definitely recommend it.

My only other critique for the evening would be service. It was ridiculously difficult to get the attention of any of the staff who weren't really keeping an eye on the floor while they were standing behind the counter. The food didn't take too long to come out, although we would have preferred for all 3 things to come out simultaneously. For the 5 of us that night, we ended up spending about $16 and were stuffed to the brim with chicken. We're not in a hurry to return but that sweet and spicy fried chicken is definitely worth trying!

 

2KW

Exams take a lot of energy out of us uni students. This semester's post exam celebration with 2 of my girl friends took us to 2KW for dinner and drinks. We were very excited to finally be able to sit back and relax with some great food, cocktails and view of Adelaide. 

Virgin Governer's Garden $10

I didn't want any alcohol in my system while driving my friends but I still didn't want to miss out on a cocktail so I asked for the virgin version. Very fresh and not too sweet, this was perfect to sip on while waiting for our food to come out.

 Spinach, kefalotyri sheep cheese croquettes $5 (each)

with beeteroot and turnip pickle

These were so tasty and the sheep cheese wasn't as over powering as I expected it to be. The beetroot and turnip pickle had very, very subtle flavours which could only be distinguished when eaten alone. It was a fantastic vibrant purple colour though!

Slow cooked grilled octopus $25

Confit kipfler potatoes, chorizo and romesco sauce

We absolutely adored this dish! The octopus wasn't too chewy and cooked to perfection. Paired with the flavourful romesco sauce which really packed a punch, we devoured every single morsel on the plate. I highly recommend this!

 Crispy spiced half duck $40

Carrot, snow pea tendrils and walnut salad, ginger and pomegranate sauce with cos lettuce cups

We dug in before I even realised I forgot to snap a photo! The waitress informed us this could be eaten like peking duck but I honestly felt it wouldn't be appropriate to eat with my fingers in such a sophisticated restaurant. I don't think this was worth ordering since the flavours were all familiar to our palettes. The salad definitely had some different flavours which I don't think paired very well with the duck. Regardless, the duck was cooked well and tasted great.

Vitello tonnato $25

Veal, mojama, parmesan cream and caperberries

An interesting dish with some new flavours and textures for us. I liked it while the other girls were a little on the fence. I really enjoyed the texture of the veal, which the girls said was quite plain on its own. Luckily the parmesan cream had a very strong flavour, so when paired together with the veal and a caperberry, it was just divine. I'd order this again for something different!

 Chai tea parfait $16

Pistachio cake, pomegranate quince and milk fudge

The chai flavours in the parfait were almost non existent but we still enjoyed it nonetheless. The pistachio cake had a very subtle flavour which I enjoyed and the pomegranate sauce was very tangy. The heavily spiced Afghan milk fudge was something we'd never tried before and I really enjoyed it! Lots of subtle flavours on the plate but we agreed they all worked well together.

 Hazelnut chocolate mousse $16

Chestnuts in sheery and dehydrated mousse

Oh this was some seriously decadent and chocolatey mousse. Great texture and it's definitely something to order if you're craving something rich and chocolatey. The dehydrated mousse was very cool and I really liked the presentation of this. I wasn't a huge fan of the chestnuts and it tasted like they had been soaked in balsamic vinegar. 

I'm so glad we decided to finally visit! The service was fantastic, we had the friendliest waitress and our glasses of water were never empty. The food came out rather quickly, which was good since we booked in for the 6pm sitting and had to be out by 8:15pm. The presentation of all the dishes was superb and they all tasted great. I am definitely coming back to try out more of the menu, perhaps during the day time for lunch or maybe on another evening when it isn't raining so I can really admire the rooftop views.

 

The Brompton

For Dad's birthday, he requested his birthday dinner to be somewhere with stonegrill steak. A place fitting his request close to us was the Brompton and we booked in for a table. We'd dined here previously at a school function and enjoyed our meal so we weren't expecting any less for this visit.

Wedges with sweet chilli and sour cream $7.50

Fried to perfection and a great starter. My little brother couldn't stop eating them!

South Australian Premium Eye Fillet 250gm $31

Lamb Rump 250gm $28

Kangaroo Fillet 250gm $26

Among the 6 of us, we tried 3 cuts of meat. All came out within only 10 minutes of ordering which was much faster than I expected. My favourite thing about the stone grills are that you're able to cook everything for yourself. They came out piping hot and stayed hot for the duration of our meal. The chips were crispy and perfectly salted, while the gravies were nothing special. 

Rum and Macadamia Brownie with coconut ice-cream $8

Banoffee Pie: classic banana cream caramel pie $7

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with warm chocolate sauce $7

It might have been just me but I found everything overly sweet, especially that banoffee pie. My little brother loved the ice cream though!

Great food and service, I wouldn't hesitate to come back! An absolute must for steak lovers.

The Taxpayer

Late birthday celebrations for my best friend Angela brought a group of 10 girls to the Taxpayer for burgers, cocktails and lots of catching up! We opted for a dinner session on a Friday night and it was surprisingly quiet. On the plus side, food and drinks came out swiftly after we placed our orders.

Our rainbow of cocktails!

Houseboat $18

Two women $19

One night stand $18 

Money train $18

Australia II $18

Sweet potato chips $4.50

Not very attractive, but looks are deceiving! They were ever so slightly crispy on the outside, super soft on the inside and perfectly salted. A great accompaniment to the burgers!

Heidi Fleiss $14

Grilled haloumi, sauteed mushrooms, carrot, alfalfa, greens, herb mayo and sweet onion and pineapple relish

Martha Stewart $13

Grilled chicken breast with prosciutto, avocado, tomato, greens and aioli

OJ Simpson $11

Beef patty, American cheese, pickles, onions, mustard and tomato sauce

Wesley Snipes $15

Signature 200g beef patty, smoked bacon, cheese, tomato, greens, aioli and tomato relish

Everyone enjoyed the burgers but I wouldn't say they absolutely blew my mind! My Heidi Fleiss was great, but I wouldn't rush back for it specifically. The cocktails received mixed reactions, though my favourite was the Houseboat which was sprinkled with popping candy. The atmosphere was pretty relaxed and we actually enjoyed that it was not too busy because we were actually able to have decent conversations and enjoy the food.