Chocolateria San Churro

Hi everyone,
Hope you're all enjoying the week so far. Adelaide has been having such gorgeous weather these past few days! So much warmth and sunshine. I'm loving it! Hopefully it will be this nice tomorrow when I go out for lunch with my sister and childhood besties.

I haven't been out this week because I've been at home attempting to do homework. My attempts are failing rather miserably, but it's the thought that counts, right? :P
Today I wanted to do a brief post about a place which I visited earlier in the year, Chocolateria San Churro. After a birthday lunch, my best friend A and I decided that we needed to visit this place since we were already on Rundle Street and it had only just opened (this was way back in early 2013).

We opted for some things to share since we were still really full from lunch.

Fondue for two

We really enjoyed this! We loved the rich, creamy chocolate and it tasted great with everything. We didn't really enjoy the brownie though - it was more like a piece of bad chocolate cake. The churros weren't too bad, but we both agreed that the ones from ChurrOz, a food van here in Adelaide, are much, much better. These weren't as crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, but much more doughy. Not the worst churros I've ever had but not the best, either! If you've never had churros before, I would recommend trying them here, though.

Peanut butter melt

I felt like a glutton drinking this. It was SO rich already, but was made even richer with the spoon of chocolate covered peanut butter. The flavour was definitely there, though. I love the pairing of sweet and salty foods, and this didn't disappoint me. I would definitely suggest skipping this if you were as full as I was that day. Also, the mug that it came it was huge. I could only manage to finish half of it! This would probably be a great drink in the evening in the middle of winter because of how warm and rich it is.

I don't remember the price of each item, but we ended up spending around $16 or $17, which I don't think it too bad for what we were given. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and it was quite busy, however our order came out only 5 or so minutes after we had ordered and the staff were really friendly. I also quite like the decor - who knew orange and brown could look that decent? I've been past on various Friday and Saturday nights, and the line up was often pretty crazy - people were lining up all the way to the corner of Rundle Street. I'd like to come back some time and try their sundaes and possibly even their macarons.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention the horrendous state that the bathrooms were in. Firstly, A and I had such a difficult time locating them because there weren't any signs (this might have changed since I was last there). We were directed through a door at the back of the eatery which lead outside. I won't go into detail because I don't want to risk you feeling sick, but I was just really shocked at the state they were in. I'd suggest avoiding them, unless you're desperate! I think I might have to deduct a point for that...
It might seem a bit much, but does anyone else take into consideration the state of the bathrooms? I think they play a pretty important role as part of the customer service aspect. If the bathrooms are grotty, and they're on display to the public, imagine the state of the kitchens behind the closed doors!

Overall, I'd give it an 8/10  7/10. 

By the way, I saw Despicable Me 2 with my siblings yesterday and it is SO adorable! I had a 23 year old next to me who was also laughing throughout the movie, so don't feel as if you're too old to see it. I'd definitely suggest taking your younger siblings, children, cousins, nieces or nephews to see it. They'll love it!

Have a great week everyone :)

Vy

xo

Random tidbits from early 2013

Hey everyone,

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't been posting very much recently. This is because I've been busy studying for my mid year exams which began today! I don't have any exams tomorrow so I'm dedicating some time tonight to my blog. I haven't been out to eat lately because all I want to do is study, so I thought I'd share with you photos I've snapped of my meals while out and about during the first 3-4 months of this year along with very brief reviews.
Enjoy! And I'll try to get a proper post up in about a week.

 Clockwise from top left:

Arizona Green Tea

Dips Platter $15.90

Gnocchi Pollo Pesto $18.90

Insalata Di Agnello $18.90

This was a meal shared between 3 people while on a Sunday afternoon shopping trip during the first term school holidays. The pita bread is definitely one of the best I have EVER tasted! Lightly salted, toasted until piping hot while still crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside - a perfect accompaniment to the delicious dips. My favourite was the olive tapenade. 

The gnocchi was a bit of a let down after the entrée. I found it very 'boring' and very ordinary.

The lamb salad was the dish of the day! The lamb was cooked to perfection and the candy balsamic dressing was oh so good. I absolutely loved the feta - it wasn't too crumbly or salty. I ordered this again to have all to myself in April and it was just as good. Definitely recommend it!

Iced tea, Tasting platter for 2

This was my first time trying Devour and I was very impressed! I happened to be in Prospect for a Street Fair in March, I think, saw Devour just opening up for the night and quickly dragged my sister and her friend in with me. No matter how much I wrack my brains, I can't seem to remember the flavour of the ice tea. It might have been something along the lines of rose and lychee? 

By memory though, the tasting platter consisted of a white chocolate macaron (blue), black sesame macarons, peanut butter panacotta,  and deep fried donuts with vanilla ice-cream. I enjoyed all elements except the white chocolate macaron - it tasted like nothing. The deep friend donuts were delicious though I could only manage one. The peanut butter panacotta was deliciously rich and I liked the contrast between it and the crunchy salty and sweet crumbs of something which I just can't remember. The black sesame macarons were also delicious! I haven't been back since, so I think another visit is on the agenda.

This was an evening in January when 2 of my friends and I had a quick Korean dinner together after a UMAT course we did. So I can't remember the exact names of these dishes. I know that the dish in the first photo consisted of pork and vegetables tossed in a spicy sauce. It was tasty but I don't think we'll be ordering again any time soon. The second dish was very well received by us! It consisted of battered and fried chicken pieces atop a bed of salad veggies, drizzled in a tangy lemon sauce. The chicken was crunchy and tasted so good with the lemon sauce. This has been probably our 4th or 5th time dining here at Koba, though probably not our favourite. I really don't know about the authenticity of these dishes - we usually have barbecued meats. I'd probably recommend this mainly for the barbecue option. Remember to order the garlic pork belly if you visit!

 Latté and salted caramel macaron

Ordered this while resting my feet after running a few errands in town and waiting for my sister to finish up.

From La Petit Macaron on the first floor in the David Jones building.

 Green Tea Matcha Latté

A huge group of us, both guys and girls, visited the Aviary on the evening of the 15th of February after our school formal at 11:30pm. I ordered this to start me off. I wanted something warm to drink because it was quite a cool evening for mid February. It was really powdery. I liked the flavour, just not the texture.

 Lychee Pearl

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

This was the special for February, I'm pretty sure, but I found that it's on the regular menu now. I loved the presentation of this as it reminded me of the Peter Gilmore's "Snow Egg". This was my first time at the Aviary and I'd set my expectations pretty high because I've heard so many great things about it. I really liked the idea of this dessert but it really let me down. The lychee ice cream didn't have a distinct lychee flavour, though I did like the pink guava granita surrounding it. But even the flavour of that was too subtle. The lychee jelly had the most strange texture and I really didn't like it so I didn't even bother finishing it. The custard was a bit disastrous - it was far too runny for a custard and just created a bit of a mess at the bottom of the glass. 

 Macarons which I took home and had the day after. I think the flavours were:

Lamington

Cookies and Cream

Salted Caramel

Chocolate

Jaffa

and I can't remember the final one!

They were delicious and the texture was just right. I'd recommend the macarons here, for sure!

From the Sneaky Pickle food truck at Fork on the Road in March.

Left: Tasting platter of fried pickles, pulled pork and coleslaw bun, and pastrami sandwich.

Right: Chilli cheese fries

I don't like pickles on their own or in burgers (pickles in Maccas' cheesburgers as a kid = nightmare!), but battered and dipped in that mayo is a whole other story. They were so delicious! Definitely give them a go if you ever encounter this truck. The pulled pork was very tender and tasty. I'm not a fan of coleslaw though, and there was HEAPSS of it! The pastrami sandwich was also quite tasty - I didn't love it though. The chilli cheese fries were so finger-licking good! I wish it was a bit more chilli, but I still liked it as it is. I believe this is only on the menu at special events, so dig in if you're given the opportunity!

 Citron

Fresh lemon callebaut mousse, light vanilla sponge, with raspberry centre and finished with white chocolate glaze

 Coffee & Bailey's

White chocolate mousse, fresh ground coffee mousse, sponge finger biscuits soaked with baileys and dark chocolate sponge.

One word for both cakes: HEAVENLY.

My family is obsessed with this place and we absolutely adore their cakes. They're consistently delicious and I can back that up - we've been customers for over 2 years now. I promise you, you won't be disappointed - definitely go and give them a go! Just steer clear of the macarons.... trust me.

And finally, some red velvet cupcakes which I baked and decorated for my sister's sweet 16th. I think I did a pretty good job :P

Hope you enjoyed the picture spam!

Much love,

Vy

xo