Tan Nhu Y

My little brother was running around the house telling everyone that he wanted pho for lunch, so Mum and I took him to Tan Nhu Y! 

Disclaimer: The family of my best friend from primary school owns this restaurant, however I assure you that this will not affect any of my thoughts on the restaurant.

On the day we visited, there was a function going on so the restaurant was very busy and packed. The service was still great in that the waiters and waitresses were all very friendly and helpful, especially the owner Hang, but the food was a little slow coming out which I think was understandable. 

Small Pho $10.00

HUGE serving for a small - mum and Vinny shared it but they couldn't finish it! Both mum and I thought that it was lacking the richness in flavour compared to other places we've been to. Not the best we've ever had, but I've heard other people raving about it. Maybe it was just bad luck?

Small Combination Broken Rice $10

I wasn't in the mood for pho so I decided on the combination broken rice. There was a huge mound of rice topped with a variety of different proteins, as well as fresh and pickled vegetables. My favourite was definitely the grilled pork. My little brother loved it so much that he kept picking it off my plate, along with the roast pork and cucumber (he just enjoys stealing my food). This wasn't necessarily a bad thing because I couldn't finish it! Tan Nhu Y is definitely one of my favourite places for this dish. 

Hang caught my brother stealing the grilled pork of my plate a number of times, so she sent out a complimentary plate of just the pork. Great service or what? She's such a lovely person and is well known for her fantastic people skills!

Avocado Smoothie

My little brother ordered this for himself and dug in as soon as it arrived at the table. It was very thick, creamy and perfectly sweet, just how I like it!

Jackfruit Smoothie

I adore fresh jackfruit and this smoothie is just as great! On this occasion, it was a little thin for my liking and but still had the sweetness and delicious flavour of jackfruit.

Occasionally, my family and I also like ordering takeaway from here whenever we're having a bit of a lazy evening and want to take a break. Some of our favourites are the Sweet and Sour Pork, Salt and Pepper Squid (great to have with a beer), Szechuan Beef and Salt and Pepper flounder.

Tan Nhu Y is one of our family's preferred places for a quick lunch or takeaway for dinner, and the service here is always great. I am not biased at all when I say that I would recommend it!

Overall, 8.5/10

Vy

xo

East Terrace Continental

Having my Ps, and being up early on a Saturday morning meant that my friends and I were able to grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast before beginning an intense study session!

On the adjacent wall to the right of this, kids movies were being projected. During our breakfast, we were able to watch a bit of 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'!

 The food came out approximately 10 minutes after ordering. Quite speedy service for a busy Saturday morning!

 Soft Poached Eggs $13.60

with prosciutto, spinach and Hollandaise sauce with a drizzle of napolitana sauce on wood oven toast

+ Extra spinach $3.80

This was my choice for breakfast after deliberating over whether I should pick something sweet or savoury. I love poached eggs so I couldn't say no to this. It was obviously way too early in the morning because I accidentally ordered extra spinach thinking that there wasn't any with the dish. Oops! Can't say no to some extra nutrients though! 

The eggs were perfectly poached, with the yolks just holding together, only to burst onto the perfectly toasted piece of bread with a poke of my knife. I think the Hollandaise was lacking a bit of its distinctive tanginess, but that would be the only fault. 

Eggs Benedict $12.60

with leg ham, tomato and Hollandaise sauce on an english muffin

 Chill Bar $13.90

traditional Turkish breakfast of poached eggs atop warmed garlic yoghurt, drizzled with paprika butter served with sauteed mushrooms and warm Turkish bread

The garlic yoghurt and paprika butter sounded very interesting. I might have to order this the next time I visit!

 Celery, apple and pineapple juice $6.50

I ordered this to accompany my breakfast and it was SO good! I often juice fruits and vegetables at home and this is one of my favourite combinations. 

Banana smoothie $6.50

East Terrace Continental definitely left a good first impression. Delicious food, great value and service - definitely a fantastic start to my morning! I'm sure I'll be back soon. This would also be a nice place to bring younger children because it has a very casual atmosphere and is child friendly, and they'll be kept entertained with the movies on the wall.

Overall, 9/10. 

Vy

xo

 

Wasai Japanese Kitchen and Mother's Crepes

As a belated post UMAT celebration, a small group of us went out for dinner at Wasai on the weekend.

I had my expectations set quite high because I've heard such great things and most people seem to adore it.

Since I made the booking the day before, they were able to squeeze us in at 6pm but asked that we leave by 7:30pm. I was a bit worried that we would be rushed through our meal, but they assured me that the service would be very fast and we would have plenty of time to eat. I didn't think they actually meant it, but it was completely true! Within about 5 minutes of ordering, our food had arrived.

 Lemon & Lime Bitters $4

Hot Japanese Green Tea $2.20

We decided to get two drinks each. I am a tea lover and I really enjoyed the green tea!

 Deluxe Sushi and Sashimi Boat $58

I'm not a huge fan of sashimi and usually have little or none of it when given the option. However, we settled on this so that we could try as much as possible. I thought the sushi to sashimi ratio was a bit off, though. In my opinion, there should be a bit more sushi! The sushi that was on the boat was delicious, and I can't help but wish that there was more of it. I had no idea how to judge the sashimi since I don't usually eat it, but my friends seemed to enjoy it. We ended up leaving quite a bit of the sashimi, though.

 Takoyaki $8

We loved this! They were really light and fluffy on the inside with a very slightly crispy outer layer. I definitely would've liked a little bit more octupus in it, though.

Aburi Salmon Roll $11.50

I'm really glad we ordered this. It was delicious and I definitely recommend ordering it if you ever visit!

I know that we will definitely be returning to Wasai in the future. The waiters and waitresses were very friendly and the food was fantastic! However, next time I think we might stick to more sushi and less sashimi, and maybe even try out some things on their dessert menu. This is a place I would recommend and I can see what all the hype is about!

Overall, 9/10.

Our tummies weren't quite full so we decided to walk to Mother's Crepes on Grote Street for a bit of dessert. 

 Strawberry Brownie Crepe $6.20

Initially, I asked for this with ice cream instead of whipped cream but they said they were unable to do that. I was surprised because they have a whole section of ice cream filled crepes on their menu and I honestly wouldn't have minded paying an extra dollar or so. I ended up just asking for no whip cream at all. Firstly, what surprised me was the amount of custard in this. The ratio between the custard and everything else was seriously off. I did manage to finish it but it made me SO full! 

Small Black Sesame Ice Cream $2.80

A good friend of mine was raving about this and she'd had it twice in three days, and insisted that I try it! We shared this between us since each of us had a crepe, but we all loved it. It had a really nice nutty flavour and the perfect amount of sweetness. It might not look as appetising as the other options, but I definitely recommend trying it!

The service that night was great since it wasn't too busy when we were there. I have seen it really busy and the wait for a crepe would be approximately 5 minutes. Based solely on the experience I had that night, I would give it an 8/10.

Have a great week everyone!

Vy

xo

Red Door Bakery [2]

Hi everyone,

Today, I paid a very brief visit to the Red Door Bakery. It was pouring outside and very packed inside!
This was my second visit and I already had in mind what I wanted to try; a salted caramel brick. My sister's friend knows I love salted caramel and recommended that I try one the next time I visit.

 Salted Caramel Bricks $4.50 each

Creme Brulee Tarts $4.50 each

I ended up picking these up for myself and my family.

[Read my thoughts on the creme brulee tarts here.]

I would probably describe this as a rich, decadent, chocolate-y brownie filled with delicious salted caramel, topped with a layer of chocolate and sprinkled with salt. I love the fact that the salted caramel is perfectly salty, and that it oozes out of the 'brick' once you take a bite. Everything just works so well together, and I definitely recommend you give it a go if you're a salted caramel fanatic like myself!

This is definitely a place worth the hype, and if you've been needing a bit of a nudge to go and visit, this is it! I still need to try more of their goodies, but what I've had already has been delicious. I know for sure that I'll have to visit some time for a coffee. The people who work there are always really lovely, too!

Overall, 9/10

Vy

xo

Update + The Mac Factory

Hi everyone!

I'm very sorry for the lack of posts lately. Today I wanted to post a quick update of my life and what I've been up to since my last post.

Firstly, I'll give a quick mention to a place where I'd recommend you all visit if you haven't already and are a huge lover of macarons!

We were there on a Saturday afternoon so I think they were beginning to run low on macarons!

Left: 

Bottom layer

2 x Peppermint

2 x Salted Caramel

1 x Strawberries and Cream

1 x Espresso

Top layer

1 x Raspberry

1 x Jaffa 

Right:

1 x Strawberries and Cream

1 x Espresso

1 x Pistachio

The macarons here are ALWAYS on point. The texture is consistent every time I visit; chewy with the slightest crunch from the shells. The fillings are always deliciously flavoured and not too sweet. I've also ordered a macaron tower from here for my 17th birthday (below), and every single macaron was delicious! 

Sorry for the dodgy cropping - I was trying to conceal my friend's identity! 

This is probably my favourite place for macarons in Adelaide. I highly recommend it!

Now, back to my update! Unfortunately, I simply have not had the time to go out since school began again. I'm sure most of you would understand that Term 3 of a year 12's school year is quite possibly the most hectic and demanding term of all. Even after a three week break, I still didn't feel as though I was ready to go back. There was just so much work that had to be done, as well as plenty of new assignments/tests that were coming our way within the next few weeks.

There was also the UMAT to study for, which I did yesterday afternoon. They're not kidding when they say that it is the most stressful and difficult exam you might ever do. I am extremely glad that I decided to do a UMAT preparation course at the beginning of the year, because the practice really helped and I don't think I'd be as calm as I was yesterday without having completed it. For aspiring doctors/dentists/optometrists, I definitely recommend doing some form of UMAT preparation beforehand. In my opinion, it is not something that you should attempt without a prior knowledge of the types of questions and how to go about solving them. Also, for the lucky 2013 candidates, ACER decided to change the layout go the entire exam a few months before the test date! I'm so glad that it's over now and I don't have to think about it again until September, when we receive our results. As some of you may know, I'm aiming to study Optometry next year, so the UMAT is quite important to me! Another option I have been considering is to study Medicine and specialise in Opthalmology. However this route is 3 times longer than Optometry, which is slightly off putting!

In the second weekend of the holidays, I also had a driving test and I'm now a P-plater! I was, and still am, super excited about being able to drive on my own, though I must admit I was terrified while taking the test! It all went smoothly so I'm very happy. This is definitely a rite of passage for me, since now I have much more freedom because I don't have to rely on my parents to drive me around and they trust me to drive on my own.

Something I did in the last week of the holidays was study in a place with is different to my usual study environment. Since I was able to drive, I studied in town with one of my friends. We took the last hour off from studying and I drove us to the Mac Factory, one of our favourite places (see beginning of post)! We bought a selection of macarons, nearly all of which disappeared within the hour. We also wandered around in Chinatown for a while before going home. I think what was so significant about this was that we rarely get a chance to completely relax and do completely unplanned things, so it was great!

Now that August has arrived, I'm bracing myself for a month of birthdays! Today, my friend of 8 years turned 18 (Happy birthday J!). I also have my mum's birthday as well as a whole bunch of 18th birthdays to look forward to. So exciting!

Also, I think the countdown to the end of year 12 has now hit 10 school weeks... It's such a scary, yet exciting thought that my schooling life will be coming to an end so coon. Everything I've known for the past 13 years will be wrapping up in just a few months! However, I'm SO excited for uni life as well as the freedom that will come with it.

So that's it for my update - I don't want to bore you with any more details regarding my schooling!
I'll have a review or two up by early next week so stay tuned :)

Much love,

Vy
xo

Citi Zen [2]

Hi everyone,

Very recently, my sister, childhood friends and I decided to satisfy our yum cha cravings over lunch at Citi Zen!

My favourite piece of decor in the restaurant!

 Prawn Dim Sim (Har Gao)

Delicious as usual!

 Prawn and Scallop Dumpling

 Steamed Prawn Rice Roll

We loved this so much, we actually ended up ordering 3 plates!

 Savoury Dough Rice Roll

One of my recently discovered favourites. The extra crunchy savoury dough tastes so good with the soy and thin rice sheets.

 Fried Prawn Roll

Basically crunchy, fried bean curd filled with prawns, topped with a tangy, sweet sauce. It was the first time I had this and it was delicious!

 Steamed Stuffed Tofu

The tofu was really bland but I did like the prawn stuffing. 

Chinese Radish Cake

Just like in my last review here, these were rather disappointing again in terms of texture.

 Salt & Pepper Squid Tentacles

The first thing that arrived on our table and we devoured them! Great as per usual - crunchy, well seasoned and piping hot. 

Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce

I usually choose to not order this (I'm rather squeamish) but one of my friends insisted that we order it, then forced me to eat some! I could only manage one bite of it, but I do like the flavour of the black bean sauce and how it soaked into the feet. Personally, I just can't stand the texture of it, but I know some people love it! It's rather slippery and slightly crunchy (?). 

Today, we decided to skip the mango pudding because we were going to visit a new cafe afterwards.

Another great visit to Citi Zen! The food was delicious as usual and arrived at our table very quickly after placing our orders. The service was the same - it was difficult to get the waiters and waitresses' attention, even though it wasn't a particularly busy day. However, when we did get their attention, they were friendly and quickly attended to our needs.

Overall, 8.5/10.

Vy

xo

St Louis' House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert

Hi everyone!

On a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, some friends and I decided to visit St Louis with the intention of trying out their churros and ice cream. It's situated on the east end of Gouger Street, close to Victoria's Square. 

St Louis offers outdoor as well as indoor seating. We took advantage of the lovely, sunny weather and chose to sit outside. 

The simple colours of in the interior gave the place a very sleek and polished look. I also like the look of the shelf up high with all the wine glasses, teacups and books etc. because it adds interest to the decor.

Baked goods on the counter

Doesn't that look delicious!

Churros for two with milk and dark chocolate ~$14 (from memory)

I'm disappointed to report that these are definitely not the best churros in Adelaide. It seems like nothing I've had so far can beat the churros from ChurrOz! They were very large but not fluffy on the inside, making them a bit difficult to eat because they were so doughy. They tasted extra rich dipped in chocolate, so we got sick of it eventually. 

One scoop of chocolate mint in a cone $5

My sister had this and she loved it!

One scoop of salted caramel in a sundae cup $4.20

I'm a salted caramel fiend so I couldn't say no when I saw this! However it tasted like plain caramel so I was a little disappointed. Nonetheless, it was very rich, creamy and smooth. 

One scoop of cookies and cream in a sundae cup $4.20

Two of my friends had this and they really enjoyed it!

I wish I could say that I love this place, but I can't... yet. I think I might have to return and try some of their desserts and drinks. So far, I definitely love the ice-cream and would recommend that, but I wouldn't order the churros again. The service was a little slow I think, considering the four of us had had to wait around 25-30 minutes for the serve of churros and 4 scoops of ice-cream, but the staff were super friendly! 

Overall, 8/10.

Vy

xo