Mister Sunshine's

Wanting to try somewhere new for brunch outside the CBD, my friend and I headed over to Mister Sunshine's in Thebarton after trawling through Instagram on the hunt for something different. Parking was an absolute pain, but we managed to find a park a few streets away. Making our way over, we noticed there was outdoor seating but it was far too cold that day, so we sat inside amidst the mismatched chairs and tables. It was absolutely packed that day, with people dining in as well as people popping in for takeaway coffee and lunch. 

Hot Choc Coconut $4.50

Warm, creamy and comforting. Perfect on a cold day!

French toast $13

Served with plum compote, vanilla labne and pistaccio

Looks delightful but unfortunately I found it very unsatisfying. The french toast itself was quite bland and all I could taste was the egg. A bit of sugar or vanilla would have improved it. The plum compote was the most flavourful thing on the plate, with the plums not too soft and having just the right amount of sweetness. The sauce which I assume came from the compote didn't have a distinct taste, if anything it tasted a little burnt. A promising dish but note quite what I was expecting. 

Smashed pumpkin with poached eggs $17

On toasted rye with feta, toasted seeds, rocket and almond and almonds

No complaints from J over this dish! It looked great (100% instagrammable) and she really enjoyed it.

Although my french toast was a bit of a let down, everything else was fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to return for more of the menu, as well as the delicious-looking bakery items by the counter! The service was absolutely lovely and the atmosphere was also great, definitely a great location for a casual meal or catch up over coffee.

 

Republic

University has scattered my group of high school friends far and wide, so it's quite rare to have the majority of us simultaneously back in little old Adelaide! Clearly this required a little reunion, which we organised for a lunch at Republic.

Wedges $8

 Republic Southern fried chicken $22

Spiced Semolina Crusted Squid $21

 Battered Barramundi $24

 Top, Lamb Wrap $18

All the food was quite standard, although the serving sizes were great, considering we also had a 25% discount having dined in on a week day (all prices listed are the prices on the menu). Special mention to that Southern fried chicken which had some beautiful spices in the batter. Service was rather unfriendly and cold, even though there was only one other table there at the time. Smiling doesn't hurt!

 

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!

 

Tony Tomatoes

Tony Tomatoes is a place I've driven past constantly since it opened but never really thought to visit. 

Sicilian olives 

Guizy woozy $9

Cranberry juice, blood orange, lime, soda

I decided to lay off the alcohol tonight and opted for a mocktail. Great combination of fresh flavours, however it was a touch sweet for my personal preferences.

Radicchio Arancini $8.50 (2)

Red radicchio, red onion & smoked scarmorza cheese risotto balls

Nothing spectacular here. Good flavours and textures, we loved the crunchy outer layer!

Italian fish & chips $14.50

Fried squid & zucchini

Perfect for nibbling on while we waited for our pizza. Zucchini is one of my favourite vegetables so I couldn't complain about this one! The thin, crispy batter surrounding everything gave just the right amount of crunch and it was perfectly seasoned.

Contadino pizza $24.90

Mozzarella, mushroom quartet, truffle paste, fresh prosciutto, fresh basil

The only major thing we struggled with here was how the prosciutto was placed on the pizza! Apart from that, the base was thin and crispy, just how I like it and the combination of flavours was difficult to fault. Although, something fresh to cut through all the salty flavours would have been welcome.

Not bad for a first impression, although there wasn't anything that made me add it to the top of my list of places to revisit. I noticed a steady stream of customers coming in for take away pizzas, so it must be popular for lazy nights in. 

 

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.