House @ Elizabeth Street, Sydney

As promised, the much anticipated BTS (Better than Sex) dessert at House.. a short distance away from Chat Thai.

Totally loved the very open concept over here..

I could even have a peep and observe what the chefs were up to!

The BTS can be located at the dessert section.. While it does seem quite pricey for a piece of bread and ice cream, it is, and i can totally vouch for this, totally worth it!

Presenting the long awaited BTS.

Words truly don't do justice to this glorious piece of processed flour but I'll give it a go! Honestly, the photo and its appearance are a poor reflection of a truly sensational dish. The buttery-ness of the toasted broiche, contrasting the saltiness and nutiness of the black/white toasted sesame seeds.. perfectly matched with the sweetness of the caramel sauce accompanied with a smooth and well balanced pandan Thai gelato.

What can I say, this dish blew me away, never knew bread could taste this good. The expressions on the guys' faces were priceless, let's just say they had the look of satisfaction. haha. =)

My new (8/12) year old resolution - I am going to recreate this dish at home. As the saying goes - the way to a guy's heart is via the stomach right? Wish me luck!

Note: House usually serves the Pandan gelato on the broiche itself. I requested it to be served separately, they were kind enough to comply!

Ratings: 

Ambience: 7/10

Price: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Food: 7/10

Overall ratings: 7/10

Verdict: I can only rate the BTS dessert, and it's a 99.99 out of 100! Actually, I shouldn't get your hopes up too high. Probably a score of 80 is safer. Anyway, just my humble opinion! Taste it and let me know what you think!

Address: 202 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW

Contact Number: 02 9280 0364

Opening Hours: Daily 12 pm - 2 am

Chat Thai Thai town@ Campbell Street, Sydney

This place is a must go whenever I visit Sydney... Thai cuisine is something I fancy, excluding Korean of course.

My friends and I headed to this place on a wet, windy Sydney afternoon for an early lunch... and thank goodness we were early, because within a short span of time,  the restaurant was filled to the brim with a queue spanning 200 metres or so. (okok, I am exaggerating, but I am sure you get my point!)

The interior of the restaurant was well decorated, quite artistic, cosy and dark.. not very conducive for photo taking, but great for a meal.

However, one thing that I wasn't exactly happy about was how close my table was to the next table! I practically could hear what my close neighbours were saying. I wasn't eaves dropping, I promise!

The lunch menu. There's salads, wok tossed meals, curries, noodles, one pot wonders etc. very extensive.

Kana Mhu Grob. Translation: Stir Fried Chinese Kale with Crispy Pork Belly. Let's just say, I LIKE IT. Tasty, crispy, and fresh. The boys loved the meat the most. In their opinion, too much VEGETABLE, where's the meat ? ;P

Kana Mhu Grob

A mistake we made, was to order two wok fried dishes. Emerald duck - Stir Fried Five Spice Duck with seasonal greens.

When the dish first came out, it looked exactly like the pork dish before.. I didn't take a photo of it, as the duck meat was hidden as well. I preferred the Pork dish.

Having said that, the duck dish was well prepared, wasn't overwhelmed with five spice powder, with just the hint of spices in it.

My favourite dish of the hour, PADT THAI (stir fried thin rice noodles with chicken, dried shrimps, bean sprouts, garlic, chives etc, served with peanuts on top and lemon on the side). The ingredients were fresh, with the crunch and saltiness of the peanuts, contrasting the tangy -ness of the lemon, and the sweetness of the vegetables and sauce. Literally every table has this dish. most popular dish by a mile. Definitely a crowd pleaser this one.

Padt Thai

 For a meat-ier dish, try the fried chicken! It tastes way better than KFC, it's definitely worthy to be called finger licking good! The batter was crispy, tasty.. and the chicken - well done (not overcooked).

Didn't think this dish screamed Thai though! Probably, if the batter had an added spice like chilli or the sauce spicier. A good dish nonetheless.

Fried Chicken

I really wanted to try the desserts at this place! However, my friend from Sydney wanted to take us to another place for what he claims has the BEST DESSERT EVER!

I was quite reluctant to leave this place without having tried their selection of Thai dessert available, but I had to being the only girl and outvoted by 3 - 1. Majority wins right?  The dessert went by the name of BTS.. which according to the Sydney friend means Better than SEX. So yea.. boys being boys.

We left for another food adventure. Interested in knowing what it is?? Stay tuned!

Note: Prices of dish ranges between AUD 10 to AUD 20.

Ratings: 

Ambience: 8/10

Price: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Food: 9/10

Overall ratings: 8.5/10

Verdict: LOVE LOVE LOVE. Definitely be prepared to queue for a place here especially at peak hours! Just indulge yourself when you are at this place. Definitely affordable for lunch although it's more expensive than a bowl of Pho! But definitely worth it!

Address: 20 Campbell St, Haymarket, NSW 2000

Contact Number: (02) 9211 1808

Opening Hours: Monday - Sunday 10 am - 1 am

Hong Kong Noodle House @ Wisma Saberkas, Kuching

I remember always frequenting this place back in the good old days. However, due to the numerous shopping complexes sprouting around the Kuching city, this place took a bit of a backseat. Its been a while since I've been here, almost 10 years.

That's a pretty long time right? We didn't even know what an iPad was at that time..

Anyway, that's also how long I haven't met my primary school class mates, and for old times sake, we went to visit this restaurant. Surprisingly, the place was still buzzing with lots of customers.

Ordered the usual. Roasted whole duck.

Roasted Whole Duck (RM 35)

Honestly, I had high expectations for this dish, I used to think that it tasted SO GOOD.  Although not great, It was alright. Would have loved it if the duck skin was crispier though!

Next up, Ipoh curry fish. Tastes way better than it looks. Surprisingly tasty, the sauce goes so well with rice. I had to consciously stop myself from going for more SAUCE. However, a downside lies in the freshness of the fish. If only it was fresher. I guess you can't expect a perfect dish for RM 25.

Ipoh Curry Fish in Pot (RM 25 big)

Fried Ma Ni Cai

Ordered a fried pork dish as well, nothing fantastic but definitely palatable, no individual photo included.

I really hope this place will continue to live on even though I am unsure when my next visit will be. With my growing tastebuds and demand for high quality food, my favourite childhood place no longer tastes the same.

However, I really wish this restaurant the best!

Now, what is your favourite childhood cafe/restaurant? Do share!

Ratings: 

Ambience: 6/10

Price: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Food: 6/10

Overall ratings: 6.5/10

Verdict: This restaurant can get pretty noisy especially due to tiled floors. However, a relatively good place for just a nice simple lunch.

Blackbird Cafe @ Bright, Victoria

My family and I took a trip to Bright having heard many things about this place. Indeed, the place didn't disappoint. The surroundings were so serene, the scenery a beautiful landscape. We stopped at various lookout points to just savour the glorious scenes.

After driving for hours to get to this place (from Melbourne), our tummies were rumbling. We stopped by the city center to grab a bite and we found this place - Blackbird.

Upon walking in, we were greeted by a friendly waitress who proceeded to guide us to the table and sat us down at a corner that allowed us to enjoy the picture perfect display it has to offer.

Absolutely love the 3D art shown above and the lone bicycle depicted below.

For drinks, we had an iced chocolate (extremely sinful), hot lemon water (great for detox) and a cappuccino. The coffee was good (according to my dad who loves coffee). I on the other hand, can't tell between a good cuppa and a bad one.

We ordered the specialty of the day - some sort of lamb pastry (do forgive me as I totally forgot the name of the dish), but trust me, the dish taste better than it sounds/looks.  The pastry was flaky and buttery, accompanied with the minty sour cream and hot salsa on the side, its definitely a WOW-er.

Absolutely love the salad on the side as well, fresh and plenty. Well balanced with seasoning, and coated with just the right amount of olive oil. Delish.

Lamb Pastry

Next up, fluffy pancakes with berry coulis and vanilla ice cream. Giant serves. Great for carb loading and to share among 2 - 3 people. Completely stuffed after finishing it!

Pancakes

Overall, a lovely place to just relax and have a quick simple bite.

Ratings: 

Ambience: 7/10

Price: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Food: 7/10

Overall ratings: 7.5/10

Verdict: I won't say it's the best cafe around. Nonetheless, the food was satisfying and definitely worth a try! I couldn't take note of the individual prices this time, but total bill was approximately AUD 37.

Address: 95 Gavan Street, Bright VIC 3741

Contact No: (03) 5750 1838