Parlour Burger, Sydney CBD

A few Fridays back, I ordered a burger and fries to go from Parlour Burger, an offshoot of the Morrison. The waitress mentioned that they offer a choice between medium and well-done patties. Not wanting to risk contracting salmonella, I opted for the latter. And so we waited. And waited.

20 minutes went by, and the people who had ordered before us were still waiting. They started to check on their orders, and we did the same. "Yes, it's coming" was the general response. Another 15 or so minutes later, our takeaway bags were passed to us. Nearly 40 minutes for a burger and fries.


"It's black! Why is your bun black?!" a friend exclaimed. All other reactions to the black widow burger were similarly incredulous. Thankfully the bun didn't taste like carbon, and the addition of charcoal seems to have purely enhanced the aesthetics/ novelty. The bun was quite fluffy inside, but otherwise fairly ordinary.

The burger was probably smaller than average, but I'm a small eater so it was filling to me. Chipotle mayo was creamy and lightly spicy, while the burger patty was... alright. It wasn't bad, but there were little nervy bits inside that required me to spit discreetly into the paper bag from time to time.

Was it worth waiting for? I don't really think so.

Black widow burger ($10.00)

Well done patty

The duck fat chips cost nearly as much as the burger. And there's not much. While the angle of the photo might enhance the minimalism of the chip numbers, it's actually quite an accurate portrayal. The chips were also quite limp, and being fried in duck fat as opposed to normal oil seems to have done little to the taste. Certainly not something I want to pay $8 for again.

Duck fat chips ($8.00)

I was really ticked off at the time, considering you can get a burger and chips with bigger portions from a food court almost instantly for less than $10.

Le Pub, Sydney CBD

When I visited Le Pub as part of a group of 5, I was expecting a set-up with more similarities to a Parisian bistro (the menu certainly consists of bistro food), but the DJ with doof-doof music operating under dim lighting reminded me of the Square Bar instead. I guess it's more lucrative to appeal to the drinkers on Friday nights, as evident from the empty tables in the half of Le Pub reserved for diners.

Our energetic waitress highly recommended the special of the day - the organic free range country chicken, leek, mushroom and tarragon pie served with truffled mashed potato. She also good-naturedly handled the barrage of questions asking whether she would pick the lamb or the pie, the chicken or the lamb, and so forth. Most of us chose the chicken pie - we were told that pie is one of Le Pub's specialties, along with the lamb. Someone cynically remarked that perhaps they'd made too many pies that day and were trying to push them off onto us. I'd had the same suspicions, but didn't want to voice them for fear of the truth...

One of my childhood friends exclaimed, "Who would pay $24 for a pie?!" He'd imagined those little frozen pies with the nervy beef filling that school children love buying at sports carnivals. Disgusting stuff. But no, these are pot pies served in ramekin dishes, with golden puff pastry wrapped over the top and a stew of meat and vegetables inside. Ours weren't the prettiest to look at, but the pastry tasted handmade and they were generous with the chicken inside. The truffled mashed potato was smooth, silky and buttery. If it contained a few potato clumps, it'd be just the way I like it. Sadly, most people have a phobia of lumps in their mash :(

Chicken pie ($24.00)

 

The childhood friend ordered the chicken - chicken breast on corn puree, with semolina frites and crispy jamon. I tried a chunk of it - tasty, crunchy, but a bit dry. 

Poulet ($25.00)

The other non-pie-eating friend received her lamb neck (with eggplant fritters, tomato dust, herb pistou and shaved cauliflower salad). She cut off a piece for me. The lamb could have been served alone and it would have been delicious. As a result of the long cooking (simmering?) process, it was cooked through entirely, yet tender and juicy. Lamb Eater must have sensed my food envy, as from time to time she muttered triumphantly that she'd made the right choice.

Collet d'Agneau ($26.00)

El Loco at Slip Inn, Sydney CBD

I was ecstatic to hear that there's an El Loco around Wynyard, as the one in Surry Hills is too far for post-work catch-ups. The downside? Food at Slip Inn is a tad pricier than at its Surry Hills counterpart.

It was a Friday night and I was worried we'd have a hard time finding a table - which was true to a certain extent. The interior was about 75% full, so our group of 5 could still locate a table that would accommodate us comfortably. Venture outside to the courtyard below, however, and it's absolutely swarming with people.

In protest of the higher prices, my companions refused to order the $6 tacos. Instead, they went with a torta each and shared a plate of ribs. As a self-professed germaphobe, I don't share food unless there are serving utensils. Since there were no such contraptions, I only split food with the boy, which was a highly offensive act apparently. "Our saliva isn't good enough for you?!" they cried indignantly.

There was an interesting selection of cocktails, which my eyes kept gravitating to. Eventually I requested a passionfruit batida, consisting of tequila, apple and lime juice, dollops of passionfruit and Agave syrup. To be honest, I was really keen to try something with Agave syrup, but I couldn't taste anything distinctly different. Upon its receipt, I felt a little let down by the fact it was served in a small plastic cup, though the generous amount of liquor inside made up for it (a little bit). It was fruity, sweet, refreshing and I just wish there was a tad more...

Passionfruit Batida ($14.50)

 Despite its humble appearance, the pork torta (a Mexican/ Spanish sandwich) was really satisfying. The pork filling tasted like it had been mixed in Vietnamese lemongrass marinade, while the bun was so so soft (bread snobs stay away - it's white bread, after all). The vegetable you see there is cabbage with mayo and pico de gallo (salsa). Considering I tend towards the diet of the carnivorous, they were pretty tolerable, but made it necessary to consume the bun swiftly before it turned sloppy.

Pork torta ($12.00)

 Not a frankfurter fan, but the quantity of cheese shaved on top of the hotdog added a fluffy texture. Other than that, it was pretty ordinary.

El loco hotdog ($10.00)

The chipotle mayo and jalapenos were what made the quesadillas so outstanding. That sauce was so good I spread the excess on my hotdog. It was a little spicy, so it took a lot of restraint pacing myself.

Chorizo quesadilla ($7.00)

For those curious about the lamb, here it is:

Rack of lamb ($26.00?)

It seemed to be hard to eat - using fingers was a messy task but knives and forks were cumbersome. Nevertheless, my friends felt pretty positive about it overall.

Coco Cubano, Crows Nest

A few weeks ago we went to the Crows Nest branch of Coco Cubano. As the name suggests, the theme is Cuban - they play Cuban music, sell Cuban cigars and make Cuban club sandwiches. The range of food on offer, however, is... well... distinctly pub-like. The ordering system is pretty pub-like too, as patrons are required to seat themselves and order/ pay at the counter. In the process, we nearly tripped over a gas canister that they just left between the counter and near the doorway (there were no more indoor tables so we sat outside).

It was our first time at the franchise, but I had fairly high hopes. Popular businesses are turned into franchises, yes? In turn, popular restaurants are popular because the food is good... right?

In this case, I think they're better known for their drinks and $9 tapas specials on weekdays. We were there on a Sunday, which meant that that particular special didn't kick in. When we saw how miserly the tapas portions are, we felt a little ticked off.

The size of the sangria jug somewhat made up for this shortcoming. Low in alcohol and full of oranges and lemonade, it was sweet and easy to down - even though there were only two of us.

Red sangria jug ($19 on Sundays)

First to be sampled was the calamari. It was a little tough, so we ended up popping each ball of calamari into our mouths rather than sawing them up into smaller pieces. The roasted garlic sauce added a little pop of zest - though it tasted more like tartar sauce.

Calamari ($12.90)

The serving of grilled chorizo with olives was the most disappointing for the boy. Firstly, it wasn't spicy. Secondly, there wasn't much of it. I ended up leaving most of it to him and eating the olives. One day I'll have to bring over a few packs of chorizos to kill off the craving for good (it's been festering for months now!!).

Grilled chorizo ($9.90)

Looking at the menu now, the mini beef tacos should have been served with salsa and guacamole. Where are my salsa and guacamole? :( They definitely needed some, as they were charred and dry.

Mini beef tacos ($10.90)

The potted prawns weren't bad, though I'm pretty sure potted prawns are meant to be served with a pudding-like, buttery spread. Here, they were slathered in romesco sauce (a pasty Spanish sauce consisting of almond and red capsicum).

Potted prawns ($13.90)

 Since 4 dishes weren't enough, we ordered a chorizo pizza. It was thin-crust with a whole heap of cheese and about one chunk of chorizo per slice. Not fantastic, but it killed off the hunger.

Chorizo pizza ($16.90)

Looking at the main meals that other patrons received, there's probably more bang for your buck (and tastebuds) there. Needless to say, I shan't return for tapas.

Hobart, Part I

Over the Easter long weekend, I abandoned all responsibility and escaped for a few days to Hobart, Tasmania. Although various people had tried to prepare me for the chill (and kept reminding me to pack warmly), I didn't quite believe them when they said it would be cold. I was also bemoaning the limited size of my sports bag, which was one third full when I threw in my towel - so regrettably I couldn't bring any of my fluffy marshmallow socks! Fortunately, I survived the biting cold, strong winds, and occasional rain, thanks to my favourite woollen winter coat and trusted scarlet umbrella.

Mures Lower Deck

Arriving in Hobart on a public holiday meant that no retailers were open and that our food choices were limited. As it took longer than expected sorting out the car rental, it was way past lunch time and we were starving. This meant finding food was our number one priority, which was quite an arduous task, what with interpreting the GPS's garbled messages and navigating through the various one-way roads. We happened to come across the 200-over-year-old Victoria Dock, home to numerous fishing boats and fish and chip vendors that were actually feeding the hungry.

My full bladder demanded that we eat somewhere with indoor plumbing, so we retreated into Mures Lower Deck, a cafeteria style eatery with a fancier component on the upper deck. Mures Lower Deck is family and group friendly, with large tables, stuffed toy souvenirs, and ice cream for the kids. As a random note, I thought the water dispensers were peculiarly sophisticated, with chilled and room temperature options.

Furniture!

 Ordering is at the counter and they give you a buzzer, just like in a food court. I won't elaborate too much on the food - it's standard fish and chips, except pretty fresh. Also, I was ravenous at the time and all I remember was devouring my share in an absolute frenzy.

Fisherman's basket: $14.90 (snack), $19.90 (meal)

Breadcrumbed scallops: $11.90 (snack)

Greek salad: $7.90 (small)

Battered fish: $14.90 (2 pieces)

Shark/ fish heads and stuffed animals.

Next on our agenda was grocery shopping! With technology what it is, we whipped out Google Maps and looked up our nearest Woolies, which was an easy 10 minutes' walk from Victoria Dock. Having paid for 2 hours of parking, we had plenty of time to walk over to Woolies to pick up a few necessities and walk back.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

 It was evening by the time we settled into our temporary home and we figured there was time to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. We decided on the botanical gardens, as its website stated that it's open all year round. Being the last day of March, we were fortunate enough to have until 6.30pm instead of 5.30pm to look around. I have to say that the gardens were pretty impressive. Though smaller than Sydney's botanic gardens, each exhibit was carefully designed to suit a particular theme. I also really appreciated the considerable variety of plants and flowers. Sadly, I didn't get to see the whole garden because we ran out of time, but there was an arbour of rose plants that reminded me of smaller scale European gardens.

Entry fee: Gold coin donations

Opening hours: 8am to 5.00pm, 5.30pm or 6.30pm, depending on the time of the year

Time spent: approximately 2 hours (you could spend half a day there easily)

 

  Prince of Wales Hotel

 We decided to head to Battery Point for dinner, which was interesting to look at as a suburb. The houses were cottage-style and had so much character. Battery Point also had a vintage-looking independent petrol station and a convenience store that charged exorbitant amounts for their biscuits.

Cool petrol station!

Prince of Wales Hotel (I keep nearly typing out the word hospital) is located on 55 Hampden Road. The restaurant is located further inside, past the area with locals on bar stools catching up with each other on beers.

I ordered a whole-baked rainbow trout stuffed with herbs and lemon. It came with a side of mango salad and thinly sliced rosemary potatoes. I was actually not expecting much from this meal - simple but hearty pub food, perhaps, but nothing that tasted as good as what was actually served.

The trout was pretty bony, but the flesh flaked off easily, and it was quite easy to avoid any unpleasant stabs to the mouth as long as you avoided the head of the fish. They added just the right amount of lemon to the stuffing inside - a good amount of acidity to kill any fishiness, but not so much as to make you pucker your lips in distaste.

The rosemary potatoes were sliced thinly as if in a gratin, but baked until golden and crunchy. The mango salad was moist from the generosity of the dressing, and it tasted light and tangy from the mixture of mango, spinach leaves, capsicum and french onion.

Rainbow trout ($22.50)

Below is what my travel companions had:

Seafood chowder

The seafood chowder came out burnt (you could smell it from across the table), but they replaced it without a fuss. The garlic bread was lovely and soft.

Cheese platter

 The calamari came drizzled in coriander and lime aioli and served with vegetables.

Panko rubbed calamari

Tasmanian scotch fillet steak