Koko Black (Chocolate Cafe)

Address: Shop 4, Royal Arcade, 335 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9639 8911

Website: http://www.kokoblack.com/

What you must have here is the Iced Chocolate drink - I accidently drank into my co-fatty's Iced Chocolate (I ordered Iced Mocha) and I thought I was in heaven. It is pure bliss, a more bitter derivation because this brand likes to use dark chocolate (hence I thought it was an Iced Mocha), but dense and mysterious. The chocolate flakes give it a fun texture, and the scoop of chocolate AND vanilla icecream give it a sweet offset.

In saying that, the bitterness of the Iced Mocha was a good setup for the Belgian Spoil (pictured below). From right to left: The chocolate icecream (size of golfball) was magical and really held that cocoa bean flavour, the chocolate mousse dusted with caramelised nuts was absolutely sensational (and perfectly sized so I don't tip over the edge), shortbread was overly buttery but not sweet, chocolate cake was doughy - almost like a Subway cookie, and I didnt get as far as the chocolates because by that stage I was ready to regurgitate lunch & dessert.

Below: I dream of this "Wild strawberry ice cream martini with Sienna Strawberry ganache and chocolate garnish". It is some gangsta strawberry icecream - extremely fruity and tangy, beautifully presented and the chocolate sauce is liquerish & semi-bitter to offset the sweetness of the icecream perfectly.


Highly recommended for the real connoisseur's of dark chocolate - a definite place to revisit time & time again for that chocolate fix!

Oriental Tea House (Melbourne)

Address: 455 Chapel St, South Yarra (Melbourne) VIC 3141
Tel: (03) 9826 0168
Website: www.orientalteahouse.com.au

It was a stinking hot summer day in Melbourne, and while out shopping hard - I needed a refresher. Being a huge fan of specialist tea boutiques and being stuck out in the middle of Chapel St, this was a viable option. As pictured above, it is part retail story, part teahouse.

A stinking hot day calls for a cold, refreshing drink. Pictured below is the Peach Melba Iced Tea - a fluffy peach flavour with an almost caramel aftertaste - like an icecream indulgence without the fat.

Pictured below: Raspberry & Lime Iced Tea - great introduction to tea for people who don't like the bitterness usually associated with tea, more like a cordial than tea this one.

Was also starving and wanted to avoid the hustle-bustle of the yum cha happening on the other side of the shop so opted for a la carte yum cha items. I don't even know half the things in this bamboo basket or that this number of dim sims existed but this was the 9-piece I believe.


Below: This is the honey pepper steak - at first I couldn't put my finger on where the taste was familiar but then it occured to me - Honey baked ham Kettle Chips! It tasted exactly like that!

The texture was tender and flavour intense... just kind of freaky that it tasted so much like the potato chip flavour...

BCD Tofu House (Korean)

Address:74-76 Rawson St, Epping NSW 2121
Phone: (02) 9868 4300

Opening hours:
12pm-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Sunday 5pm-10pm

This is Koreatown's best kept secret - I first tried BCD tofu house about 5 years ago, then it closed down and apparently moved (although I didn't try looking for it). Someone more in the loop than me found it reopened in the suburb of Epping (used to be located in Surry Hills).

Most Korean restaurants will serve some deviation of a kim chi / spicy soup. This place specialises in it - with silken tofu of course (healthy!)


With any true Korean meal, it starts off with a series of cold entrees - clockwise from left in above picture: spinach, cold raw spicy crab (wierd but cool - try it!), fresh kim chi (the whole stalk, my fave kim chi to date), some dried peppers, bean sprouts.

Below: Tofu soup with mushrooms - crack the raw egg in the soup to give it extra density & texture, or leave the egg whole in the soup and it will cook (like a boiled egg). The taste is quite balanced, I have had some soups where they are over garlic-y, or too salty or too watery. It is spicy though so if you can't take a bit of heat, maybe opt for the a la carte main dishes.


You can have your tofu soup served with plain white rice or this special rice as pictured below. It really is special - sweet in flavour and seasoned with nuts, beans and some brown rice. Very hearty.


I was a greedy fatty and ordered a combination set with soup, special rice and this main dish you see below. That is BBQ ribs - usually a very nice meat dish however in this case I got about 2 halves of a rib, with most of it being inedible sinew. Stick with the bulgogi or teriyaki chicken next time to get your money's worth.


This is an enjoyable dining experience, at a great price for the authenticity and variety that you get.

Bite Me Burger Co.

Address: Shop R4 Harbour Walk, Star City Casino, 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont NSW
(next door to Paddy Maguires)

Tel: (02) 9518 6477

Website: http://www.bitemeburgerco.com/

You really can’t miss the red neon sign blaring so bright even my camera couldn’t capture the text clearly. The whole shop front is gimmicky – they sell clothes and have wierd punk style mannequins inside. Each table is laden with a piece of white drawing paper and some crayons to unleash the inner child. Marketing is done very well here and the catchy use of “me” is predominant (see picture below of the serviette).

This place is more a novelty than anything else – but be prepared for a hearty meal.

A less healthy and possibly more gourmet than Grill’d (another fantastic burger institution), Bite Me places an emphasis on being able to try everything at least once. Hence their concept of marketing the “mini-burger” – a bite-sized version of every full-sized burger on their menu.

A full-sized burger like the GREAT AUSTRALIAN BITE™ (as pictured above) – “Grain-fed Australian beef stacked with sautéed onions, vine-ripened tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, beetroot & your choice of tomato ketchup or Bite Me BBQ sauce”.

For the greedy and more adventurous, I went the 4 minibites:

LAMBTASTIC™

A luscious lamb burger flavoured with mint, cumin & olives; rocket, cucumber, grilled red capsicum, grilled haloumi cheese & Greek yoghurt on a Turkish roll

VEGETARI ANNE

Delicious lentil patty, grilled capsicum, haloumi cheese, chermoulah & rocket served with Greek yoghurt

BLOODY MARY

Grain-fed beef burger flavoured with vodka, horseradish, onion, tomato & parsley, smothered in our secret recipe Bloody Mary sauce (including vodka, Worchestershire, Tobasco & tomato) served with cos lettuce

JACK DANIELS

Grain-fed beef, iceberg lettuce, tomato, bacon & onions with Monterey Jack cheese & our own rich, spicy Jack Daniels sauce

My favourite was actually the lamb (I thought the white Turkish roll and herbed lamb patty was a great combo, coming from a lamb-hesistant eater such as myself) and the vegetarian burger. The Bloody Mary one was interesting to say the least, but one mini bite would have been enough. The Bloody Mary and Jack Daniels are really blokey burgers – very strong flavours. But interesting. The slight toasting of the buns gave the bread this crispy texture which didn’t scrape the top of your mouth when trying to fit in mouth (a-la-grill’d style).

Typically the fries are served in mini shopping trolleys (see website), but on this occasion they were served in a boring white square bowl. Lovin the tomato sauce holder though...

I washed my 1950s meal (felt like I was in the age of Elvis) with a chocolate milkshake – just like they did in the old days!

Give Bite Me a try, its a good varied take on the traditional hamburger!

El Jannah (Lebanese) Restaurant

Address: 4-6 South St GRANVILLE NSW 2142
Phone: (02) 9637 0977

This Lebanese charcoal chicken shop is a Sydney instution. People travel far and wide to eat at El Jannah (and squeezed into a narrow corridor when they burnt down and ran an ad hoc shop next door) and their quality of garlic sauce is highly regarded. People who enjoy “Habib’s” chicken usually discover and then upgrade to El Jannah.

It is a really cheap feed – grab a whole chicken, chips maybe a tabouleh and it only works out to $10 per person. Lebanese bread is served to you warm and complimentary with garlic sauce and these multicoloured pickles which the daring will put in their kebab-concoctions for an extra salty hit.

Chicken is charred to a crispy perfection, meat juicy and tender underneath.

Dip your chips in the garlic sauce, spread the sauce on your bread or smother it on your chicken – everyone eats El Jannah differently and remember to bring 2 packets of gum and don’t see your significant other for at least 2 days afterwards.

Zenja Cafe

Address: Bakehouse Qtr, Shop 1, 4 George St, North Strathfield NSW 2137
Tel: (02) 9746 9334
Website: www.zenjacafe.com.au

This was an accidental, random find and a real shame it is hidden on such a dead-quiet street.

My friend had a discount voucher in her mum’s “entertainment” booklet, so we decided to go there (You can get 10% off the bill or something).

They mainly serve breakfast, and breakfast was what we had. I ordered the “Poached free-range eggs with bacon on a bed of baby spinach with toasted Turkish & sautéed mushrooms(pictured below). Wow that was something – officially my favourite place to have the equivalent of eggs Benedict. It was just...perfect.

Also pictured is the Smoked Salmon version which I was told was also quite nice.

I wanted a refreshing, fruity drink with watermelon so this was a great booster for me - almost a meal in itself! Texture was in between a frappe (but not too icy) and nectar.

Definitely recommend for a great breakfast, semi-quiet, secluded destination!

Casa Asturiana (Spanish)

Address: 77 Liverpool St, Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: (02) 9264 1010

Trading hours: Open 7 days for lunch & dinner

Website: http://www.casaasturiana.com.au/index1.htm

I was craving something tomato-based and paella after being inspired on a cooking show. Spanish food at the Spanish Quarter is never a cheap meal, but you have to balance quality with price.

We literally stumbled in here after looking in at all the other restaurants on Liverpool St, and this seemed the busiest. We sat down at about 5:30pm so it was still quiet, but 6:30pm going on 7pm it was getting quite packed out. Gave us some faith in our decision.

For those who have never had Spanish food, typically most people will go and have “tapas” which are like entree-sized portions of food. You order several of them to fill yourself up. And at the same time try a variety of things. Great for a night out – instead of having a big meal which will put you to sleep, tapas is a great way to start the evening of drinking.

Below: PATATAS BRAVAS - Fried cubed potatoes topped with spicy tomato salsa. Served hot. This was possibly my favourite. The tomato salsa and potato just melted in your mouth with an exciting tang.

Below: CHORIZO A LA PLANCHA - Barbecued Spanish pork & paprika sausage. This was one of the better chorizo’s I’ve had, but I am generally not a fan due to them being overly salty. I think the paprika and just-right cooking time made it much more acceptable this time around. My fellow foodie loved it.

Below: Chicken and Seafood Paella – Cooking any sort of stewed rice requires time and patience, hence most people will leave it up to the experts. Paella is basically a risotto, but uses different rice and possibly more herbs. Being indecisive and greedy meant we chose the chicken mixed with seafood paella – not a good idea. The rice was very inconsistent – too soft on the outer edges (like, actually sloppy) and too hard in the middle of the dish. I also felt like I could taste the bottom of Sydney harbour so that was a bit offputting.

Stick to the tapas at Casa Asturiana because they were spot on and had us licking our lips...