Zouk @ Grand Chifley Adelaide

Address: Grand Chifley Hotel Adelaide, 208 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Tel: (08) 8223 2800

This evening meal choice was after an 8+ hour drive from Coober Pedy back to Adelaide so I was pretty buggered and had negative energy to think of a good place to eat and the fact my car was already parked meant I still had enough energy to drag myself downstairs for an evening meal (I am very anti room service, never had good room service food).

Entree (below): Chicken & Pistachio Meatballs with Char-Grilled Barossa Chorizo, Vegetables Relish & Warmed Turkish Bread. The chicken meatballs were the standout - great texture (cooked then fried) and the nutty mixture was just fantastic. The chorizo was way too salty for my liking, and the Turkish bread looked like a French bread stick sliced and passed through the commercial toaster. A very large entree/tasting plate.


Below: Char-grilled WA Scallops in whipped Wasabi butter & fried Nori. The photo probably doesn't do the dish any favours by making it look like scallops dragged through sewerage, but the wasabi/nori butter was quite savoury and interesting. Really dislike the digestive orange bits - doesn't add any flavour or texture and almost ruins the other flavours. Really should consider a better grade scallop....

Mains (below): Linguini Oceania - SA selected seadfood finished with Rose sauce & Parmesan. Another knockout dish - I'd say the mains were the chef's core strength. This rose sauce wasn't very tomatoey - instead it almost resembled a savoury bbq flavour. The seafood was cooked to perfection and I'd say the serving size was perfect - great, great flavour!


Above: Tea-Smoked Duck Breast with duck liver & pear ravioli served with blood orange & thyme sauce. That duck breast was tea-smoked to perfection - it was exactly what I had in mind - a strong, smoky flavour (almost like I was in the same room as the fire) infused throughout the meat without drying it out. Succulent duck breast meat and the blood orange & thyme sauce was just magical. The ravioli was a let down - the pasta tasted like wonton wrappings with some pate shoved between the layers. What's with SA and pate as a filling? Too heavy! The pear didn't quite work with the pate either - the texture and flavour was just wrong - perhaps it needed to be blended through the duck liver rather than cubed and thrown in loosely.

Desserts (below): Slow-baked Lemon & Lime Tart with Jerset double thick cream & Adelaide Hills berry compote.


Above: Grand Brandy Snap Basket containing FruChoc icecream and strawberries. This was my dessert and I absolutely loved it - what a great way to end my over-indulgent, calorific meal and my holiday. All roadtrip I was just craving a great icecream and that berry compote was just so fresh and berrylicious. Fruchoc is a SA local delicacy so without knowing I could tick off another SA foodie box. The flavour was kind of like the Gaytime icecream wth chocolate ripples through it - simple and delicious! I regret not eating the brandy snap basket but I just had no more appetite left...

This was easily my favourite meal during this South Australian adventure - an excellent execution of flavours and chef skills.

John's Pizza Bar & Restaurant (Coober Pedy)

Address: Hutchinson St, Coober Pedy, SA (directly opposite the desert cave hotel)
Tel: (08) 8672 5561
Trading Hours: 9am till 10pm

Addresses in Coober Pedy don't need numbers - there is only one main street and I assume everyone knows everyone else and where they are.

I can't decide whether John's Pizza Bar is actually better than everything else in Coober Pedy, or they have bribed all the other vendors of accomodation, petrol stations in the town to advertise for them, but they seem to be the busiest place in Coober Pedy around the clock.

They won best pizza in South Australia one year - either the bigger towns have no clue on how to knead a proper dough and throw some ingredients together or they won points for best innovation.

I was forewarned that the large pizzas are in fact, very large - you can get an 18" pizza!

Below: One of the wrongest things I have ever eaten - Coat of Arms 9" Pizza with sweet cranberry, cheese, emu metwurst, smoked kangaroo, camembert cheese, spinach.


I probably wouldn't eat this again - but I was in the middle of nowhere so was not going to pass up this opportunity to eat one (or two) of Australia's icon. I'd say that they haven't done too badly with these pizza - the kangaroo was tolerable and the emu was much subtler than expected. Still very gamey meat, but this was offset by the cranberry & camembert.

Thara Thai (Adelaide)

Address: 2 Gilbert St, Goodwood SA 5034
Telephone: (08) 8272 2262

This was such a delightfully surprising meal for me - I had been eating crap all over South Australia and was just craving one really authentic Asian meal.

With 30 minutes to spare before a movie at the Capri Theatre, this was a random bet.

Below: Chicken Satay - lovely savoury classic with a lighter, more watery satay dipping sauce, accompanied with a cucumber salsa drizzled in sweet chilli sauce.


Above: Tom Yum Soup - this chicken soup was so light, tangy and sour without the spice, fragrant and those cherry tomatoes were delightful explosions of flavour. This is such a fantastic rendition of Tom Yum soup, great for those who don't enjoy the heat but love the concept. Would definitely come back here for this meal!

They also serve Thai Coffee which I am curious about but will have to wait till my next trip to Adelaide...

Maggie Beer's Farm Shop (Adelaide)

Address: Pheasant Farm Rd, Nuriootpa SA 5355
Tel: (08) 8562 4477
Website: http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/farmshop/
Trading Hours: 10.30am – 5pm, 7 days. Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day

Maggie Beer's Farm Shop is a South Australian Icon, and ground zero for where it all started. This venue paints a picture of her rich history and humble beginnings as a pheasant farm, cityslicker escaping the hustle/bustle for a tree change.

The menu here is limited and called "Picnic Fare" - you take your basket and are free to roam the farm to find either a table or grassy spot to enjoy your meal.

Above: Pheasant Farm Pate Picnic Basket - "Pheasant Farm Pate served with caramelized onion, freekah salad and wood oven bread". They give you a whole tub of the pate, which is too much to eat in one sitting but SO moorish and indulgent. The pheasant farm flavour of pate is unique - pheasant is gamier than duck once again, but lighter. I also sampled the Duck, Sherry & Green Peppercorn Pate but my favourite is the Duck, Vino Cotto & Star Anise Pate.

Below: Homemade Pheasant Terrine - "Pheasant and porcini mushroom terrine wrapped in sour cream pastry with salad greens, Vino Cotto vinaigrette and Maggie's Cabernet Sauce". WOW - this pastry is to-die-for, such a gourmet delight! The pheasant meat was like light mince between chicken & pork - very flavoursome and savoury. Definitely something delightful and different, to please even the most simple of palates!


Inside the farm shop is an opportunity to taste Maggie Beer's extensive range of pates, jams, wines, cooking spices, liquids and much more.
There is also a small display of some live pheasants - they are such gorgeous feathered birds its hard to imagine they make such a great feed...

Hindmarsh Square Outdoor Markets, Adelaide

Address: Hindmarsh Square (Park), Cnr Pulteney & Grenfell St, Adelaide SA
Website: http://www.marketsquareadelaide.com.au/
Trading Hours: Sundays?

Found this market totally by accident - I was starving for breakfast and didn't want plain old cafe food - looked out my hotel window and saw them setting up for markets!

Below: Dutch Poffertjes with cream, a squeeze of lemon juice and icing sugar - I had never eaten poffertjes before but I remember a friend raving on about these little Dutch pancakes. I loved the light zest of lemon juice but didn't enjoy the under-cookedness of the dough mixture. If that was what you were into, you would probably rate this more than I do (I like crispy pancakes).


Above: Cupcakes by a lady with a really clever trading name which I can't remember - lots of fancy sugar figurines that top the icing on the cake...

Below: There was a family selling homemade fat chips and this walnut, tomato patty burger. They had some great vegetarian burger & pastry options - I wanted to try them all but was limited in my carrying and eating capacity.

The concept is great but I'd say the burger patties need a bit more work - the flavour and texture was great - they just fell apart because a suitable bonding agent wasn't used.

The Brasserie @ Hilton (Adelaide)

Address: Hilton Hotel Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000
Tel: (08) 8217 2000
Website: http://www.thebrasserie.com.au/

The concept at The Brasserie is great - a showcase of South Australian icons & produce, in the heart of Adelaide CBD.

I only heard of this place while browsing the South Australia tourism website, which lists the previous chef of the previous resident restaurant (The Grange Restuarant, headed by chef Cheong Liew) which is now closed and replaced with The Brasserie. Update your website South Australia Tourism Board! Pie floaters are also a feint!!!

Entree (below): Coorong Angus - "Braised ribs, ginger and soy glaze, kim chee, pickled daikon salad". I'm usually not a fan of Angus beef - but the glaze on these ribs were just lip-smacking! I really enjoyed the strange rendition of kimchee on the side too - it contained almost no spice and was just a combination of pickled vegetables and sesame seeds - simple and tangy.

Maggie Beer - "Porcini mushroom pâté pie, green pea soup, candied tomato, grape mustard". This is a fancy version of a South Australian classic the "Pie Floater" - a meat pie in pea soup. I don't think this dish did anyone, including Maggie Beer's pate any justice. The pea soup tasted like half-blended frozen peas (lacking sweetness & flavour, the pate was way too heavy as a pie filling and the tomato & grape mustard was obviously an attempt to lighten the dish but failing on a few textural areas.

Mains (below): Paringa Park - "Lamb rack, lemon & roast garlic skordalia, AMJ raw baby veg salad, pistachio & Hardings almond paste". Gorgeous, gorgeous meal! The lamb was pink and cooked to perfection - the pistachio was such a unique flavour & textural accompaniment to the lamb which just worked. I loved the comforting herbed mash - just a great main.


Marco’s Mushroom House - "Black and white wood ear fungus, creamy mushroom sauce, asparagus, Wiech’s black pepper noodle, Barossa Valley Cheese Co. vache". I pretty much spent the rest of my dining time staring at this main because I was too overloaded with that pate pie I had zero appetite and mental energy to tackle a wild mushroom fettucine. Kudos for using an exotic mushroom like wood ear fungus (almost like a seaweed-like texture) in a traditionally Italian dish. Some great wild, exotic flavours, but the serving size was epic and too overbearing for the capacity I had left in my stomach.

If you are strapped for time and want some South Australian food inspiration here is a great place to start.

The "Whitehouse" Restaurant @ Presidential Inn, Mt Gambier

Address: (Quality Inn Presidential Motel) 154-156 Jubilee Hwy West, Mount Gambier, SA 5290
Tel: (08) 8724 9966

Another example of travller's laziness - but in this case it was about 8:30pm at night, I had driven through the darkness and everything either looked closed or was some horrible fast food bingo draw.

Entree (below): Chicken Putenesca - "Succulent chicken shanks wrapped in proscuitto sauced with a fresh tomato, olive, caper and white wine sauce". The putenesca sauce was flavoursome and well-prepared, but the proscuitto wrapped chicken shanks were slightly undercooked and lacklustre. If they could somehow manage to crisp the proscuitto (which is what I envisaged from the menu) it would give the dish more texture and created less of a divide between such a great sauce & the meat which seemed to go off on its own tangent.

Entree: Sesame Chicken - "Chicken medallions sauteed in honey and toasted sesame seeds, nested on an avocado skordalia, accompanied with grilled pancetta and snow pea shoots". A classy take on a classic - who would have thought honey & avocado made such a great combination?


Below: Baked Scallops - "Japanese scallops baked in shell with shallot , wine stock with fresh bread crumbs and parmesan". Japanese scallops are - in my opinion - the best variety of scallop you can get. The size, texture and fact it can be presented without the guts on the side makes it a pure & desirable dish. This rendition had a great fresh shallot flavour, not heavy at all. The soggy breadcrumbs did let me down, but it could have been worse with the parmesan overpowering the whole dish. I thoroughly enjoyed the flavours here - the chef has respected the quality of the scallops and played the flavour to highlight the produce.

Dessert (below): Chocolate Hotpot - this was like a chocolate lava cake with some ground nuts and ice cream - what a perfect way to end an evening. It was a clean, unique chocolate flavour with a harmony of textures.


Above: Beer Lime Sorbet - "tastebug tingling dessert, sorbet made with lime infused beer served with frozen berry crumble, candied fruits and mango coulis". Looks and sounds a lot better than it tastes - kudos to the chef for conjuring up a beer lime sorbet - that part didn't let me down but it was the candied fruits and combination of the other elements which spoiled this dessert. I was initially worried I'd taste more yeasty-beer flavour than the lime, but the lime accent shined through and the texture of the sorbet was even slightly bubbly - that itself was a simple way to cleanse the palate after a heavy meal. The candied fruits tasted like a couple of old chopped orange peels thrown in and mixed around (bitter) and the mango coulis was great but I was just wondering what it was doing in there. Frozen berry crumble is basically some frozen berries blasted in a blender - interesting idea for those wanting to try something different at home texture wise on their desserts, but added little value to the sorbet.

My confession is that I really enjoyed this meal. I was full & tired but persisted to go the whole 3 rounds with a dessert, because I was simply curious about the beer lime sorbet and the variety/combination of flavours presented to me on this menu.

I hate the hotel (which is really a mote) because their photos were deceptively bait-and-switch, but if I am back in Mt Gambier I will definitely come back to The Whitehouse (yes, the name is disastrously sickening) for an evening meal.

Harry's Restaurant @ Stamford Hotel Melbourne CBD

Address: Stamford Plaza Melbourne Hotel , 111 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 3 9659 1000
Website: http://www.stamford.com.au/spm/page.asp?e_page=569758&roomNo=456430

Trading Hours:
Buffet Breakfast: Weekdays 6.30am - 10.30am, Weekends and Public Holidays 6.30am - 11.00am.
Express Lunch: 11.30am - 2.30 pm
Dinner: Monday - Saturday 5.30pm - 10.30pm
Attire: Smart casual
Reservations: Required Friday and Saturday nights only

Ok - this is my first rant/post about hotel restaurants - most are there solely to service the lazy travellers or late checker-inerers, and in this instance I am a victim of both. After driving 7+ hours to get to Melbourne, I was tired and hungry and in need of a evening repast. Despite all my foodsnob reflexes & culinary delights that Melbourne has to offer, laziness got the better of me - so here I was, dining at the hotel's restaurant (which I am usually against).

Entree: Chef's market soup - "prepared daily" with fresh ingredients from the market. When I asked the waitress what the ingredients consisted of, she said carrot and something else. I envisaged a minestrone-esque soup but was surprised (later to my delight) that it was more like a carrot/pumpkin type of flavour and texture. The carrot notes were present, but not overpowering - it sort of set a backdrop for the showstopping cumin flavour - it was like a pappadam in liquid form, very moorish and savoury.

Below: Thai Spiced Chicken Salad - tomato, pickled cucumber, carrot, spring onion, ginger relish. A great rendition of the thai chicken salad - trangy dressing, light herbal vegetables and the cherry tomatoes (which I usually hate) with th pickled cucumber were just a perfect accompaniment. It was the dish I expected, with almost a Japanese twist.


All in all, I can't say I had a bad meal. I waited a ridiculous amount of time for it (like 45 minutes or something) but the taste and thought in the menu really did not let me down. The cons is the extremely dim lighting (hence the terrible photos) but on the plus side, I could dress like a bum and noone really noticed because it was so dark.

I also had a lovely guava juice there too. Secretly addicted to guava juice after this episode...

Old Bus Depot Markets (Canberra)

Address: Kingston Foreshore, Canberra ACT
Website: http://www.obdm.com.au/
Trading Hours: Every Sunday 10am-4pm. See website for details of trading outside this time.

Being a skeptic of all-things-Canberra it took me 2 years to finally get motivated to go to the Old Bus Depot Markets out in Kingston.

The motivating factor was a work colleague ranting & raving about these Hot Cross Bagels - fresh, fruity and full of flavour. I am pro-bagel (if not a slave to carbs) so this is what got me out of bed on a sunday morning...



Apparently these markets are 'award-winning' and honestly, I was delightfully suprised at the variety & quality of produce on show.

Here's a photoblog of my food 'haul':

Above & below: Freshly squeezed orange juice & lemonade. This guy must have been making a killing... the lemonade was like a really sweet lemon squash drink without the fizz, so the fresh orange juice was my personal preference (I think they juice the oranges whole so the bitterness of the rind was present in the flavour).

Alongside the cold beverages were a series of cauldrons with "mulled wine","ginger & lemon" and "hot lemonade".

Below: Churro - a Spanish doughnut dipped in chocolate sauce.

Below: Laosian Chicken & Prawn Rice Paper rolls, served with a homemade dipping sauce & crushed cashews. The flavour of the filling was fresh and pleasant, still a slight soapy flavour in the rice paper though but probably the most authentic rice paper roll you'll find in the Canberra region.



Above: Turkish Gul Borek - baked potato with a tomato-based relish. The pastry is a lot firmer & crisper than I anticipated (I thought it would be more like a filo pastry). Flavours of the filling was quite pleasant, but not mind-blowing.

Below: Chocolate pizza topped with lollies - this is the million-dollar idea that started in the mind of a school mum looking for a fundraising idea. At $25 a pop, its not a bad wicket to be on.

Below: Nut free, gluten free satay marinade - the flavour was really fragrant and lemongrass-y. I bought some because I thought it would go great on white fish. Really amazed how much flavour they got out of this concoction...

Below: I haven't had my favourite Pastilla & Nash Walnut & Prune log for awhile so I was keen to try this - Merlyn's version is much softer (more fruit) and I was told she uses dark chocolate and bakes them to control the texture. Can definitely taste the dark chocolate - lifts the flavour and emphasises the bitterness.


Above: Macaroons - Left to Right: strawberry, chocolate, lime & basil. pistachio, apricot. These are officially my favourite macaroons - just the perfect bite size, and potent with flavour. I particularly enjoyed the chocolate which was almost like a dark chocolate butvery riddled with cocoa. The lime & basil was like a cocktail captured in macaroon form while the apricot was the sweetest and creamiest.

Below: Chocolate brownie and White chocolate & macadamia brownie - that chocolate one had a deep, cocoa flavour and just the perfect amount of chewiness.
The white chocolate version was much sweeter and was reminiscent of a friand type texture.


If you are in Canberraon a weekend and strapped for time, I highly recommend a visit to the old bus depot markets - great local produce showcased at its best with an assortment of arty knicknacks to impulse buy.

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant (Chinese)

Address: 393-399 Sussex St, SydneyNSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 3901
Website: http://www.goldencentury.com.au/
Trading hours: 12pm to 4am

If there was one restaurant to sum up the genre of 'Chinese' food in the heart of Sydney's Chinatown, there is none other that matches the rich history and tradition of Golden Century.

The theme of Golden Century is fresh, live seafood, served Cantonese style (fragrant, stirfried) as exhibited by the array of live tanks in the entrance and front wall of the restaurant.

Above: One of those green-lipped abalone was going to be sacrificed for my dinner...

I recall distinctly having a distinctly unforgettable dish here - that is, the Sliced Live Green-Lip Abalone in Steam-boat. I love this dish because it is something you couldn't replicate at home - and can feel good about leaving to the experts.

Below: Tissue-thin slices of live abalone, sitting on a bed of lettuce. I note that fresh seafood doesn't have that stinky, saltwater, sewerage smell.

The waiter brings out a butane gas-powered cooktop with a clear peppery broth. The broth is brought to boil, and then the cooking begins.

Slices are cooked 2-3 at a time, tossed through the broth for about 30 seconds then served.

Below: the result - a light 'seafood' ham. The meat has a fresh, light sweetness with a hint of saltiness (like a cured ham). Abalone has an unmatched flavour to anything else in the world.

The raw lettuce is then cooked in the broth, and served to us in soup. I like the broth - I suspect its wonton soup though with some pepper through it. At this point I was ready to go home because this dish just hit the nail on the head and I was more than content.

But there was more food:

Below: Season special - Sticky rice with preserved meat. Sticky rice is like the opposite of risotto - the rice particles remain separate and quite 'al dente' to the taste bud (kind of chewy). You can tell a skilled Cantonese chef where oil just coats the ingredients to give it a radiant glean & fragrant taste. I love thinly sliced & chopped scrambled egg as a garnish - great technique.


Below: Yam (Taro) with pork spare rib hot pot - this was not a winner. I have had this dish more traditionally with a vinegary, sticky soy base marinade but this was cooked with coconut milk and lemongrass - a very strange combination. The coconut milk started separating and the use of frozen yam did not help the cause.

Above & below: Live Morwong (fish) served 2 ways - stir fried above, and steamed below. There is nothing like live fish - the texture & flavour is almost completely different. Fresh fish has a natural sweetness and no stinky fishy smell.

The stirfried version has been lightly starched to maintain the structure of the fillet pieces and are melt-in-your-mouth, with a light gingery flavour.

The steamed version below were all the offcuts - fins, bones and other. I didn't try these but I believe people like to suck on these offcuts as a savoury, morish treat.



Above: Dessert time! This was complimentary - peanut dessert porridge which I thought was the wrong texture (I like mine more grainy but this one tasted like it once had sago balls which melted during the course of cooking into the dessert) - too gelatinous. I did enjoy those fried egg wonton skins and sesame balls - not too sweet, and just a lovely after-dinner accompaniment.

If you want to go to Golden Century to order Sweet & Sour pork or Honey Chicken - don't insult the menu and pay $7 at your local takeaway shop instead. Do a bit of research and look at the chef's recommendation on the website as there are some other treats like XO pippies, roast duck and others.

I've seen some $11,800 bottles of red wine dating back to 1920 on the menu, so you can really spend up big here.

As Sydney's only Chinese restaurant with a chef hat, this is not a bad place that has lived up to all the hype.

Red Ass Indian & Thai Cafe (Adelaide)

Address: 2/120 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore SA, Australia
Tel: (08) 8341 7878
Website: www.redasscurry.com
Trading Hours: 5pm till late, 7 nights. Lunches by appointment.

I have to say that with a name like "Red Ass", one is often hesitant about making this a dining destination. My craving for Thai food and curiousity for the ' Thai & Indian' theme fusion helped build a bridge to not judge this book by it's cover.

I eyed off the most fusion-y dish on the menu and that happened to be the Indian Mee Goreng, described as 'Hokkien noodles, egg, lamb, cauliflower,carrots, capsicum, peas, bokchoy & beansprouts with a touch of curry'. I was disappointed that I didn't get any cauliflower, but this dish lived up to every expectation - mee goreng is traditionally a Malaysian staple, but the lamb & light curry flavour was reminiscent of a hearty Indian meal. I did take a photo of this dish but mobile phones do miraculous things such as not saving your photos. Looks like any other mee goreng!

Below: Garlic Prawns 'Succulent Tiger Prawns with crispy fresh broccoli, capsicum, carrot, zucchini & snowpeas with garlic in an oyster & soy sauce'. I love the abundance of fresh cut vegetables and the generosity of flavour just from a simple, oyster, soy & garlic stirfry sauce.


All in all, a great dining experience. The meals were all reasonably priced with a great variety that if you were an Adelaide local, you could make a weekly institution. I was a little disappointed with the Roti (we had cheese) - the texture was in between a shallot pancake and uncooked naan.

I think the restaurant owner came out to help with the waiting - he was efficient, friendly and I am genuinely impressed if the chefs were not from a Thai or Indian background.