Burwood Hotel, Burwood

Burwood is such a great suburb for tasty food. Matt and I recently have date night at Burwood Hotel. I've seen a lot of posts on instagram about a Boba creme brulee cheesecake dessert and also alcoholic boba bubble tea drinks so I was quite curious to be honest. I also vowed to share my experience with a dear friend of mine who has a fascination with bubble tea drinks.

 I take a seat in the dining area which is has a nice pub atmosphere to it. The background noise is full of groups of people from work and friends which makes for friendly banter.I look at the menu while I wait for Matt to arrive. 

Matt finally arrives and we agree on a few dishes to share. We start off with the 1/2 kilo of salt and pepper calamari ($13) although Matt is hungry and is tempted to order the full kilo. I really like the lightly dusted szechaun salt and pepper calamari with the side of squid nam jim dipping sauce (Vietnamese style sauce). The calamari is nice and crunchy on the outside with the softer calamari pieces on the inside. The sauce is perfectly balanced with sweet, salty and sour flavours that are familiar with my Vietnamese tastebuds. It's quite a decent size for the price and I highly recommend.

Matt and I also share our mains including the Angus Beef Rib Eye (400G, $31). This steak is definitely a large size so it was perfect as Matt was super hungry. The steak is cooked to your choice and on this occasion, I choose medium. I know Matt prefers medium rare so I'm happy with how the steak turned out. Matt eats most of the juicy steak and I eat a smaller portion of the juicy steak. I gobble down some fries which always make any steak better. The meat quality in Australia is amazing and I appreciated every bite.

I also share with Matt, the Dry Aged Beef Burger ($19) which has a 180g dry aged beef patty, double american cheese, yellow mustard, ketchup, lettuce, fresh onion, fried onion, pickles and burger sauce. I love a good pub burger. Burwood Hotel delivers the good with the burger having melted cheese and those matching flavours of mustard, ketchup, onion and pickles. They swirl in my mouth and savour the big bites that I take.

Matt and I order some Alcoholic bubble tea but as it's quite busy at the bar,  we are almost done with our food before the drinks arrive. The new waitress is incredibly apologetic so I don't mind. How exciting! I order the Aloe Vera Boba Margerita ($15) which has my friend tequila, honey aloe vera, lime, lychee and popping pearls. You can taste the tequila which I like - it reminds you that this is an adult boba tea. The drink is mildly sour as you would expect in a Margerita. It's easily to drink though so watch your alcohol intake!

Matt orders the Tropical Boba Tea ($15) which has passionfruit liquer, vodka, aperol, green tea, passionfruit, orange, lychee popping pearls. This drink is really sweet and fruity and even easier to drink. I really like the lychee popping pearls as they add further sweetness after the passionfruit flavours swirl around in your mouth.

For dessert, Matt and I share the much highly anticipated dessert - the Boba tea Creme Brulee Cheese cake ($12). This dessert comes out with the boba pearls in a small jar. With pleasure, I pour the pearls out onto the plate. I grab a spoon and hurl it into the creme brulee cheese cake. There is a slightly crunchy sugary coating and the inside is a creamy solid custard. The biscuit base is so thin, I think I may have missed any crunchy texture to the dessert. I chew on the boba pearls and go back for some more sugary creamy brulee. 

Summary: Overall, I really enjoyed my date night at Burwood Hotel. I thought all the pub food was great including the calamari, steak and burgers. The alcoholic boba tea drinks and the boba dessert also makes for Asian fusion delight. Check it out!

Price: Most mains are $15-30

Location: 121-123 Burwood Rd, Burwood (near the train station)

Opening Hours: 
Monday to Thursday 9am to 4am
Friday 9am to 6am
Saturday 9am to 5am
Sunday 10am to midnight

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.