Adriano Zumbo Patissier, Sydney

There's a reason why I don't follow the hype.  And let's be honest, Adriano Zumbo has a lot hype around him and his food - on Masterchef and all different forms of media. I don't follow the hype because it's not as enjoyable for me because I have heightened expectations and it's not the same as trying something for the first time with no expectations.

So when someone surprised me with two zumbo delights; I didn't have time to slumber in the hype. I just tasted both the Mylo Can and the Thyme Passion Cake...

Prices: About $10 per cake

The green sponge on the Mylo was soft and within there were several layers of different textures. It was a highly rich and tasty cake and very complex in taste/textures. Perhaps because I am a zumbo virgin; I found the dessert very rich.  It was an experience though and I now understand why zumbo is special.  Worthy of the hype.

The thyme passion cake was beautiful but after a dose of the rich Mylo cake - I was struggling!  I couldn't really taste the thyme but the passion cake was beautiful. Packed with a passion fruit punch and again, several layers of different tastes and textures.  You just need to crack into the sweet shell. A great cake. So you just have to prepare for that very rich hit! It needs something to really cut through the richness of both cakes. Take the cakes home with some ice cream and coffee!!

Thyme Passion Cake $9 and Mylo Can Cake $9.5 (back)

Abhi's Indian, North Strathfield

Indian is a very popular cuisine but some would argue is hard to find quality Indian.  This was the highest rated Indian restaurant in North Strathfield so how was my experience?

All the food was very high quality and tasty and while I'm no expert on the topic of Indian food; it was a nice dance on the tastebuds.  I don't think it quite rivals some of the food i've tried in Harris Park but the atmosphere, customer service and experience was of a higher quality.

Prices: About $20 per main

The entree was amazing and was a special.  I would strongly suggest asking for recommendations from the staff if you are not an expert.  It was a mini burst of flavoursome, yoghurty texture with that papadum-like crunch on the outside.

The two curries that we ordered were quite nice and were well accompanied with the rice and naan.  The dessert was an indian cheesecake and my dinner date thought it was really unique and tasty. I personally am addicted to the American style cheesecake that I probably didn't appreciate the different taste.

Any Indian food experts have any thoughts on Abhi's?

It was a nice change to the usual oriental Asian food that I eat a lot of...

Papadums

Ennai Kathrikai ($18.8) Baby eggplant and banana chillies in a ground paste of cashew, peanut, sesame, coconut, cooked in Hyderabadi style 

Chicken Makhni ($21.8) - Tenderless boneless chicken roasted in Tandoor then blended with fenugreek, tomato and cream

Naan ($3.8)

Basmati rice $3.2

Figtree Churrasco, Mayfield/New Castle

My Irish friend highly recommended this restaurant.  For $79, you can go crazy for the full Churrasco experience. A nice bottle of Argentinian wine to accompany the meat is a must.  It's a slightly dearer Brazilian experience but something you must try if you are in the area.

Beginner Tapas -Crumbed Feta with Blueberry, Mushroom, Sea Chowder sample or Cous Cous alternative

To start you off; try a few of the tapas to activate your taste buds. The crumbed feta was tasty with blueberry compote. The mushroom was slightly dry. The cous cous was tasty. (all pictured above).

Try not to load up on the bread but the tomato, goats cheese dip was pretty tasty.  Trust me though. Do not eat too much of this. You will need the stomach space.

Tomato and Goats Cheese with Bread (it's a tough spicey)

Grilled Haloumi 

The haloumi was slightly dry and plastic like to be honest.

OMG potatos with a side salad. Sauces include apple cinnamon dip, BBQ sauce and fig jam sauce

So instead, I tried to overcome my tastebuds with the tasty potato and some side salad. Little did I know, some of the best courses are coming through.  Firstly, there was the prawn then one of my favourite dishes of the night was the blue fin tuna which was slightly seared (pictured below). It was light, fresh and did not taste awfully fishy for those non-fishy fans.  My tastebuds then went into overdrive with the course of pineapple which was intended to cleanse the palette (pictured below).

Seared Blue Fin Tuna (Sashimi Grade of course)

Highlight - Pineapple

For all you meat eaters, you are now wondering how was the meat and how well was it cooked?  The beef was perfectly cooked. The meat melted in your mouth and accompanying sauces were amazing. The lamb was good, the chicken and pork were good and the chorizo was average.

I got seconds on the tuna and a small slice of pineapple to dessert my little butt away.  I ate way too much. It was a good experience though. Give it a go if you have some mula to spend.

Wagyu Beef

The Lamb

Chicken

Pork and the last course is Chorizo (not pictured)

The Terrace Pub - North Sydney

Update

The Terrace has had a slight make over and I then went back for lunch. I found that the decore was much more pleasant but food was not as good as it was. The presentation of the food was still pretty but what's the point if the food doesn't go down well.

Maybe there are just some teething issues.  The $10 steak deal seems to have expanded to Monday to Thursdays.  I'll have to think about this one.

I go to the terrace every few months when I'm in dire need of protein.  This generally involves a steak sandwich or the steak.  If you go early in the week (Mon - Wed) it's a $10 steak with a drink. The food is tasty and consistent. The food is pretty too and is well presented.

On this particular occasion I ordered the steak - medium but it was slightly rare.  The mushroom sauce is beautiful and makes a great sauce for the crispy chips. The salad is minor but does the job to refresh your palette. In the majority of instances where I've ordered the steak it has been more accurately cooked. I would suggest getting there early for a table.

Leesa's Kitchen

I always love a good stir fry.  I cooked this one using hokkein noodles, honey soy prawn tempura pieces with vegetables topped with fried onion and corriander.

Chur Burger, Surry Hills, Sydney

This place has been dubbed "Sydney's best burgers" so I had really high expectations.  The line to enter the restaurant also hyped it up for me.  So what is my verdict?

The Beef Burger was cooked to perfection and exceeded my expectations for a $10 burger. The chips were fine, unfortunately they ran out of the sweet potato chips! You gotta get in early I suppose.

The chicken burger was great - juicy, well cooked and went down really nicely. It was the highlight burger for me! There was a great buzzing atmosphere with loud 90's music, ciders and funky furniture for children of the 90s.

So given the price, quality of food, great atmosphere and speedy service - I can understand why this place has been dubbed Sydney's best burgers. I don't doubt that there are other places with a tastier burgers but typically you'd be paying $15 to $20 for a burger in a pub with other variables that weren't that great.

Beef Burger $10 - Yum

Chicken Burger $10

Dove and Olive, Surry Hills, Sydney

My friend was still hungry after dinner so we sought a place with drinks and some food.  We settled on Dove and Olive. It was lively and jam packed.

We sat down and my friends settled for cider.  I had my typical vodka cranberry.  We sat around chatting about travelling in areas of Korea and Japan.  Our drinks rested on a record which was funky.  The decore was trendy full of children of the 90's.

We snacked on potato gems which were attempting to be fancy. They were tasty but titled " D&O Tater Tots Parmesan mashed potato poppers with
house made mixed pepper, celery salt & aioli".  The aioli was nice but I wasn't a fan of the mixed pepper and celery.

Will come back to try other food

Drinks on a record

Potato Gems - $8