Category: Café

Categories
Bakery Café French

Croquembouche Patisserie – Botany NSW Café Review

Wow! This review has really been a long time coming.

When we moved to Botany in January 2020 one of the first things we did, before we even started unpacking, was load up Zomato and look for places to eat. Croquembouche Patisserie caught our eye, and since then we’ve eaten there at least ten to fifteen times over the course of a year.

Croquembouche bills itself as one of top French bakeries in Sydney, and as the only French (non-Vietnamese) bakery I’ve ever been to I’d have to agree. We’ve eaten so many things at Croquembouche that I will only review our favourites.

The Reuben Sandwich is huge and flavourful. It’s actually the first thing I ever got from Croquembouche and has become a regular favourite. I would recommend to get it toasted.

The Ham and cheese croissant with béchamel sauce is excellent. The croissant is fluffy, and the béchamel makes the whole thing very creamy. They do an alternate ham and cheese croissant with gruyere which is a bit more expensive but I don’t like as much – no béchamel.

The Citron tart is my partner’s favourite thing from Croquembouche. In her words, “it’s probably the best lemon curt tart [she’s] ever had. Its balance of tanginess and sweetness is pretty perfect, and I wonder if it has some other complex citruses in there as well. Lemon parts are one of [her] favourite desserts, and [she] thinks that Croquembouche has one of [her] favourite tarts [she’s] ever tasted. You can’t quote me word for word, because I refuse to have non edited words and thoughts on a public platform. You’d better not be continuing to write what I’m saying.”

There is a healthy assortment of crepes on offer, which are all delicious and packed with ingredients like cheese, meat, and mushrooms.

This salted caramel tart was quite good, and not too sweet. This is coming from someone who generally doesn’t like salted caramel.

Croquembouche also offers an assortment of hot meat pies and sausage rolls. They’re pretty standard, and not really at the level of perfection as their other stuff.

Through the course of the year we had an assortment of fruity dessert pastries, which were mostly good and not too sweet.

This was an expensive but elevated hot cross bun.

The level of glaze on this apricot tart is enough to reflect stars in distant galaxies.

$10 for a bacon and egg roll and a coffee is actually quite a good deal. Unfortunately I think not everyone in the café can make coffee, and the wait for coffee during the morning rush can end up being a bit long.

My girlfriend loves chocolate mousse.

Some kind of savory bread of which I have no recollection. Looks cheesy.

This was a really nice sandwich, maybe Cuban, maybe something else, packed with ingredients including a generous amount of pickle. I’d get it again.

Look at this slice of unnamed tart.

Tart of berry. Small but concentrated.

This is one that surprised me. You would never expect such a dish sitting in the counter to have such perfectly poached eggs. Indeed this an entire brunch dressed as a sandwich. Really good, but flies under the radar.

I had a couple of these truffle and salami sandwiches throughout the year. Very tasty, but very oily.

The Salmon and Dill and Chicken and Dill sandwiches are also quite yum. A very pleasant dill taste mixed into a mayonnaise-like sauce with either salmon or chicken rillettes. I’ve never had one uneaten for long enough to take a photo.

THOUGHTS OTHER THAN EFFUSIVE PRAISE

If there’s one somewhat negative component of Croquembouche Patisserie it may just be the exquisite amount of care and time they put in to make the coffee and toast the sandwiches. I’m often in a rush in the morning before work, so I know to get my sandwiches untoasted and without coffee. Their food is also quite rich and buttery, which may be a problem in terms of long-term cardiovascular risk.

Having gone so many times in 2020 and not at all since moving to Western Sydney in February 2021, I wonder if these guys think I’ve died.

Croquembouche Patisserie
1635 Botany Rd, Botany NSW 2019
(02) 9666 3069

Categories
Café Vietnamese

3 Ronin (Revisited) – Chippendale NSW Pho Review

It’s not often that I revisit a restaurant outside of my local neighbourhood, but after being incepted by images of 3 Ronin’s wagyu pho on Instagram I knew I had to go back. You will recall from being an avid reader of this blog that I last visited 3 Ronin back in September, when I thoroughly enjoyed their poached salmon congee and beef brisket baos. My partner, out of spoons from eating out so often in the first week of our annual leave, declined to come. This was a decision she lived to regret.

Before I get into the food, I need to make a quick special mention about the water. The table water served was filtered and chilled, and I was asked if I would prefer a bottle to pour by myself rather than them pouring for me. I quite like getting the choice to pour my own water, as it minimises hovering and gave me the opportunity to enjoy my pho alone.

3 Ronin’s pho, at $24.50, is the most expensive pho I have ever eaten. It is also, perhaps, one of the best.

The broth, which was poured onto the noodles in front of me in as an extravagant display, was delicious and full of umami. Two types of beef was served, one – a tender rare sliced wagyu, and the other – brisket with a bit of a smoked flavour which reminded me of their bao. There was also the addition of half of a soft boiled egg, which was delicious when eaten with the soup.

The bowl was accompanied by the standard Thai basil, chopped chilli and a healthy serving of fresh bean sprouts. Interestingly, 3 Ronin has chosen to serve their pho with finger limes rather than the traditional lemon or lime – a distinctly Australian choice. I found that compared to the usual conventional method of citrus delivery, the finger limes did not pollute the soup with sourness in every bite. As discrete pellets of sour flavour, the finger limes were able to provide a sour taste to specific mouthfuls only when desired, making them quite an interesting touch.

My overall thoughts are that while a very expensive bowl of Pho, the results are quite worth it. 3 Ronin still seems to be a a bit of a hidden gem, despite having been open for a couple of months. Only half the tables were filled at 12:30PM on a weekday, which is prime time for some lunch. I think at least part of this is due to the price – their food does seem a bit expensive to the cheaper, food court fare in Spice Alley – but I do still think it is undeserved. I’d highly recommend giving their pho, as well as their salmon congee a try.

UPDATE 2
On my third visit to 3 Ronin we again had the wagyu pho, which unfortunately wasn’t as good as I remembered it. We were also significantly disappointed by another dish.

3 Ronin’s Ginger and Shallot Sourdough Waffle ($16.50) with smoked salmon and slow egg, was, unlike the rest of their menu, actively bad. I could not imagine a more bland tasting, structureless waffle than the one pictured above. The slow egg, a bit watery this time and without its own flavour, struggled alongside tiny slivers of smoked salmon to add flavour, ultimately to no avail. An anti-recommendation for this dish is in order.

3 Rōnin
26 Kensington St, Chippendale NSW 2008
0411 616 167

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Chinese

Flour Drum – Newtown Brunch Review

I’ve wanted to eat at Flour Drum for some time, but had avoided it in view of the terrifying parking situation in Newtown. I was finally able to bundle up the spoons to brave the King St parking situation this weekend, only to find that parking isn’t so bad on a Sunday morning. We had a dish from their regular menu, and a dish from their Spring inspired menu. Allow me to discuss.

The handmade pappardelle with 8-hours slow braised South Australian Lamb Shank Ragu shallot and chili infused olive oil and Cyprian volcanic black sea salt ($26.50) is a very long name, but one which adequately describes the components of this dish. This was a safe choice, and a very delicious one. The pasta was cooked softer than al dentre, which was good for me, because I’m basic. I really enjoyed the flavours, and the fresh chopped chilli gave the ragu the perfect amount of spice. I couldn’t identify the volcanic black sea salt, but have no doubt it was present. I don’t know what this really added to the dish over and beyond what normal salt would have added.

I’m going to be honest, I was highly skeptical of the Handmade Pork and Prawns Dumplings with Egg Noodles in a Chicken Broth, Chinese Bok Choy, Japanese Roasted Seaweed and Parsley. I am often wary of Asian food in a predominantly Caucasian restaurant, as more often than not it is more expensive, and less good. Flour drum’s pork and prawn dumplings were the exception to the rule. The dumplings were bursting with umami flavour, and could compete with any other dumpling and wonton in wide circulation. They were really the star of the show, with the fresh bok choy a close second. I thought that the noodles and soup were a bit too plain and mild-flavoured, an opinion my partner originally held but subsequently changed her mind on. I would recommend this dish for the taste of dumplings alone, however the price ($22-25 from memory) is far too much, and a dish of similar quality and construction would not surpass $12 at your local Chinese restaurant (I’m aware one of the co-owners of Flour Drum (Victor Li) is of Asian descent)

This giant M&M cookie was like $7. It was fine. Its structural rigidity was poor but I don’t know how they could have done better with such a large surface area.

Overall I think Flour Drum is just fine. The food is good, and I’m impressed by how they are able to create both Eastern and Western dishes quite competently. My big criticism has to be the price however, especially for strictly Chinese dishes that have an obvious and equally high quality counterpart in your local Chinese restaurant for half the price.

3.5/5 (including price adjustment)

Flour Drum Newtown
531 King St, Newtown NSW
(02) 9565 2822

Flour Drum Newtown Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Categories
Café

ZIA Kitchen – Roselands NSW Restaurant Review

Let me first tell you that until last Saturday I didn’t know Roselands was a suburb. I just thought it was a shopping centre.

There is plenty of street parking in Roselands, and I was able to park right outside ZIA. This was both a blessing and a curse as I then felt the need to sit at an outside table so that I could keep my eye on my car and make sure no shenanigans happened to it. I’ve never felt the need to do this before but this time the need overwhelmed me. I would come to realise, while writing browsing their website for this review, that there is significant room inside, as well as a nice garden.

Service was pretty bad! It took a long time to be seated, and an even longer time still for a waitress to come and notice that we hadn’t been given any menus. Table water was a precious resource, with only small Duralex cups being offered, and no bottle or jug of water to pour from ourselves. We were only offered water twice during our lunch, and I also saw our fellow diners sit with empty glasses of water for significant periods of time. This was complicated by the fact that it was an extremely sunny day, and that we were directly under some outdoor heaters.

There were a few other service related problems that were too small to mention. I know I’ve spent a lot of words on the above, but I’m not normally a service-oriented guy so to be so put out by the service was a new experience.

The Braised Wagyu Beef Rib ($23) with zucchini smash, truffle, greens, hassleback potato, poached egg, beef jus was very good. The waitress asked me how I wanted my beef which I thought was odd because it’s really only a small amount of beef rib. The beef was tender and the zucchini and greens were a welcome addition to my mostly meat based diet. I could not identify any physical truffle, perhaps it was just oil, but I cannot confirm. The potato to other-food ratio was a bit high. My girlfriend asked me to bring her home a serving, which she didn’t enjoy. She said it was too truffly. I disagree.

My vegetarian friend/colleague had the Wild Mushroom ($18) with whipped goat’s cheese, truffle pumpkin puree, pine nuts, sourdough toast, served with a soft poached egg. I had some of the goat’s cheese and mushroom, which were both good. I can’t tell you if the cheese is whipped in house or if it comes like this. My friend was satisfied with her meal but also hypo-hydrated.

At the end of the day I thought that ZIA served a pretty good meal. I just wish that we they weren’t so stingy on the tap water. I think I’d go again, and I think that I’d recommend ZIA to a friend or colleague. Maybe ignore the concerns about the car and just sit inside though.

Z.I.A Kitchen
+61 2 9750 5122
62 Canarys Road, Roselands NSW

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Japanese

Pokemeow – Rosebery NSW Cat Cafe Review

Cats are my favourite animal. Even though we have two small cats at home, we often find ourselves in wonder of cats on the internet, on the streets, and now at Pokemeow Cat Cafe.

One of the great joys of Pokemeow Cat Cafe is being able to sit outside and peer into their cat playground. Their clowder of cats, consisting of two Maine coons, a sphinx, a ragdoll, a munchkin and a very beautiful but average domestic shorthair, are an absolute delight to watch. Being able to watch them play and interact during our meal really elevated the experience. There’s also the opportunity to pay $10 for a 30 minute play session inside the playground (book beforehand online), but we chose not to as we felt it would be a bit weird to have all the diners look at us as we did so.

The overall vibe of the place is very pet friendly as well, and many of the other patrons brought their dogs along for brunch. There was, in particular, a very good yellow labrador who my partner got to pet.

While the six beautiful resident cats at Pokemeow are undoubtedly their main draw, their Asian fusion brunch menu isn’t anything to sneer at either.

I had the black sesame latte while my partner had just a normal large cappuccino. It strikes me that asking for a black sesame latte is more or less asking for fun milk please. A protip to new players, make sure to mix up your black sesame latte – there tends to be a lot of stuff that sediments at the bottom.

We enjoyed the truffle chips, which came covered in a cheesy parmesan. They were fresh out of the fryer and unfaultable.

I quite liked the six spicy fried chicken wings. I thought that they were reasonably priced (≤$10) and freshly fried and delicious. My partner thought they were not as good as the ones we had at Belle’s Hot Chicken the previous night but I thought they stood well on their own.

I felt that the earl grey pancakes were a bit dry on their own, but just fine when combined in a single bite with the provided mascarpone, berries, and sauce. I probably wouldn’t get these again, but my partner was a big fan.

The grilled salmon green tea soba salad was a bit of a weird one. The salmon was pretty standard (no better than anyone could make at home), however I would’ve liked a bit more of it. I couldn’t really appreciate the green tea flavour of the voluminous soba noodles until I had a further bite of a chicken wing to contrast against. I thought that the soba noodles perhaps were featured too prominently in the dish, however did enjoy it once the soba were mostly powered through and I could pair it better with the remaining sesame dressing, carrot, and tomato salad components. My partner didn’t really like this dish, but in retrospect and on deep introspection I did. I probably still wouldn’t get it again. Offer to pay for double salmon if they will let you.

I really enjoyed my visit to Pokemeow. Their food was pretty good, and there are a lot more Asian fusion brunch options left to try. I loved watching the cats play and interact, and would absolutely come back agian.

Pokemeow
1/8 Crewe Place, Rosebery NSW 2018
0416 668 468

Pokemeow Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato