The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
As a champion of the local Parramatta food scene and of all-day menus in general, I was excited to hear Beans & Barrels recommended online, and promptly took my sleep-deprived nocturnist crew comprising of CSJPH (and CSJPH’s SRMO), MJT, ES on a long 10 minute drive and 10 minute walk the next opportunity that I had.
Their all-day menu was quite extensive, with a number of highly customisable options that were available at any time of day.
I had the protein salad ($16), oddly named as it essentially featured all that you see above but without the actual protein components. It is a salad of beetroot humus, cherry tomatoes, spiced sweet potato, shaved fennel, dukkah, rocket, green apple, and lemon mustard dressing – completely inoffensive, relatively fresh, but not quite what comes to mind when “protein” is in the headline. To address this deficiency I added to it some very nice and juicy grilled chicken ($6) and two poached egg ($4) making it a good but $26 salad. I did end up leaving some of the greenery on my plate even having finished my additional proteins, which may either be testament to how much greenery there was (a good thing) or how much more protein was needed to balance it out.
I don’t know that I’ll come back, while good it was just a bit difficult to get to after a twelve and a half hour long night shift, but perhaps it will make its way into the rotation alongside our Parramatta favourites.
3 Tomatoes is an unusually bustling cafe on an otherwise quiet suburban Ashbury street, a provider of a wide an interesting range of food options on their all-day menu as well as a selection of artisan groceries at their counter up front.
The Syrian falafel bowl ($17) with additional poached egg ($3.50) was a green and fresh bowl of sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, sliced radish, unsliced salad leaves, unsliced pickled chilli, and four or five freshly cooked falafels, all drizzled in tahini and parsley. This bowl was an enjoyable and fresh treat, promoting a healthful feeling with each bite of its salad-like ingredients. The falafels were warm and fresh, with a good crunchy external layer and warm, moist, textured interior. The first bite of any fried food is always the best, and while my enjoyment of the falafels waned as they radiated heat into the surrounding environment they remained reasonably good by the end, especially when paired with the mildly sour and mildly spicy pickled chillis. While I was initially concerned by the number of falafel served, they proved to be in the perfect ratio to the salad, and we did not find ourselves wanting for more at the end of the meal. The poached egg, an addition onto the base bowl, was well done with mastery shown in timing. Overall quite good. Very sesame flavoured.
It’s a shame that I don’t have a proper photo of the beef brisket ($18) without it being covered in part by the gigantic extra handmade 3T hash brown ($7). I would have liked to be able to comment on them individually, but the layering of the hash brown within the beef brisket dish made this impossible. The beef brisket dish with date molasses, capsicum, tahini, cooked greens and a fried egg was warm and tasty, if less fresh and wholesome compared to the aforementioned salad. The meat was a particular highlight, given that we have had some relatively disappointing red meats in brunch meals of late (at other establishments). The fried egg, similar to the poached egg, was cooked to a high degree of runny perfection.
The handmade 3T hash brown ($7) was my partner’s compromise after I told her she shouldn’t order the shoestring fries. It was quite large, though I guess if it had been any smaller we would’ve been upset at the $7 asking price. It had an crispy exterior with a moist interior, and was strongly herbed for additional flavour.
The pastel de nata ($4.50) from Tuga Pastries will be reviewed individually in a separate post if I ever make it to one of Tuga’s stores, but suffice it to say it was good, and I didn’t even have to wait thirty minutes in line to eat it.
Sticky Chai ($5.50), Soy Latte ($4.50). Coffee by Will & Co. Good foam on the latte.
THOUGHTS It’s a very nice, doggy cafe in a very nice and doggy neighbourhood. I’d like to come back. I will admit that I looked online at real estate in the area after I got home. I am in the right age and stage chronologically but not financially. Pegfeeds is why.
A human, in double denim, petting a dog, not in denim.
I’ve not actually eaten at Brookyln Boy Bagels in Marrickville, though I hope to by the time this review has been published. I have, instead, had their Blueberry Bagel ($4.20) with an unusually expensive little tub of cream cheese (I think $3.50? – we spent a total of $7.85 for the pictured bagel and cheese) at one of their many market stalls around greater Sydney.
This bagel was pretty good, man. I don’t know if it was $7.85 good, but as someone who’s never been to New York and doesn’t actually know what a New York bagel should taste like, I was satisfied. I enjoyed the chewy texture, the not-too-sweet, almost savoury quality, and of course the thick layer of expensive ass cream cheese.
My partner went to their bakery in Marrickville the next day and had some kind of everything bagel with lox, inspired by the latest hotness out of A24. I’m told it was pretty good, though she relished the opportunity to eat without having to take a photo.
We don’t have that much experience eating Indonesian food so we never really know what we’re doing or if we’ll like it when we go. We recently had the opportunity for a quick lunch at this newly opened local joint, chosen at least in part for its tight pricing given that we are meant to be trying to be good to save up for a deposit on some kind of residential property. We’ve been saying this for years.
We had the Nasi Campur Kalimantan ($16), a plate of oily rice topped with a number of different animal products – charsiu pork, a lap cheong like sausage, soy pork, a sweet chicken drumstick, and egg – , as well as some pickles and some unadulterated sliced cucumber, which I can only assume was provided as an attempt to offset the sheer unwholesomeness of the rest of the oily and processed dish. Though I did think the rice was too oily, this dish was actually very yummy, with an enjoyable variety of components that kept us entertained throughout. I particularly liked the sweet marinaded chicken drumette, and though I wouldn’t have it again, can recommend it.
The other thing we had was this Nasi Padang B ($16), with a fried chicken drumstick and beef rendang. It came out immediately, wrapped in a thick brown paper, ready to go as a to-go portion.
A quick unwrap of the brown paper revealed a further layer of banana leaf which self-unravelled, leaving a layered serving of corn fritter atop beef rendang, a fried chicken drumstick (full-size this time), cassava leaves, curry sauce, and sambal sauce, better appreciated in the below slightly deconstructed photo.
I’m usually not the biggest fan of Western style corn fritters (a shame because my partner really is), but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I think compared to your usual café fritter the batter was looser, with probably a smaller proportion of corn and a softer texture. The beef rendang and chicken drumstick were yum, but because the sambal is nestled in a pocket within the rice I accidentally gave myself a high-dose sambal mouthful at one point which significantly dampened my happiness for the next few minutes. My partner had no such issues.
Overall thoughts Good price, and good food. A low risk, low cost choice of Indonesian food for the less adventurous.
The promise and threat of Got Pho’s wagyu beef pho had loomed in my mind for a long time, and though it was not bad, I don’t think it really lived up to the price point or my hungry expectations.
The Phở Dặc Biệt ($26.50 pictured including $8 for the addition of some rare wagyu beef) was a modestly sized bowl of rare beef, brisket, and balls, with no mention anywhere of the possibility of adding even more special ingredients like tendon and tripe. The meat quantity and quality were both good, though at $26.50 inclusive of extra beef it was hard to justify for the price. I enjoyed the rich flavour of the soup, though had particular issue with the temperature, as it was served relatively warm but not hot enough to adequately heat up the bean sprouts and herbs that were delivered to us separately after we had to ask for them. Problematically we also didn’t know that the the wagyu beef was an $8 addition rather than a $5 addition, as the marker that had changed it from an extra $5 to an extra $8 on our menu had been rubbed off.
We had to ask for this. I don’t know if this is a standard thing or if it was just an oversight in our case.
The pork chop broken rice ($18.50) we were even less enthused about. The pork chop itself was a bit on the thinner side, and therefore drier than recent comparisons like at Ngoodle in Ashfield. The egg, whilst done very well and runny, was plagued by the fact that it had multiple tiny eggshell fragments in it which really made the texture quite unpleasant.
The hot chicken wings (6 for $15) were quite yummy, if ambitiously priced. They were nice and crispy, quite juicy, and also quite spicy. The pickles served alongside them were also very good to temper some of the spice, but I can’t see myself routinely wanting to pay this much for six wings.
OVERALL COMMENT I had high expectations and was ultimately honestly quite disappointed. They seemed super accommodating to a diverse population of patrons, and indeed we did see one large gathering where white kids happily ate their KFC on the same table as their parents’ pho, but issues with shell in the egg, as well as the general price to quality ratio of the food don’t make me want to go back.
And how much can it cost to reprint your menu, or at least properly alter the prices on them when prices change? Surely it’s worth avoiding the confusion? (You will note that the upgrade to wagyu beef option has also suffered an attempt of having its price changed on the menu)
