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.
It was July 2020, and my Melbourne based colleague had just snuck across the border into NSW and was keen for a meal.
I had Beverly Hills Kebab and Pide House’s Mixed kebab plate with hummus, garlic, and chilli ($18). It was a large portion for the price and I had difficulty finishing it despite not having eaten during the preceding 12 and a half hour shift. The quality of the meat and ingredients were standard, nothing to write home about, but nothing specifically wrong either.
I don’t think I’d come back, but it was worth trying.
3/5
Beverly Hills Kebab and Pide House 520 King Georges Rd, Beverly Hills NSW 2209 +61 (02) 9580 9229
The Tinhorn is the latest victim of my rolling B&E Reviews.
I quite enjoyed the the Bacon & Egg Roll ($8.50). There was a healthy serving of bacon and egg, and the relish helped to prevent it from being too dry. This is a highly rated bacon and egg roll.
I enjoyed the Pulled Beef Sandwich ($12) less than the B&E. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, but not what I was after that day. My partner liked it more.
My partner was a big fan of the Butter Pancakes ($17). I enjoyed the fruit and cream toppings but I didn’t think the pancakes themselves really stood out. $17 is also a bit steep for this but I guess that’s how much you pay if you don’t want to crack open a bottle of Green’s or White Wings.
Overall I enjoyed my food from the Tinhorn. I especially enjoyed the B&E, and will likely get a few more from them in future days to months.
I’m generally not a very beachy guy, and though I’ve lived in Sydney almost all my life, my visit to Costas Arepa Bar also marked my first visit to Bondi in over a decade. Bondi, as some may know and many are about to learn, is home to a population mostly consisting of well off Caucasian youths, who have the benefit of their family having lived in Australia since the First Fleet. One outcome of this very well off population is the incredibly boomy corner store industry, with the mini-grocer next door to Costas Arepas Bar seeing plenty of egg-and-or-milk runs from the above mentioned cohort during our brief visit.
Mama Chang (L), Yankee (R)
The arepas at Costa Arepa Bar are essentially little, corn based toasted sandwiches filled with an imaginative and plentiful range of fillings. The arrangement is similar to what you would find if you toasted a crumpet, cut it in half and filled it to the brim with proteins, salad, and sauces, though the arepa itself is a bit more grainy, thinner, yet somehow still more substantial feeling.
Though the displayed menu confusingly offers its arepas in pairs for $14, the chef was quick to point out that any combination of arepas could be had.
The Mama Chang featured a crumbed hoki fillet, kimchi, slaw, and a mixture of mayonnaise and “Korean BBQ Sauce”. Whilst the flavours were OK, I wasn’t a big fan of the sesame crumbing that they used on the fish, which I found gave it a bit of a harder bite than it really had to (no doubt designed to suit Bondi’s anti-gluten cultists).
The Yankee, was advertised as featuring beef short rib in BBQ sauce with coleslaw and jalapenos, though what we actually got was a pulled meat, not at all comparable to the juicy piece of short rib as we were expecting. The blandness of the meat and boring BBQ sauce made this the weakest arepa of the bunch. Not even the jalapenos could save it.
Pepiada (L), DownUnder (r)
The Pepiada arepa was the strongest of the bunch. The shredded chicken was coated in a rich sauce of lemon mayonnaise, coriander, and avocado. Unlike the other arepas, the filling in this one was homogenous, with no unexpected surprises or difference in ingredients eaten bite to bite. If you find yourself here and only have room for one arepa, this would be the one to go for.
The DownUnder arepa of the same shredded chicken but in peri peri sauce with a side filling of bacon and avocado just wasn’t executed as well as the Pepiada. The spicy filling wasn’t quite spicy (though the additional hot sauce for $1 made up for that), and the differing elements made it difficult to eat.
Soy Cappuccino
Costa Arepas Bar’s soy cap is essentially the same as any other soy cap, made with Little Marionette beans. What’s worth mentioning is the cup from Huskee, which is made from coffee husks and has a nice handfeel. I’d think about getting one of my own were I able to keep a keepcup longer than a few days.
VERDICT 3.5 NOT BAD.
Costa Arepas Bar 112A O’Brien St, Bondi Beach NSW 2026 0480 276 880
We are frequent flyers to Kazuki Japanese Restaurant in Hurstville, and I find that it is a reputable and reliable source of Japanese food for delivery to Kogarah.
The Eel box ($24.50) is a full featured bento with eel, prawn, tempura vegetables, agedashi tofu, edamame, potato mash, and salmon sashimi. It is a good set with plenty of different flavours and textures to amuse the mouth.
The chirashi sushi don ($19.50) is my favourite thing to order from Kazuki. It is a bowl of mixed sashimi on rice, including really fresh and sweet scallops, salmon belly, tuna (akami), cooked prawns, raw octopus, tamago, and a small serving of cucumber and carrot. It feels super healthy and fresh, and you can’t go wrong with it.
The soft shell crab roll ($11.50) is a bit expensive for the quantity that you get, but not bad overall.
VERDICT
Judging from the four times we’ve ordered from Kazuki over the course of two months, I can definitely recommend them to a friend or colleague.
5 octopi
UPDATE FEBURARY 2023
I finally went in person, and it is weird how some things were better, and some things were not as good three years down the track.
Starting with the good is the decor. I love cats.
Not bad was this chicken karaage ($8.80), which is standard enough not to evoke any feelings, positive or negative.
Pretty good was this miso aburi salmon ($12), though the pictures don’t really give away how small the portions are.
Back to the good parts, take a look at this super cute cat-themed dish.
The tempura udon ($16.80) was actually quite good. Great tempura prawn, good udon soup.
Super underwhelming was this combination sashimi (4 kinds) ($16.50) which was quite expensive for some really small pieces.
REVISITED THOUGHTS After visiting in person, and though I love all the cat-themed stuff, Kazuki no longer fills as special a place in my heart. The 5% discount for cash payments also seems a bit odd, because I feel like it would be odd to be paying that much for a card payment processor.
Another day, another feed. Today’s breakfast was eaten at Brasserie Bread, a bakery and cafe a mere ten minutes walk from our home.
The bulk of this review is actually about the second time I ate food from Brasserie Bread – the first time was a couple of takeaway sandwiches following a night shift several weeks before. The Smoked Chicken Sambo with avo, provolone cheese, roast tomato & aioli ($14) was quite good, while The Brasserie BLT Sambo with bacon, iceberg, tomato on Sourdough Batard ($12) was very middling.
While the wait for just a couple of sandwiches the first time felt like forever, the wait for dining in was actually very minimal. This is my story.
This glossy looking rhubarb and strawberry tart I must admit was only okay. I thought it was a bit too cakey and not tarty enough for my liking. Beautiful, though.
The apple crumble, in contrast, was relatively divine. Absolutely great interplay of crispy pastry textures, crumble, apple, and sauce.
My partner ordered the Eggs Your Way on Toast with Pepe Saya Butter, a mere $10 for a delicious and wholesome meal. She loved it so much that I caught her making heart eyes at the perfectly liquid yolk atop Pepe’s cultured butter. The chorizo that I spent $4 adding on was a waste – an absolutely not necessary addition to this already perfect dish.
The Slow Cooked Beef Brisket Sambo with housemade pickled cabbage slaw ($14), in comparison with the simple wholesomeness of the eggs on toast, was a letdown. I found the beef a bit unflavourful, a disappointment matched with its boring texture. Not even the yummy pickled cabbage slaw and sauce could save it. The second letdown of the dish was the oppressive quantity of soft crusty bread. I understand that Brasserie Bread is first and foremost a bakery, but I feel that they really missed the mark on the filling to bread ratio, and consequently I cannot recommend this sandwich.
COMMENT
I liked the little pastries and I liked the simple toast and eggs. The beef brisket sandwich was a bit of a letdown, but from memory their smoked chicken sandwich was actually quite nice. It was a cheap and cheerful local breakfast.
