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. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
I lived in Botany for an entire year, but it was six months after I had left that Lenny Briskets set up shop in their Botany warehouse location, and another six months of mouth-wateringly looking at Instagram posts before I was able to go and see what all the fuss was about for myself.
The strengths and weaknesses of the food truck business model are centred, unsurprisingly, around its mobility. While having your restaurant on wheels might mean that you’re able to service geographically diverse populations and get your product in front of more hungry eyes and mouths, the itinerant lifestyle also means that it’s difficult to establish a home base with a loyal local following and reliable opening times. It’s the balancing act that’s birthed a million SWOT analyses – but eventually we took ourselves to Botany and got our mouths around that beef.
This Pastrami on Martin’s ($17) was perfection. The meat was so incredibly juicy, tender, and flavourful, not to mention generous, absolutely overflowing the soft, tumeric-coloured potato buns. The yellow theme was continued with just a bit of French’s classic yellow mustard, enough to add a second degree of flavour interest, without being overpowering. The three simple flavours of smoked meat, a bit of mustard, and the sweet bun all worked in perfect harmony, so much so that I found the included side pickle (happily not too salty, but ultimately not needed). While Lenny’s offers a similar sandwich with 500g of pastrami, I think the bread to filling ratio of just the regular one (I think it might be 250g?) is the sweet spot.
The New Amsterdam ($18) of BBQ brisket, American cheese, sweet red peppers and Russian dressing, again on a Martin’s potato bun was my second favourite, but still good. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, though I thought that the red capsicum made it just a bit too wet and sweet for my liking. The flavours of the pastrami sandwich just hit the right spot for me. The cheese was nice, and I wonder if it could be added to the original pastrami sandwich.
This samoyed, known as Bibi, is hyper friendly and super soft, and though we ate our meal with our hands we could not resist giving Lenny’s mascot some well-enjoyed pets.
La Lune Market in North Strathfield is a sunny Korean-run but not Korean-themed cafe, located under a gym a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of the old Arnott’s factory precinct. Their house specialty is their basque cheesecake, though on my first visit to La Lune it was some of their other offerings that caught my eye.
The ham and cheese croissant ($7) is a little more than just ham and cheese in a croissant. La Lune Market employs the use of a sticky honey mustard glaze atop the croissant for an extra depth of flavour. While this is an innovative touch, it unfortunately doesn’t distract from the actual croissant and its filling itself, which I found a little lacking. Review of the cross-sectional images will reveal a somewhat denser pastry, with inadequately melted cheese. While I don’t profess myself to be a croissant expert, I do think that it would’ve been a stronger showing with a warmer and meltier slice of cheese inside.
Contrastingly, the house sandwich ($14) may just be one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. This sandwich’s bulging contents include ripe avocado, tomato, lettuce, chicken in mustard mayonnaise, cabbage, and a slice of cheese. It is in fact so bulging, that wrapping paper is needed to keep it together in one part. The creaminess of the mustard mayonnaise and soft chicken synergised perfectly with the ripe avocado and tomato, while the crisp, fresh lettuce provided the perfect foil for those rich tastes. A sandwich generally has no right to be this good, but to be fair, a sandwich generally has no right to be $14 either. A big recommend if the budget is willing.
The iced matcha latte ($7) was a little sweet but still quite refreshing and nice. It is extremely unfortunate however that they saw fit to load the cup up with such a vast quantity of ice, leaving little room to put the actual drink. Really poor value, in my opinion.
OPINIONS A couple of things rubbed me the wrong way, but one thing that I can’t look past is the sheer quality of their house chicken sandwich. It’s so good, and so wholesome, that I would be happy if there were a shop that sold just that.
Not my dog.
UPDATE, JANUARY 2025.
I had never really planned to return to La Lune despite the excellent chicken house sandwich pictured above, however was drawn back after a string of night shifts by my colleague who sold us on the fact that every fortnight she goes for a run around the bay and then stops by here to have a beef bulgogi wrap.
This is a woman who is a KNOWN foodie, someone who puts actual effort into being an influencer, and as the bulgogi wrap ($16) hadn’t been on the menu the last time I visited, we all agreed to go along. What I found (and she will probably dispute this) was quite disappointing. It was essentially a wrap with some beef bulgogi, a little bit of tomato, garlic sauce, hummus, parsley and cheese. It was not exciting.
The wrap was $16, which is the same price as the house chicken sandwich (only a $2 increase in 3 and a bit years, that’s honestly not that bad), but nowhere near as good or as special. I found it a bit dry, the flavour wasn’t that exciting, and the beef wasn’t the best quality (although to be fair I had actually made myself some shabu-shabu with raw beef, with rare Wagyu beef from 2GR during my night shift – also taking a leaf from the same friend who introduced me to nocturnal microwave cooking for one).
I had half the wrap, but finishing it was just one of those cases where it didn’t feel like it was worth the calories to continue to consuming a thing that wasn’t that enjoyable, so I gave it to one of my hungry juniors who was eyeing it after having demolished his chicken sandwich.
I also had an iced mont blanc ($9), generously donated by friend, colleague and good bloke PMR, which I felt was oddly expensive for something that tastes exactly the same as a cold brew mixed with water from my sodastream and topped with a dessicated slice of orange. I literally made this for myself this morning, and apart from the layer of cream which I didn’t have on hand I don’t think it tasted that different. Anyone with an extra nine dollars should note that the orange slice was bitter and not candied.
This basque mini cheesecake, which may be have been around $16 – I don’t think the price was actually on the menu – was expensive but very delicious, paid for and shared with PMR. The fresh cream and the delightful, and the cake was not too sweet, and just the right balance texturally between airy and dense. I regret not getting a cross-section of this cake, but it is definitely something worth trying, especially if you have a wealthy benefactor shouting.
La Lune Market Shop 1/13 George St, North Strathfield NSW 2137
My partner spent $90 on breakfast from Born to Bake Greek Patisserie Cafe on UberEats this morning. This is what she ordered.
Kreatopita
This wrapped-in-foil delight is the Kreatopita ($10). It consisted of meat mince in puff pastry, however there were parts of the insides that was straight dough. For this, it loses a point. A further point is lost for the price.
Salmon Roll
This Salmon Roll ($14) with smoked salmon, capers, baby spinach, red onion and cream cheese actually came with surprise avocado. Sadly the avocado was very hard and not ripe at all. The flavours were not extraordinary. It is also quite expensive. Not again.
Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich
This Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich ($14) with lettuce, tomato and a spicy mayonnaise sauce is as described on the shipping manifest. Unfortunately ours was quite unbalanced, as it seems they ran out of ingredients to extend the salad beyond half of the roll. We therefore had one side that was yum, and one side that was just dry chicken with no salads. I saw that soon after we received our meal that they had marked this particular sandwich as out of stock on the UberEats app.
The Moussaka ($14.50) was cold. How am I meant to eat this? (UPDATE: even warmed up in the oven it was not very good)
Bougatsa
The Bougatsa ($7.50) was a yummy dessert of filo pastry around a warm custard filling. Quite good.
Amarena Black Cherry Tart
This Amarena Black Cherry Tart ($4) was a nice treat for $4. The black cherry was yummy but I wish there were more.
Salted Caramel Tart
The Salted Caramel Tart ($9.50) was pretty standard. Not bad, but $9.50?
The Orange Cake ($9) was unpredictably huge. Very dense. The densest. I didn’t really like it that much.
Strawberry cheesecake, Amarena Black Cherry, Fruit tart
My partner made a sweet and kind move on my birthday to order me a repeat of our previous adventure.
The fruit tart ($7.50) was actually really nice. I loved the variety of the fruit as well as the custard filling and pastry underneath.
The strawberry cheesecake ($7) I wouldn’t order again.
The Amarena black berry tart ($4) you have heard about before.
VERDICT
Though they may have been born to bake, the operators of Born to Bake made some strange choices , like surprising us with unripe avocado and a cold moussaka. While they may be born to bake, I was not – I didn’t expect to have to bake my own food after it arrived.
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.
Kepos Street Kitchen came highly recommended by a vegetarian colleague of ours. Naturally we went without him to share a meat-heavy meal before a swing at nearby Moore Park.
The Charred broccolini salad, shredded chicken, coarse burghul, herbs ($18) was delicious. As a group we are not the biggest fans of salad, but all members of our party ended up enjoying it. There is a surprisingly generous amount of chicken tucked in with all the greens and grains.
The Burrata cheese, Persian eggplant, pine nuts, volcanic salt ($22) was pretty good. The cheese was firm on the outside and less firm on the inside, as expected. The real star of this dish was the crusty, freshly toasted bread. Delicious.
The Grilled prawns, chermoula, grilled lemon ($27) came with five prawns. The prawns were quite large and tasty, and the lemon was too (though I was tricked by a colleague into an entire quarter of the lemon pictured in one mouthful by itself). I’m still trying to come to terms with paying $5.40 per prawn though.
Kepos meatball sub, coriander paste, grated haloumi, ciabatta ($18) was very good. Plenty of meat and red sauce on crusty warm bread. Very yum and a good serving of meat. A strong recommendation for this one.
The Arayes pita of wagyu mince seasoned with parsley, onion, olive oil, cumin and paprika, chili tomato salad, tahini, pita ($18) started off good, however quickly we found it to be too flavourful and too saucy. You will recognise this complaint of “too tasty” from many of my reviews, and in this case you can rest assured that this was a view that was held by the majority of our group. I would not recommend Kepos Street Kitchen’s Arayes pita.
Pictured here is a half serve of chips, which were provided complimentary as they had forgotten to make our chips. Even this half serving was quite a lot of chips. The chips were fresh and fluffy on the inside, with a cripsy exterior. They may just be the best hot chips I’ve had in a long long time. There’s definitely something special going on, owing perhaps to a proprietary cooking method. At $7 (for twice the chips listed) I would give them a go.
Overall
Pretty much everything we had hit the spot. I can recommend.
