CoffeeCat, Bondi Junction

Date Visited: Sunday 7 June, 2020

Many people are aware that there are heaps of great cafes and restaurants near Bondi Beach, but not so many may know about CoffeeCat, a hidden gem of a cafe basically located right at Bondi Junction train station itself. So convenient to get to by train, and very handy for those on the go for a daily coffee, but CoffeeCat also does so much more! It’s such an inviting cafe, whether you’re chilling solo or dining in a group – I loved the newspapers they had scattered around, the filled bookshelf, and even the game of Exploding Kittens I spotted.

I had the very refreshing ‘jungle juice’, which was such a perfect combination of mango, banana and coconut water, though the banana was definitely stronger than the mango. My partner also really enjoyed his mocha, and it was excellent value for the size.

Jungle juice – $6 (left), mocha – $3.8 (right)

It’s hard to go wrong with a big breakfast, and we were certainly impressed with this huge board! There was a great variety that would surely satisfy everyone, from bacon, sausages, hash browns, sautéed mushrooms, spinach and grilled tomatoes, as well as your choice of bread and eggs your way. They also do a vegetarian board that switches out the meat for avocado and halloumi. Most of this kind of food is pretty standard, but I especially loved the sausages and the tomato chutney – definitely made this a more memorable and incredibly satisfying big breakfast!

Big breakfast – $20

I also love a good burger, so the breakfast burger was absolutely my kind of dish. I really loved the combination of everything, especially with the fried egg and hash brown – which made it feel like the perfect breakfast burger. The wagyu beef patty, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar all tasted so good with the Japanese mayonnaise. I would love to try CoffeeCat’s other burgers considering how much I loved this!

Breakfast burger – $14

Another classic is the eggs benedict. We chose smoked salmon to go with this, though you can also choose bacon or ham. I always love how good poached eggs with smoked salmon tastes, and this one was no exception. Unlike other cafes, there was a lot of spinach served on CoffeeCat’s version, which is either good or bad depending on whether you like your greens. I personally didn’t end up eating all the spinach but I still think this is a super solid dish.

Eggs benedict – $17

The other surprise of the day was discovering how delicious crispy chips taste with Japanese inspired curry sauce! Though advertised as a ‘spicy’ curry sauce, it was not spicy at all, which worked better for my tastes. These chips were so wonderfully crunchy and lightly seasoned well and I highly recommend trying these addictive curry chips! The chips were also topped with mozzarella cheese which didn’t do much for me – it didn’t feel very necessary, and if it was going to be added, I think it might’ve been better with melted cheese.

Curry chips – $8

I’d happily recommend CoffeeCat for a great brunch in a cute, calm cafe. I love their logo, Chase the Cat, and the lighting decor! Of the dishes we tried, I especially loved the breakfast burger and having curry chips for the first time. The salmon eggs benedict and big breakfast was also so satisfying, and everything about this meal was honestly so enjoyable. If you’re looking for good food that will not disappoint, need a break while shopping at Westfield Bondi Junction or don’t want to wait at busier Bondi Beach eateries, this is the perfect place to go!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of CoffeeCat, but all opinions and photos are my own.

CoffeeCat | Tiffany Plaza, Shop 18/422 Oxford St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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The Pasta House, Sydney Olympic Park

Date Visited: Tuesday 2 June, 2020

Sydney Olympic Park is far from the first suburb you’ll think of for good food, but The Pasta House is definitely putting in a strong showing to change that perception. Housed at Abbatoir Blues, this historical place is a cafe during the day and pasta heaven in the evening.

The menu is fairly concise with 7 signature dishes, which I feel is a good thing for a new menu. It’s better to do a few things excellently, than have a huge menu with differing quality. Even with 7 dishes, I love the variety – there’s 4 halal options and 2 vegetarian options, with a mix between classic napoletana, bolognese, as well as creamy lemon butter and cheesy sauces. There’s also an awesome alcoholic beverages and drinks list capitalising on some of the cafe style drinks from Abbatoir Blues. I had the Egyptian rose iced tea ($7), which had a refreshingly unique taste – I would highly recommend it!

Aside from the signature dishes, the garlic focaccia and a rocket salad are the options for side dishes. I was so impressed by their garlic focaccia, which was entirely made in-house and baked in a gorgeous garlic butter. It was such a crunchy delight to eat and I’d definitely suggest getting this to accompany your pasta.

Garlic focaccia – $10

We decided to give the pappardelle ai fungi a go, one of the two vegetarian and halal options. Every signature dish features house-made pasta and this pappardelle was made so well. I really loved the generous ‘wild mushroom medley’ and the parmesan sauce added a lovely light cheesiness flavour. I thought the dish could’ve been enhanced with even more creaminess in the sauce for cohesion, but I still really enjoyed this one.

Pappardelle ai fungi – $18 (small) – vegetarian, halal

The prawn ravioli came strongly recommended and as soon as I took a bite I understood why. Perfectly handmade from scratch, the soft prawn filling went so harmoniously with the lemon butter sauce. It looks like a pretty unassuming dish but I found this to be the most addictive and the one that I wanted to keep coming back to for more!

Prawn ravioli – $20 (small) – halal

Last but not least was this classic lasagna, which definitely wowed us when it came to the table. It is an incredibly generous slab with amazing layers of house-made lasagna sheets, bechamel, tomato mix and beef mince. This plate is more than enough for the average person and filled my tummy with such happiness and warmth. Comfort food at its finest.

Lasagna emiliana – $18

For a place named The Pasta House, I definitely expected some good pasta, but I was overwhelmingly impressed with all the food we tried! The prawn ravioli was undeniably a massive hit, and the hand-made pasta brilliance was also evident in the pappardelle and the lasagna sheets. Not to mention, the garlic focaccia and iced tea really exceeded all expectations and rounded off such an enjoyable meal. Another thing I really appreciated was the portions – the lasagna was especially huge, but even the ‘small’ pastas we got were such a decent size.

The service was also so on point, so thank you for the amazing hospitality during my visit. If you plan to visit – The Pasta House is located very conveniently opposite Olympic Park train station, and street parking was plentiful considering the current lack of events. For delicious good value pasta and a soul satisfying Italian meal, this family run place is so worth a try.

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of The Pasta House, but all opinions and photos are my own.

The Pasta House | Building C/1 Herb Elliott Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Quanjude, World Square, Town Hall

Date Visited: Saturday 14 March, 2020

I love a good Chinese feast with family and friends, so I was pretty keen to try Quanjude. Though I’ve been to World Square many times, surprisingly I have never seen or heard of  this place before. It’s tucked away to the side of World Square, but is actually a huge restaurant, with loads of seating, an upstairs area and several rooms for private groups. Despite being relatively new to Sydney, Quanjude has been around for more than a century, and is very successful overseas in Asia.

As tends to be common with Chinese restaurants, the menu is huge, with a wonderful variety of dishes to pick from. For newcomers, look out for the recommended dishes with the thumbs ups symbol on the menu. Of course, it’s hard to visit Quanjude without trying their signature peking duck!

It’s always amazing to watch an experienced chef slicing a whole peking duck in front of you, and I loved how Quanjude really showcased this. I’ve had peking duck many times before, but it was my first time trying some of the duck skin separately on its own with a bit of salt. It was very fatty and juicy so I absolutely loved it! The rest of the duck was cut up onto two plates that were more than enough for our group of 4. The duck was so beautifully delicious, with the right amount of natural flavour and juicy tenderness.

If you ask about the proper technique to eat peking duck, they will very kindly demonstrate the correct process, and I was really impressed with how our server was able to fold the pancake so cleanly with chopsticks. Put a piece of shallot or cucumber, ample sweet soy bean paste, a piece of roast duck and wrap it all in the pancake – such a delightful mouthful.

Signature peking duck (whole duck) – $88

I’m a big fan of san choy bao as well, which is meat wrapped in lettuce. However, it’s usually with chicken or pork so I was excited to try a duck version. Quanjude certainly knows duck well, and I loved this. Really great flavour in the duck that goes so well with the fresh crunchy lettuce.

Duck san choy bao – $12.8 (2 pc/portion)

Crispy shallot pancake is another Chinese restaurant classic. This one was very simple and there’s not much to it, so it’s a good option for picky kids or as a lighter entree or side dish.

Crispy shallot pancake – $12.8

The peking duck is the star at Quanjude, but these wok fried pipis with vermicelli might have possibly stolen the show. If you want to treat yourself, this is the best way to do it! This giant plate of pipis was polished off by our table pretty quickly, as the pipis and vermicelli were packed with delicious flavour from the X.O chilli sauce. I’d definitely recommend ordering these pipis for your table!

Wok fried pipis with X.O chilli sauce and vermicelli – $68

One of my other favourites of the night was the deep fried barramundi with the gorgeous sweet and sour sauce. I love how crunchy the fish is outside, and it makes this fish so addictive to eat. It is an amazing combination with the sauce and if you haven’t tried this before then you definitely need to. I’d have this over sweet and sour pork any day.

Deep fried barramundi with sweet and sour sauce – $58

Next up – this wok-fried chicken came out glistening and it was as soft and juicy as it looked. Chicken with cashew is also a very popular combination in Chinese cuisine and this dish was done really well.

Wok-fried chicken with vegetable and cashew nuts – $24.8

On the vegetables side, we ordered these bean curd robes with mushrooms and snowpea. I really liked the mushrooms in particular, though bean curd lovers will really enjoy this dish as there is so much of it in this bowl.

Crispy bean curd robes with assorted mushrooms and snowpea – $24.8

We also enjoyed the wok-fried lamb, which came out on a heated grill plate. I was worried it might be a bit dry, but don’t be fooled – it was so packed with flavour and is one of those dishes that tastes so much better than it looks. Definitely a great main dish to consider ordering!

Wok-fried lamb with shallot and cumin seed – $26.8

I was also really impressed with Quanjude’s drinks menu. Though of course it’s pretty traditional to have tea at a Chinese restaurant, Quanjude can absolutely still deliver the goods if you’re feeling a juice or cocktail. Their House Signature cocktail ($22) packs a punch with vodka, midori and a touch of pineapple, such a brilliant combination. The lychee mojito with bacardi is also such a treat, and I always find lychees so refreshing. The mocktails are very enjoyable too, and you may find it hard to pick between the tropical punch juice ($11) and the gorgeous pink lemonade.

Lychee mojito – $22 (left), pink lemonade – $9 (right)

This was such an incredible fulfilling meal; the best kind of food to share with a small group of friends or a huge table of family. My favourite must order dishes were the signature peking duck, the pipis and the deep fried barramundi, which are all sure to wow any table. Major kudos also to the staff, who were all so accomodating and attentive and really made this dinner a great experience. Quanjude reminds me of the Chinese restaurants back in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with its lovely traditional decor and big tables. I really enjoyed this generous Chinese spread and hope to soon see Quanjude bustling full as it deserves to be.

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Quanjude, but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you so much Alice (@alicechow_n) for extending the invite!

Quanjude 全聚德| 10.11/41/680 George St, Sydney NSW 2000 | Facebook | Instagram

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Santorini on Oxford, Darlinghurst

Date Visited: Wednesday 18 March, 2020

I visited Santorini, Greece two years ago and had an incredible time with some of the best food. I was so glad to be able to have a chance to relive my memories at Santorini on Oxford. From stepping in, I felt like I was transported back to the Greek island, with the friendly welcome and cosy vibes of the restaurant. The menu is fairly extensive with all your Greek favourites, including lots of meat, and more.

To get things started, we were treated to the seriously impressive saganaki, a very cheesy dish with a hint of alcoholic goodness. The Kefalograviera cheese was served by pouring some ouzo on the dish before lighting it up as an amazing fiery display. The presentation will definitely wow you, and if you are a cheese lover you’ll definitely want as much of this as possible!

Saganaki – $17.5

Some pita bread and dips is also a perfect way to start a Greek meal, and I loved the variety in this trio of dips. From left to right was the tzatziki, the Santorini smokey eggplant, and tarama. I think it was my first time trying tarama, which is made from fish roe, and it was quite a subtle light flavour. My favourite might have been the smokey eggplant though, perhaps because it was the strongest flavour. However, I enjoyed all three and would definitely recommend getting the trio to try the different dips!

Trio of dips with warm pita bread – $20

We also enjoyed the pita bread with this special dip. I recall that it was made from beans, but unfortunately don’t have the name of this dish and am not sure if it is even on the menu. However, it was another flavourful dip that helped our meal get off to a great start.

As if I wasn’t already wowed enough by the flaming cheese, I fell in love with these Kataifi prawns! Wrapped in kataifi, a type of string pastry, these deep fried prawns were absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly. They were beautifully crunchy and went so well with the aioli dill.

Kataifi prawns – $20

We also enjoyed this fresh Greek salad, with a variety of mixed leaf, carrots, tomatoes and cheese. I’m not usually the biggest fan of salads, but I actually really liked this Santorini salad. Everything was really well balanced and I found myself eating more of this than I thought.

Santorini salad – $18

The star of the Greek feast was this mixed meat grill plate. Souvlaki is definitely a Greek classic, and we demolished the two lamb souvlaki skewers. The lamb souvlaki, lamb loin chop, chicken thigh and loukaniko (Greek sausage) were all hot off the grill and full of so much flavour. Served with haloumi and some salad on the side, I guarantee you will be extremely full and satisfied after sharing this meat platter!

Mixed meat grill plate – $40

I really enjoyed my meal at Santorini on Oxford, with the highlights being the flaming saganaki, the amazing Kataifi prawns and the fulfilling mixed meat grill plate. This was one of those restaurants that really made me feel like I was eating traditional authentic Greek food made with lots of care. If you haven’t visited Greece before or if you want to time travel back to your Greek holiday, it’s time to visit Santorini on Oxford!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Santorini on Oxford, but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you Milk and Butter Media (@milkandbuttermedia) for arranging the invite!

Santorini on Oxford | 217 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Spice World, Haymarket

Date Visited: Wednesday 11 March, 2020

I’ve never been the biggest fan of hot pot but my mind has genuinely been changed after visiting Spice World! I honestly have not had such a good hot pot experience before, and I now know why. You have to get the fundamentals right – having a great soup base and high quality meat – and Spice World definitely delivers on both. I was impressed from the moment I stepped into the restaurant – Spice World is known for their robots handing out mints, and I loved all the Chinese inspired decor, from the roof lanterns to the dragon imprinted comfy chairs.

The first thing that struck me was how many choices were available on the extensive menu! Even in deciding the broth there were so many different options. You can pick either individual or large for share, depending on the size of your group, and you can then also pick single flavour or double flavour. For an individual broth from $9.9 up, you get your own personal hot pot, which I think is extremely reasonable. However, we opted for the large for share broth as the large broths also come with a complimentary puppy or Hello Kitty, or in our case, bear! How adorable is it!

I highly recommend getting a double flavour for more variety. We ended up picking the traditional spicy broth, ensuring to select level one chilli, along with the fresh tomato broth. My spicy tolerance is extremely weak, so I found the spicy broth extremely spicy, even though it was supposedly level one of three levels of chilli. Luckily, I absolutely loved the fresh tomato broth so I definitely had a lot more of that. The broth was incredibly rich in flavour and might have been the most perfect tomato broth I’ve had. They are so generous with making sure the broths are continually topped up and I would certainly come back to Spice World for this broth.

Traditional spicy broth + fresh tomato broth (large for share) – $32.9

The spicy bear started melting once the rest of the broth was poured in, but our attention was soon captured by the Wagyu beef dressed Barbie. It’s so gorgeous – no wonder this is one of their most popular recommended dishes! I thought this dish was only popular for the novelty of it, but I was blown away by just how amazingly delicious the Wagyu beef was itself. The beef absolutely melts in your mouth, and I’m more understanding of the pricing of Barbie considering how high quality the meat is. Another must order from Spice World that makes me want to revisit again.

Wagyu beef dressed Barbie – $38.9

We also decided to try out another of the recommended dishes, the deep fried pork belly. It sounded delicious on paper but unfortunately I was not the biggest fan upon tasting it. Whilst the portion is very reasonable for the price, it tasted a bit strange to me, and wasn’t as juicy inside as I’d hoped. It was very crunchy on the outside though, but that wasn’t enough to win me over and next time I’d pick more wagyu beef instead.

Deep fried pork belly – $10.9

We also tried the fish tofu, one of their handmade dishes. These were great, and were so easy to keep eating in between the meat. I wasn’t originally planning to order this, but I’m so glad we did, as these are a hot pot staple for a reason.

Fish tofu – $8.9

For those who need more flavour with their fish tofu or want some sauce, Spice World’s self-service sauce station is the ultimate dream. There were about 20 or more different kinds of sauces, along with suggested sauce combinations. There’s bound to be something for everyone. The menu includes a $3.9 charge per person for the self-service sauce, appetisers and seasonal fruits. Considering you can help yourself to as much as you want, it’s not too bad at all.

Self-service sauce station

Our waitress also recommended the mashed shrimp with fish roe, which was quite an unusual looking dish. A brilliant recommendation because this ended up being one of my partner’s favourites! Our waitress was so helpful and came by to help scoop the shrimp into our broth. I really enjoyed this, the fish roe added such a lovely texture and it was another easy thing to eat.

I usually want some rice or noodles to accompany lots of meat, so we also ordered udon noodles. At $5.9 it’s a big price discrepancy compared to a pack of udon from the supermarket, but there’s bound to be a premium to pay in a restaurant. Pretty standard udon noodles, but a great way to add some variety to the meal.

Mashed shrimp with fish roe – $16.9, udon noodles – $5.9 (back left)

We were also lucky enough to treat ourselves to these scallops. Admittedly the scallops didn’t wow me that much as they have no flavour and rely purely on the broths. However, the scallops seemed fresh and I loved how they presented them in their shells on the bed of ice.

Scallops on shell (6 pieces) – $18.9

Our last meat pick was the lamb slices served on the 1m plate. I might have ordered this for the novelty of it, but like the Wagyu barbie, I was awed by how good the meat actually tasted as well. This was definitely not your regular lamb slices from the Asian supermarket. The lamb was so high quality and even though there were so many slices on the 1m plate, I wanted to never stop eating this. I would highly recommend these lamb slices!

By then we were absolutely stuffed but we still had some dessert to end the feast. We tried the deep fried handmade rice cake with brown sugar, as it was one of their recommended dishes and I’d had something similar before that I had enjoyed. This was a nice treat but pretty average and there wasn’t anything to really wow me.

Lamb slices served on 1m plate – $25.9 (left), deep fried handmade rice cake with brown sugar – $7.9 (right)

Last but not least were these beautiful swan cakes. The two black ones are purple sweet potato while the other two had a durian flavour inside. Whilst we preferred the purple sweet potato, the durian ones were pretty good too, even though I’m not a huge durian lover. These were so enjoyable to eat and I loved the unique and unusual flavour profiles.

To keep myself refreshed throughout this feast, I enjoyed a mixed fruit iced tea from the Moment for $8.5. It’s so cool how you can order bubble tea or milk tea or fruit tea and it’s delivered promptly to your table from The Moment. Such a great idea!

Swan cake – $16.9

I expected that I would enjoy Spice World, but even so, I was pleasantly surprised by how much the experience exceeded my expectations. I absolutely adored the tomato broth, the Wagyu barbie and the lamb slices and I know it won’t be long until I’ll need to visit again to satisfy my cravings. The service was also impeccable, with constant help topping up the broth and ensuring that you have everything you need. I never knew dining out at a hot pot restaurant would be this much fun, and I would definitely recommend trying it out yourself at Spice World!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Spice World, but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you Get Social PR (@getsocialpr) for arranging the invite!

Spice World | 405-411 Sussex St, Haymarket NSW 2000 | Facebook | Instagram

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Orto Trading Co., Surry Hills

Date Visited: Sunday 1 March, 2020

Sunny and warm enough to wear a dress but not too hot to be sweating every second – if that doesn’t sound like perfect brunch weather then I don’t know what is! The outdoor courtyard at Orto Trading Co was such a relaxing place for a Sunday meal and we were so spoilt for choice. Best to go in a group to try several dishes as it’ll be hard to pick just one! We kicked things off with several refreshing drinks, from various iced teas, fresh juices and even a classic mimosa.

I’d normally leave pancakes till last as dessert, but this dish looked so good I tried it first, and I was not disappointed at all. Everything about these pancakes was pretty perfect. I love the sweetness and indulgence of pancakes with ample maple syrup and lots of fresh berries between the layers. Nothing to fault about these pancakes and I’d certainly order them again!

House made mix berry and ricotta hotcakes – $18

I was pleasantly by the toasted granola, which was a fresh light bowl of goodness. A breakfast classic with a lovely combination of fruit, granola, Greek yoghurt and some honey to keep things sweet.

Toasted granola – $15

The star of the show was the southern fried chicken eggs benedict. I’ve never had such a dish before, so I loved the creativity and genius of the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce matched with deliciously crunchy fried chicken.

Southern fried chicken benni – $22

Another dish that impressed me was the pumpkin patch. I never knew a simple oven roasted pumpkin with some poached eggs and feta could be so brilliant. Well balanced flavours meant that I was certainly a fan of this unusual brunch dish.

Pumpkin patch – $18 – vegan option available

Moving onto the lunch dishes available only from 11:30am, Orto Trading Co’s tagliatelle bolognese is an order you can’t go wrong with. They really nailed this classic dish and the bolognese sauce was absolutely on point. I think this was the first dish our group finished as it was so hard to stop eating once you had a bit of the tagliatelle!

Our classic tagliatelle bolognese – $20, classic mimosa – $15 (right)

Next up is the house-made gnocchi. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of this as the parmesan was a very dominant flavour. The gnocchi was accompanied with cherry tomatoes, black olive tapenade, fresh basil and creamy ricotta but I felt that it was lacking something to really tie everything in the dish together.

House-made gnocchi – $22

We also tried one of the specials, the chorizo risotto. The risotto definitely made chorizo the hero and I thought the flavours were super tasty. An easy dish to keep having spoonfuls of. Featured on the right is the pineapple, passionfruit, apple and lime juice, which I really enjoyed. The juice had been sitting on the table for quite some time as we were taking photos, so I gave it a good mix before drinking – it was such a refreshingly delicious combination, and something a bit different to the usual apple, orange or green juice.

Chorizo risotto in napoli sauce, PPAL fresh juice – $8 (right)

For the person craving a burger, there’s the Angus beef burger. It was a very standard burger, with only the addition of roasted capsicum making it a bit different. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of capsicum, but I loved the well seasoned crispy fries that went with this. The burger won’t compare to one you can get from a good burger joint, but it does a decent job as the token burger option on the menu.

Angus beef burger char grilled – $20

For the ultra healthy, Orto Trading Co also offers three salads. Compared to everything else on the table, I personally wasn’t that excited about this and didn’t really try much of it, but this warm mushroom and beetroot salad with roasted sweet potato might appeal more to you!

Warm mushroom and beetroot salad – $20 – vegan option

Last but not least was a side of polenta fries with buttermilk blue cheese sauce. At $2 a chip, it’s quite steep but I guess if you’re a fan of polenta you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, it wasn’t really a dish for me.

Truffled polenta chips – $12

There were some dishes I really loved, and some not so much, but overall I really enjoyed my brunch at Orto Trading Co! They have delightfully refreshing drinks and some absolutely winning dishes with the southern fried chicken benni, pancakes and tagliatelle bolognese amongst my favourites. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place before in Surry Hills, and being in such a lovely location despite only a short walk from Central station, this is certainly a hidden gem for brunch!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Orto Trading Co., but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you so much Vivian (@vivifean) for extending the invite!

Orto Trading Co.| 38 Waterloo St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 | Facebook | Instagram

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LUHO, Crows Nest

Date Visited: Sunday 19 January, 2020

I love some good modern Asian food, so I was pretty excited to give LUHO a try. I don’t recall when the last time, if ever, I have been to Crows Nest, so this was a fantastic reason to visit and check out the area. Walking into LUHO, I really loved the relaxed stylish vibe of the decor inside, but there’s also outdoor seating as an option.

We visited today to try the bottomless rosé lunch, which is $55 per person. The lunch features five dishes and is available Friday to Sunday. Something to note is that the dishes really involve various Asian flavours – I usually associate edamame with Japanese, spring rolls and san choi bao with Chinese and mee goreng with Indonesian. Places that sometimes do multiple cuisines end up not doing any of them well, so I was definitely interested to see how LUHO would do. Also, I really love how pretty and well designed the bottomless rosé lunch menu was!

We kicked things off straightway with some La La Land rosé. I’m not one for drinking on an empty stomach so I only had a sip or two before eagerly waiting for the food to arrive.

La La Land rosé

Starting us off was the edamame. I’m not the biggest fan of these beans, but I know some people love them. Probably the dish I was least excited for but I can admit that they can sometimes be fun to pop into your mouth. We ended up eating our food out of order, so the edamame worked quite well as a refresher in between the dishes.

Edamame

I wasn’t sure what to expect for the prawn wonton tacos, given that tacos are not really in Asian cuisine. However, I was absolutely blown away from the first bite. I fell in love with these tacos and was so impressed by the incredible prawn and sauce fillings. I also thought it would fall apart as soon as I ate it, but it actually kept its structural integrity pretty well. If you visit LUHO, these tacos are a must order. They were so good that I would have loved to have more than one!

Prawn wonton tacos

I had pretty average expectations of the spring rolls, having had so many in my life, but these spring rolls were definitely elevated up a notch. They were surprisingly brilliant with a super flavourful filling and might possibly be one of the best spring rolls I’ve had. This was another dish that really impressed me and far exceeded my expectations.

Spring rolls

Next was time for the chicken san choi bao, where I ended up getting my hands very dirty from how saucy the chicken was. However, getting your hands dirty is how it’s best eaten, by wrapping the chicken into the lettuce and trying to shove it into your mouth in an acceptable public manner. I also really enjoyed this, though my partner found the chicken quite salty. The flavours were definitely very strong, but for me it was balanced out okay with the lettuce and I liked the kick in the chicken.

Chicken san choi bao

The dishes started off quite small, but rest assured you would definitely be full, especially after the mee goreng. I believe my partner and I are both big eaters but we were struggling by the end to finish everything. These mee goreng noodles definitely tasted very authentic to me, though there was quite a lot of excessive sauce. I loved the big prawns and the fresh lettuce on the side, so it was only the sauce that I wanted less of.

Mee goreng

I can easily say that I was impressed by LUHO’s bottomless rosé lunch. The prawn wonton tacos and spring rolls were especially my favourites. Though LUHO managed to nail the flavours of every dish, the tacos and spring rolls were on another level. We were also so full after the five dishes, so I really feel that the lunch offers fantastic value. The ultimate verdict: Asian fusion done right!

The service was also so lovely, being very promptly attended to and having our glasses getting filled up when near empty, so a big thanks to the staff for contributing to the positive experience. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and have a nice long lunch with multiple dishes to share, and I would highly recommend LUHO’s bottomless rosé lunch. Would be especially great for a date or for a quality catch up session with a friend.

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of LUHO, but all opinions and photos are my own.

LUHO| 77 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest NSW 2065 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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