Bavarian Bier Cafe - Parramatta

2-8 Phillip Street
Parramatta NSW 2150 (corner of Marsden and Phillip)

Ph: (02) 8836 1400
Fax: (02) 9687 6455

We came here to shout Chris lunch for his birthday earlier this week, and to catch up with him since he had just recently come back from his trip to Africa (he spent 6 weeks over there, and didnt spent even one night in a hotel/motel- he lived out of a tent & was constantly on the move, lost 5 kilos!!)

We opted for local + beer + movies, so Parra was our best choice. We've been to Bavarian Bier cafe before [insert link here], but theres so many more things we wanted to try n the menu, and da boys wanted some good import beer. They both had half litre steins (times 2, yup they had a litre of beer at lunch time haha) & i chose the Ladies Bier with Lychee flavour. It was a sweet beer, i didnt really like it go got Babe to finish it off hehe.

I only had some nutri grain for breakfast (after two hours at the gym!!) so i was starving by the time we were ready to order. I ordered the crisp slamon with almond pesto, Rick ordered the tasting plate, Chris had the crispy pork with beetroot stuff (argh the website is down i cant check the real name etc) Food came out fairly quick, it was a quiet lunch actually not many people in the restaurant (it was around 12.30-1pm). THe boys were disappointed that our waitress didnt have half of her shirt unbuttoned haha.

My salmon steak was nice - crispy on the outside, fresh on the inside. I really liked the presentation!! The fish was on a bed of thick sliced potatoes & rocket, the almond pesto - i enjoyed the flavour (i've never had pesto before let alone almond pesto). I added myself to the plate a puddle each of english mustard, and whole seeded mustard (i love my flavourings!). There was also flaked almond bits, and bits of BACON sprinkled over everything (which i picked out and gave to Rick, i didnt want to complain, i'll just make sure next time i order anything that there can't be any meat in it at all

Rick's tasting plate had sausages, snitzel, pork belly, sauerkraut & beetroot stuff.

Chris had the Crispy pork belly, with potatoes & beetroot.

We were all pretty satisfied, & headed off to the movies afterwards to watch 'watchmen'. ANn was jealous that we all went to Bavarian Bier Cafe, Then Watchmen movie, so expect a third post for this restaurant some time soon =P I think i'll try one of the starters i saw crispy calamari if i wasn't going to choose the salmon it would have been the calamari :)

Badde Manor

http://www.baddemanorscafe.com/

37 Glebe Point Road

Glebe, NSW 2037

Headed to Glebe for Markets & Brunch with Ann :)

Decided to eat here after seeing a review on it on Jennifer's Food blog.

The place was small, with tables outside & in, it was quite cosey actually i liked the coseyness, we could hear eachother talking it was peaceful & quiet.

We started off with some chai tea (each pot was $4 and was more then enough). If we knew, maybe we could of ordered only one pot hehe. but Ann finished hers with ease!! This was the 3rd time i've had chai tea (1st was at the Coffee club [it was crappy and watery and they charged $4 for a small mug], 2nd time was at my workmate's house, his wife made it in a pot with real chai leaves, this was the NICEST yum)

I really liked the tea aswell, & i actually have some chai tea leaves at home waiting to be boiled, and have honey added to it :) I just havent had the chance (and i dont want to drink it after dinner as it might keep me up for a while.. i'm quite caffeine sensitive!!)

I ordered the Mediterranean Breakfast which had fried eggs, grilled haloumi, grilled eggplant, tomato, dill pickle, olive & za'atar (thyme) with toasted turkish bread. Straight away me & Ann buttered our breads while they were still warm hehe.

My eggs were done perfectly sunny side up with the yolk still runny (i love runny yolks), & turkish bread was the perfect bread to accompany everything else. I stayed away from the thyme i didnt really like it (it was quite dry) so i liked the option of having it on a mini dish (and not sprinkled over everything). The haloumi was abit of a disappointment, i've fried haloumi at home before, this could have been nicer if they cooked it for a tad bit longer.

Ann had the Badde Manors big Breakfast which had Eggs, spinach, mushrooms, baked beans, seasoned chat potatos,  & grilled tomato served on rye bread. I liked Ann's one more, the mushrooms and baked beans were really yummy i think the baked beans were organic, i've had organic before and they are abit harder then the mainstreamed 'heinz baked beans' type. Also the serving of baked beans was quite generous, i had some of it :)

I would definitely come back here again, food was great, atmosphere was relaxing, & it was a cheap & filling meal, and most of all, all of their options are vegetarian :) 

(and also its just a 1 minute walk from my favorite markets!!)

El Bulli

501 Elizabeth Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Ph: 9319 5199

This is just one of the many restaurants in Surry Hills that i want to try. I've been to Jazushi, El Bulli, & i want to try monkey magic (review done by Adam enticed me)

I had organised a girl's dinner @ El Bulli. What started out to be 11 girls, turned into 8, then 5, then 7, then back to 5, then down to 4, then a 'should we postpone it?' & 'i'm kind of broke anyways' to a me going 'no! lets do this i've been organizing this for over a month!'

'But it would be more intimate with the four of us, & we can get to know each other better' Says Ann, and so we agreed to meet after work at Surry hills :)

After telling Ann to meet me at the wrong place (i'm hopeless when it comes to directions in the city), we ended up meeting at the restaurant. Was greeted by Mark (the guy who had been taking me bookings, and many changed in numbers of bookings!!)

The restaurant was very narrow, we were taken straight to the back where we had quite a large table for the four of us (partly because  i told them there were 5 of us, JUST INCASE some one was able to make it). The place was full of pretty waitresses, who asked us straight away if we wanted drinks, and proceeded in telling us about the 'white sangria' they were serving specially tonight. We agreed on a jug of strawberry & lime sangria, this came out immediately and without even noticing - the waitress had poured drinks into our glasses already!

Warm staff, candle-lit tables, & a darkly lit interior gave an authentic feel to the restaurant, although the back room that we were in had 3 other large 6+ groups, so it did get abit noisy as the night progressed. In the middle of the restaurant, the cooridor between the back room and the front, had single tables for two - this immediately made me think of Rick, and that we could come here together next time just the two of us :)

The sangria - was so refreshing & Sweet! I will NEVER drink red sangria again this was just beautiful i loved it. The jug looked so pretty with its mint leaves, & generous pieces of strawberries :]

Shirley & Anita

Ann & Me (don't you just love the background?)

After alot of ooh-ing & aah-ing at the menu, grumbling tummys & sangria drinking we decided on ordering the potatoes el bulli, olive oil & tomato bruscetta, mussel stew, garlic tomato prawns & one serving of paella.

The potatoes - were to DIE for they were unbelievably full of flavour, i think they were deep fried, then smothered in this tangy, creamy sauce, topped with coriander - i am definately coming back for this dish, and there was another one on the tapas meanu - i'll take that one too!! All the girls LOVED this dish the most.

We wanted some dipping bread so ordered this tomato olive oil bruscetta. We also had some complimentary bread with aoli sauce, which we asked for some more (gotta love aoli sauce with ANYTHING). This bread though was DRENCHED in olive oil, it pretty much dripped as soon as we bit into them, not a good thing if you're wearing make up. Shirley gave up her piece so i ended up having it (anyway, olive oil, is GOOD oil!!)

Mussel stew, the mussels were so soft, tender, not chewy, & came with a yummy semi-thick soup for us to dip our breads into (and to slurp noisily hehe)

I was amazed at the ease of chewing these, i'm so used to the chewy type ones you get at other places. "thats because they were cooked for a while in the soup" says SHirley. This girl knows her seafood :)

Anita was raving on about this prawn dish (she had previously had garlic prawns somewhere, and fell in love). These prawns, totally came from the freezer, they weren't very meaty, but the sauce half made up for the lack of fresh. Again, another good bread dipping dish.

This paella for one was shared between the three girls (was chicken laced through it, i could not have any). After picking out all the mussels, crab & lemon pieces onto another plate, the girls dug into the rice. Shirls is a big fan of paella i know it from just watching her devour a few servings haha. This was about $28, so i'd say good value for money. I've had paella for $85 (serves 4-5 people), @ Captain Torres close to Chinatown, Near the 3 wise monkeys, now THAT paella was delicious (i want to go back, and do a food review!!)

All in all, i had a great time with the girls, the food & service was nice, the sangria was superb (by the way, we ordered a 2nd jug half way through our meals, the peachy sangria, which was nicer because it was sweeter). I would definitely come back here with Rick and have those yummy chat potatoes again.