Simon Food Favourites: Apple Strudel

Showing posts with label Apple Strudel. Show all posts

02 October 2012

Grandma's Little Bakery: Home-styled cooking, Alexandria (30 Sept 2012)

42 O'Riordan Street, Alexandria NSW 2015

http://www.grandmasbakery.com.au

Homely offerings at Grandma's

“A home-styled cooking and baking concept, bringing together flavours and loved recipes from real Grandma's and Grandpa's from all over the world.”

You know a place is kid friendly when you see a designated play area for kids. I didn't get to check the toilets but I'm hoping they also provide change tables. Grandma seems to be quite tech-savvy with the menu provided on iPads. At first it was a bit foreign for me to use as I actually don't use an iPad but after a short time it was quite fun to flick through the pages with the added feature of preview pics of the dishes. I had now idea what shakshuka was so this became very handy to see. Grandma's Haya Spinach and Feta Borekas Vegetarian ($11.50) looked pretty much like it did on the menu with nice pastry and fresh salad although the salad needed a more interesting dressing for my liking than just olive oil. It also seemed to have some sort of dukkha mix sprinkled over it which made it rather gritty on the palate and not particularly pleasing to eat in my books.

My Vanilla Milkshake ($6.50) was more milky than vanilla in taste and I would have loved to have white chocolate shavings to spoon off the top for extra flavour. The Chai Latte ($4.50) had better depth of flavour and thought it would make for a great milkshake flavour option. My Classic Shakshuka Vegetarian ($14.50) came with 2 free range eggs, roast capsicum, tomato and onion with a side of soft bread which came in handy for mopping up the flavours. I couldn't stop thinking of wanting some chorizo or minced lamb in the mix for extra flavour like you find in the Breakfast Tagine Lamb Mince at Kazbah but as a vegetarian dish it was enjoyable. The snow ball cookie in the Grandma's Mix Cookies ($4.90) was a favourite for me which are available in the shop. Hot Chocolate ($4) had a decent amount of chocolate flavour and I really enjoyed the Traditional Apple Strudel ($6.90) mostly because it came with a decent amount of vanilla icecream. The pastry had a nice amount of caramelisation and was served slightly warm although keep in mind it's a small serving.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Interesting menu, Tempting products in the shop, Kid friendly, iPad menu shows a preview of dishes

CONS: Some products in the shop seem quite pricey, They don't leave the iPad menu with you so you'll need to ask for it back in case you need to check it again to order something else

MUST TRY: Apple strudel, Snow Ball Cookie, Revisiting to maybe try the Breakfast Buffet for only $20
VERDICT: A relaxed cafe with shop and bakery full of tempting products that I only wish was closer to home

—

Grandma's Haya Spinach and Feta Borekas Vegetarian ($11.50)

Salad was fresh but needed a more interesting dressing than just olive oil

iPad menu preview

Vanilla Milkshake ($6.50); Chai Latte ($4.50)

Milkshake comes with a straw/spoon utensil

Classic Shakshuka Vegetarian: 2 free range eggs, roast capsicum, tomato and onion ($14.50)

iPad menu preview

Grandma's Mix Cookies ($4.90) — snow ball cookie was my favourite

Long Macchiato ($3.50), Hot Chocolate ($4)

Traditional Apple Strudel ($6.90)

WORTH TRYING :-)

iPad menu preview

iPad menu

Bill $55.80 for 2

Homely and interesting table decor

Kid friendly high chairs available

Breakfast Buffet on Saturdays — sounds pretty tempting

View Larger Map

15 April 2012

Bavarian Bier Café: Oktoberfest with Bier & Schnapps, CBD Sydney (25 Oct 2011)

16 O'Connell Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com

Heart warming schnapps time

Well if you wanted to know what was on offer at last years Bavarian Bier Café Oktoberfest then this post will tell you what you missed out on — sorry. Unfortunately this is what happens when you get side-tracked with eating out too much and not having enough time to post everything when you want to. Anyway, thanks to Laura Cairnduff from Zing for inviting me to check out the Oktoberfest menu. Possibly these specials will be available again this year but you can always count on the imported pure biers and lethal schnapps to get you in the mood for some serious lederhosen dancing. The Freshly baked Bavarian Pretzel ($3.50) is probably a must to try and line the stomach before any serious beer drinking. The Roast beef with fried potato, served with a side salad & Bavarian Mayonnaise ($18) was probably my preferred dish of the night. The potato had good flavour although I wished the salad had some dressing on it to make more appetizing.

I can’t say I was a huge fan of the Traditional Munich-style white sausage salad ($17) but maybe if the sausage was warm rather than cold and there was more dressing on the salad it might have been better liked. It was funny seeing the carrots in the Pan fried Cone Bay barramundi fillet ($31.50) cut like you might find in a Chinese restaurant but the fish seemed to have a crispy skin as hoped. The Char-grilled steak of cured pork belly ($27) was tender but I really liked the Bavarian white cabbage salad that came with it more. Good depth of flavour was found in the Brewmaster's bier stew served with bacon & sauerkraut napkin dumpling ($24) but I was clueless what a napkin dumpling was. Apparently if the dumpling is cooked in a napkin it’s known as a napkin dumpling in central European cuisine. The Pork loin with sautéed onion & potato gratin ($26) was tender and tasty but would have preferred more crisp bits on the potato gratin surface.

My strategy when ordering the Schnapps was to go for the strongest ones — why, because they had twice as much alcohol for about the same price on the list. My taste buds were left in Germany after sampling the Friesengeist 'Friesen Ghost' 56% ($8), Teufelskrauter 'Herbal' 50% ($8), Gletchereis 'Glacier Ice' 50% ($8) and Bergfeuer 'Mountain Fire' 50% ($8). All totally lethal but perhaps there’s taste bud value to be had in the more fruity and less alcoholic ones which might be more enjoyable on the palate. For dessert the Vanilla cheese cake with sour cherries and double cream ($12) was quite cheesy but perhaps a little on the dry side for me. The Creamy apple strudel with berry compote & chocolate sauce ($11) was nice but I generally prefer the pastry to be a bit more crispy and flakey like Gelato Bar Bondi and preferably served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Other visits to the Bavarian Bier Café:

• 25 Oct 2011 - O'Connell, Sydney, Oktoberfest Menu

• 6 Dec 2010 - O'Connell, Sydney

• 21 July 2009 - Entertainment Quarter, Sydney

• 18 April 2009 - York St, Sydney

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Good variety of biers produced using the Bavarian Purity Law, Buzzing atmosphere and grand décor, Great range of schnapps, Comfort food to keep you warm on a cold day

CONS: Not sure about the background music of Nickelback and Wolfmother which I think I heard, Lack of dressing on the salad makes it a bit boring, Not sure where to look when the service ladies have their top shirt button undone

MUST TRY: The bier, Other schnapps next time

—

Every time is bier time at the Bavarian Bier Café

Freshly baked Bavarian Pretzel with butter ($3.50)

Roast beef with fried potato, served with a side sald & Bavarian Mayonnaise ($18)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Traditional Munich-style white sausage salad, served with char-grilled rye bread ($17)

Pan fried Cone Bay barramundi fillet on sautéed kipler, snow peas and carrot served with aioli ($31.50)

Char-grilled steak of cured pork belly with dark bier jus, sebago mash & Bavarian white cabbage salad ($27)

Brewmaster's bier stew served with bacon & sauerkraut napkin dumpling

Pork loin with sautéed onion & potato gratin, served with a side salad ($26)

Schnapps - Friesengeist 'Friesen Ghost' 56% ($8), Teufelskrauter 'Herbal' 50% ($8), Gletchereis 'Glacier Ice' 50% ($8), Bergfeuer 'Mountain Fire' 50% ($8)