Robocog Cafe: Home of the Freezochino, Surry Hills (4 Jan 2011)

249 Riley Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Robot obsession

Behind the cute and innocent white wooden facade of Robocog Cafe lies an obsession with robots which would certainly be the downfall of anyone that has a case of Automatonophobia. I pick the Freezochino ($4.50) based solely on the name. Coming up with funny or strange menu names is a great marketing gimmick which usually works on me. The low fat ice coffee frappe is generous in size and certainly a refreshing if not chilling way to cool down the taste buds. My friend's Tutti frutti ($4.50) is a mix of fruit and berries freshly blended and is well liked. Service was friendly and the limited seating outside is filled up quickly by its popularity. I hope to return to try the coffee and other items on the menu.

Other blog reviews of Robocog:

• Gosstronomy

• Em's Daily Grind

• Breadshoes

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced menu, Good selection of fresh juices, Interesting display of robots

CONS: If you have Automatonophobia then do not enter, Place is quite small so seating can be limited during busy times

MUST TRY: Coffee and the bacon and egg roll next time to compare

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Freezochino: Low fat ice coffee frappe ($4.50)

Tutti frutti fresh juice with mixed fruit and berries ($4.50)

Coffee menu

Fresh juice and frappe menu

Breakfast menu

Sandwich menu

Seating

Service counter

Feature wall with nice bicycle

Robots on shelfs

Robots on car

Robot on wall

Robot in toilet

Outside seating at front

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One Six Nine Café: Spring menu, Randwick (25 Sept 2010)

169 Alison Road, Randwick NSW 2031
http://www.onesixninecafe.com.au

Cafe gaining local support

One Six Nine Cafe seems to be settling in with it's Spring menu and there's plans for a courtyard out the back which will take advantage of the warmer weather. The freshly squeezed Orange Apple Carrot juice ($5.50) is good although I noticed they haven't really given themselves much bench space to prepare the fruit for the juicer. The Chai Latte ($3.80) was good and not too sweet. Free range eggs with toast ($7.90) is nicely poached and the generous amount of bacon ($3.50) and grilled haloumi ($3) sets it up for a filling breakfast. My generous sized Chicken Club Sandwich ($13.90) comes with free range chicken breast, bacon, avocado, tomato and aoili although there's too much bread for my liking which makes it harder to appreciate the balance of tasty ingredients. I prefer the ratio of bread to ingredients of the club sandwich at Bistro 44 which helps keep the sandwich more moist with every bite.

Service is friendly and efficient and it's a kid friendly cafe with it's kids corner section and mini step in the toilet under the sink. If you're after pancakes like at First Drop Cafe or hash browns like at Baffi & Mo you sadly won't find them on the menu but I'm hoping the owner will somehow find the space in the kitchen to add them as well as corn fritters like at Bill's so I don't have to attempt to queue up for ages to try them. There's a selection of sweet delights in the counter display including gluten free products as well — I've been told the chocolate brownie is yum. Next time I'll be trying the Breakfast Trifle which looked pretty sensational at another table.

Other visits to One Six Nine Cafe:

• 30 April 2011 - Mixed berry smoothie, Hot chocolate, Omelette with

goats cheese and basil,

Royal Apple pancakes

• 25 Sept 2010 - Chicken Club Sandwich, Eggs & Toast with Bacon and Haloumi, Fresh juice

• 19 August 2010 - Cafe opens

• 18 June 2010 - Promotion

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Decent portions, Gluten-free cakes and bread available, Friendly service, Kid friendly

CONS: Courtyard not ready, No hash browns or pancakes on the menu, Limited space on round tables at the front

MUST TRY: Fresh juice, Breakfast trifle next time

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Orange Apple Carrot juice ($5.50)

Chai Latte ($3.80)

Free range eggs with toast ($7.90) plus bacon ($3.50), grilled haloumi ($3)

Chicken Club Sandwich with free range chicken breast, bacon, avocado, tomato and aoili ($13.90)

Not much room on the small round tables

Menus

Cake display

Kids area

Kid friendly step in toilet

Opening hours

Courtyard coming soon

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Boom Banana: Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich, Surry Hills (30 July 2010)

27 Oxford Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

BOOM BOOM schnitzel time!

I've passed this tiny juice and sandwich shop countless times, which is nestled next to the Darlinghurst IGA supermarket, but have never thought about checking it out until today when I received a reliable tip that they do a roaring trade of Chicken schnitzel sandwiches for only $5.50. They've got a menu board of around a dozen suggested sandwiches to choose from but you can also just choose your own ingredients like any other sandwich shop. Seeing the large piles of precooked chicken schnitzel gives me the impression that it's definitely one of their more popular choices. The no-nonsense service is quick and efficient and within minutes I'm off carrying my small brown paper sandwich bag to the park. The very light weight sandwich makes me think it won't be very filling but anything deep fried and crumbed is a good filler in the end.

The chicken is surprisingly moist and tender with the right amount of crunch on the crumbing. It's a simple sandwich that's tasty and cheap, especially on the stock standard white bread. If you're looking for a monster sized chicken schnitzel sandwich then head Big Bite on Pitt but I prefer Boom Banana's chicken schnitzel. If you prefer it in a tasty baguette then head to Taste to try their version.

Other reviews of Boom Banana:

• TwoThousand

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Cheap, Tasty, Fresh

CONS: Can get busy when ordering, Small space at service counter, No seating

MUST TRY: Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich

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No. 2 sandwich: Chicken schnitzel with lettuce and mayo $5.50

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Plenty of chicken schnitzel ready for sandwiches

Small shop front

Boom Banana next to IGA

Hyde Park very close to eat your sandwich


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