The Gardener's Kitchen, Bundanoon

After an hour and half of foraging for mushrooms, we were hungry. We had several places to chose from but decided to stop at The Gardener's Kitchen in Bundanoon, which was about 15 kms away from Wingello.

The Gardener's Kitchen is a cosy country cafe that serves breakfast and lunches in a casual setting. There are tables set up indoors and outdoors. Meals are ordered at the counter and served at your table.

We had Ham and Cheese Croissant; Beef Pie served with Creamy Mash Potatoes and Peas; Pumpkin, Spinach Leek and Feta Frittata served with salad and Spinach and Ricotta Pastie served with salad. Thankfully, service was prompt and meals were brought to our table quickly. We were hungry and tucked straight away.

We all had our eyes on Ash's pie and creamy mash and peas; more specifically, we were eyeing the mash and gravy. I am usually not keen on mash as I am trying to stay away from carbs, but this mash was simple irresistible. I had to have a few forkfuls.

I was happy with my frittata; a light and healthy meal which left my tummy some room for the best scones in Bundanoon. No complaints from Cait on her croissant which is a good sign. Chris happy ate his pastie.

We had to taste the scones, so we ordered a serve to share. The scones were indeed the best, served piping hot and light with raspberry jam from Alpine Berry Farm and clotted cream. We also ordered coffees. I found my skim flat white quite mild and milky, it was more like a latte.  Chris on the other hand, said he was satisfied with his flat white. Hmmm..slight inconsistency here. Usually he's the one who complains about the quality of his coffee.

After lunch, we popped into the delightful shop next door called "Nest and Burrow". It's owned by the same owners as The Gardener's Kitchen and managed by the mother-in-law of the owners, who is a friendly lady from Bowral (I forgot to ask her name). Our main purpose to visit "Nest and Burrow" was to buy some Alpine Berry Farm jams for family back in Sydney. Just quietly, we did come out with more than just jams. There are so many beautiful items for sale from kitchen and homewares, jewellery and toys. Yes, we could have spent more time there if not for the trip back to Sydney. I suppose we just have to return another time.


The Gardener's Kitchen
27 Railway Ave
Bundanoon NSW 2578
(02) 4883 6354

PappaRich, Sydney

PappaRich is a Malaysian franchise which opened its first outlet in Sydney this week. The PappaRich grouped opened its first outlet in Malaysia in 2005. Since then, the business has grown and there are 6 outlets in Australia including 5 in Melbourne. Like any new restaurants, the crowds are queuing up to try this new eatery. Tonight, we went early for dinner and the place was still quite empty. The queue starts around 6pm so best to get in just before 6pm for dinner. By the time we left at 7pm, there about 20 people waiting outside.

First thing that impressed us was the menu with its glossy pictures and many varieties to entice your tastebuds. The menu is categorised into roti (roti kaya), satay, bread (Hainan style bread with curry chicken), noodles, rice, vegetarian (nasi lemak with vegetarian mutton curry), snacks, desserts and drinks. It took us a while to write on our orders on the form as there were too many choices. When we've decided, we wrote the item number on the form, pressed the bell at the table and one of the wait staff promptly appears to collect the form.

There is also a children's play area which a good place for kids to be distracted

For dinner tonight, we ordered Wat Tan Hor, Char Koay Teow, Seafood Laksa, Ipoh Hor Fun with Steamed Chicken, Roti Planta, Oriental Chicken Chop with Rice, Chicken Satay, Ice Kacang and Banana Fritters. Yes, we were that hungry or greedy!!!

What did we like: Wat Tan Hor, Ipoh Hor Fun with Steamed Chicken, Chicken Satay, Oriental Chicken Chop with Rice and Banana Fritters. The fitters was crunchy and served with vanilla ice cream. Chicken Satay was tender but not enough satay sauce to go with it, we had to ask for extra sauce. I did give them feedback about the sauce. The Wat Tan Hor was tasty with lots of gravy; quite a large portion too. Ash enjoyed her Chicken Chop served with Chicken Rice. The rice is cooked with chicken stock which enhances the taste. The Steamed Chicken served with the Hor Fun was silky smooth and best part, it was deboned.

Banana Fritters served with ice cream

The Char Koay Teow lacked the chilli oomph and wok hei (charred smoky) flavours. We didn't ask for chilli in the CKT as we assumed there would be some. A friend went the day before and she said her CKT was good. Our serving was quite small tonight too. Some inconsistencies in the serving sizes and cooking.

We think the shaved ice in the Ice Kacang was not freshly shaved but shaved earlier and refreeze, so it was compact and hard when served. I like the peanuts and creamed corn added.

Ice Kacang - check out the odd shape

Roti Planta was dry and crispy and the amount of curry served was small. PappaRich's version of Roti Planta has sugar in the middle. Cait was not keen on the roti, as she preferred the roti at Mamak.

Service was efficient and there are many wait staff available to respond each time you ring the bell. The dishes were quick to be served from the kitchen too. One downside was no napkins were provided at the table, we had to asked for them. Why can't they just place the napkins on the table together with the cutlery?

Some hits and misses for us but we will visit the restaurant again to try the other dishes in the menu. I am keen to try the Briyani dishes and Nasi Lemak.



PappaRich Chatswood
1/63 Archer Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph: (02) 9411 3207

Opening hours: 11am to 10pm 7 days

Disclaimer: Opinions written above are based on my family's and my tastes and views. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions based on their tastes and preferences.

China Lane, Angel Place

Friday night; warm spring evening. It was a perfect night to head down to the city for dinner with family. China Lane has been on our list of places to eat since it opened earlier this year. We were lucky to get an early booking on a Friday night at short notice. The restaurant is located in the lane way at Angel Place, right by the spot where you find the empty bird cages hanging above.

China Lane is owned by the same people that manage China Doll, Woolloomooloo and China Beach, Manly. The restaurant has a stylish yet informal dining feel. We noticed it caters not just to the young crowd but to slightly older crowd as well. My two girls were the only children in the restaurant when we dined, and I am proud to say they are always well behaved in restaurants.

The menu is designed for sharing, with four pieces in most serves unless otherwise stated. The staff are friendly and helpful; they were happy to explain the dishes when asked.

For starters, we ordered slow roast pork belly, prawns, pomelo and jellyfish salad with nuoc nam; duck pancakes with hoi sin, cucumber and shallots as well as pulled pork, steamed bao, siracha mayo and crispy shallot. I was glad the chefs were happy to accommodate my request to make two of the pulled pork baos without the siracha chilli sauce for Ash and Cait. Happy customers = repeat customers.

Crunchy prawns, tender pork belly matched with nuoc nam dressing.

Duck was just perfect with thin pancakes. Girls' fav.

Pulled pork bao with siracha mayo - hint of heat with tender pork 

Pulled pork with no chilli version; steamed bao was soft like pillows

Service was quick and as soon as we finished with our starters, the mains were served. I had read good reviews about their BBQ lamb ribs with lemongrass, tamarind, chilli and peanuts, so it was a must-order. Hubby was definitely happy with the finger-licking, lip-smacking ribs (give a man meat!). The sauce was really finger-licking good, and warm wet towels were available to clean sticky fingers after. A nice touch instead of the usual individually wrapped thin wet wipes handed out in Chinese restaurants. We also ordered a small serve of their fried rice with char siu pork (BBQ pork) and prawns; a side of snow peas with lup cheong (chinese sausage).

Tastiest fried rice ever

Lovely char grilled lamb ribs - finger licking good 

Just right snow peas with crunchy and lap cheong

By this time, all of us were full; but there is always a special compartment in our bellies for desserts. Ash chose the Strawberry Sichuan Meringue with rose hip, hibiscus jelly and white choc, beetroot ice cream. Interesting combination of flavours with a hint of sichuan peppers in the mini meringues; leaves a slight numb feeling after taste.

Strawberry Sichuan Meringue

Cait didn't want any dessert, she said she was too full. Chris and I chose the Black Sticky Rice with Seasonal Fruits. This was my favourite dessert, warm and comforting. The sticky rice was cooked to perfection, not too mushy or raw.

Black Sticky Rice

We were also served a third dessert, compliments from the staff (Chris reckons it's because Cait was so cute and well-behaved). This was also delicious too.

Coconut sago

There are other items on the menu that we didn't get to try. Chris is keen to return; and I am certain he will since his workplace is close by.

Check out the colour of the male and female facilities. Cait commented it was super cool to have a tv installed on the ceiling of the toilets.

As we were walking out of the restaurant, I spied their function room, decorated with silver balloons.

We also walked past a cute spotty bicycle parked on the side of the lane.

Gochiso Japanese, Willoughby

A few new restaurants - Japanese, Italian and a cafe have opened about two months ago at a local neighbourhood centre. This is great for us, I am all for more choices and competition. The new restaurants have certainly liven up what is usually a quiet neighbourhood. 

Tonight, my girls and I decided to try out Gochiso; a Japanese restaurant. The place is run by Sang Lee, a former Sushi-Ya (another local Japanese eatery) chef. The restaurant is located off the main street, tucked away in the centre. It is easy to find parking on the street. Gochiso operates 7 days a week - 12pm to 3pm for lunch and 5pm to 10pm for dinner. The place was humming with activity and patrons for a week night, which surprised the wait staff too. According to them, lunch times are usually quiet as the restaurant is not located within walking distance to many businesses. It is still new, and I am sure once the word gets out, their patronage will increase. Service was okay, not fast but it was a busy night with only two wait staff. Sometimes I forget that service in other restaurants other than Chinese is a little slower, for us to sit back and enjoy the meal. We found the light fittings unusual with the restaurant's name craved out in wood and hanging from the lights. Japanese art murals were painted on the walls, and on the wall near the entrance, there were photos of people on the streets of Tokyo.

For entree, we had the crispy potato croquette and salmon sashimi (girls' favourite). The sashimi was fresh and firm with a clean taste. Ash and I found the inside of the croquette too soft and mushy but crispy panko coated outside. 

For mains, Caitlin chose the Yum Yum box - which came in cute Thomas the Train bento box (not Cait's favourite and she made a comment about it not being appropriate for girls, sigh!). Her meal had a bowl of rice, 3 pieces of avocado roll, two triangles of egg omelette, 3 pieces of karaage chicken and 2 panko-crumbed shrimps. Quite a fair bit there for a little girl.

Ash and I shared a main - salmon teriyaki - served with a bowl of rice and miso soup. The salmon was pan-fried perfectly and the teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet; well balanced with soy, mirin and sugar. 

We enjoyed our meal at Gochiso. We will return with hubby who was out for a work function. It's always nice to check out a new restaurant that serves good food with reasonable prices.

Bloodwood, Newton

Dedicating my 200th post to my gf Cindy. Thank you for shouting me lunch.

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My gf, Cindy took me out for lunch @ Bloodwood in Newtown to celebrate my birthday (which was a couple of weeks ago). The restaurant has a 'recycled' theme for the decor and furniture - the recycled wooden doors hanging on a wall in the courtyard as a piece of art, another doors used for the amenities. Quirky but tasteful. There were no special lighting in the main seating area, just naked lightbulbs hanging overhead. Kitchen was not big.

The food is not purely focus on one particular cuisine, but rather a blend of different flavours from Asia and the Mediterranean. We ordered four dishes - two entrees and two mains - to share. We started with polenta chips served with a Gorgonzola dip - unusual but tasty and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I found the dip too strong in flavour and too runny. The polenta chips tasted better without the dip. I overheard the guy seated two tables asking for tomato sauce to go with the polenta chips, sadly the restaurant does not have any tomato sauce. I think the matri'd was shocked to be asked for tomato sauce.

Polenta Chips with Gorgonzola Dip

The chips were closely followed with a chickpea pizza, Persian feta, zucchini, roast peppers and basil.

Chickpea Pancake

For mains, we started with the charcuterie plate - with toasted bread, duck liver parfait, gherkins, mixed pickles and cured meats. Very moreish, good to nibble on as we chat.

Charcuterie Plate

The last main dish we had was garlic prawns with heirloom tomatoes, garlic, lemon, paprika, basil. This, by far, was my favourite. The prawns were just cooked perfectly.

Garlic Prawns

We were really full by now, but determined to make room for desserts and coffee.

Cindy was keen to try the Bloodwood trifle - pound cake, strawberries, rosè jelly, mascarpone, champagne anglaise - beautifully served in a stemless wine glass.

Bloodwood Trifle

I was undecided between the sticky date pudding or the vanilla slice. In the end, I went with the vanilla slice - light vanilla custard with a hint of lemon and passion-fruit with a crunchy base sprinkled with candied almonds - perfect to end the lunch.

Vanilla Slice

We were so full, I practically staggered out of the restaurant. I absolutely enjoyed the food and Cindy's company.

Bloodwood,
416 King St
Newtown NSW 2042
Ph: 9557 7699
www.bloodwoodnewtown.com

Union Bank Wine Bar, Orange

This is the last foodie post from our long weekend. We had dinner tonight at Union Bank , a casual style bistro with a large wine selection from local producers. The good thing is the wine are sold by the glass, so we get to try a few varieties. Again, the meals were simple, clean and tasteful, bursting with flavours. Our two girls enjoyed their fish and chips, Chris had veal eschallots, crushed potatoes, cherry tomatoes and asparagus with The Vault Cabernet blend with Grenache. I had the poached fish in coconut and prawn broth (not too spicy) and accompanied with a glass of Belgravia Riesling. Lovely!

Apologies for the blurred image.

The restaurant has seating indoors and outdoors. It was a wet evening, so we sat inside and watched the NRL Grand Finals game between St George Dragons and Sydney Roosters on the big screen. On a lovely balmy evening, it will be nice to sit outside.
P.S. The Dragons won the 2010 NRL Grand Finals.