Noobie Foodie│Pappa Rich

Hi friends! 

One of the luckiest things about attending Sydney uni is the amount of delicious food in our area! Newtown, Broadway and Surry Hills are all completely within reach! And since it's my last semester at uni there's definitely no better time to explore the wonderful food outlets nearby! So I decided to start with Pappa Rich the Malaysian Restaurant that opened near Broadway recently which constantly has a line (for good reasons too)!

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So on to the food....

Iced Kopi 

My friend Kat ordered the Iced Kopi ($3.90) which is the Malaysian version of an iced coffee and it was really refreshing! Not as bitter as normal Australian coffee and definitely milkier than what I'm used to but suitable for people who don't enjoy very strong coffee! 

Gravy Noodles

This was such a delicious dish!! Pappa Wat Tan Hor ($13.50) which is a wok fried combination noodle with egg gravy, prawns, fish cakes, chicken slices and fried shallots and a side of sliced preserved green pepper! Yummy texture of the gravy! Love the smoothness of it! Definitely worth a try! 

Rice, Chicken and Sambal prawn

For me I chose the Biryani Rice with Red Chicken and Sambal Prawn ($13.50) and man I didn't regret my choice at all! The rice was so flavoursome and different! The sambal gave me the spicy kick I needed! The red curry chicken was juicy and not spicy at all! The best meat comes off the bone and damn the meat definitely came off the bone for this! YUM!

ROTI! 

How does one go to Pappa Rich and not try the Roti?! But we were quite full at this point so we just tried the Roti Canai ($6.90). So fluffy and delicious! Love Roti so so so so much! I really want to compare Pappa Rich's roti to Mamak's Roti! 

Read more for the full review:

Noobie Foodie│Din Tai Fung

Good morning, beautiful people!

Din Tai Fung is one of the most popular places for dumplings, wontons and other tasty Asian treats and since it's one of my good friend S's favourite place we decided to go there for some lunch! Delicious food and excellent service made my experience there very enjoyable! 

Din Tai Fung Food Adventures

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So on to the fooddd!

Dumplings

When one goes to Din Tai Fung it is imperative to get DUMPLINGS! It's what they're best known for and man it was delicious! We got the Crab Meat and Roe with Pork Dumplings and man they were delicious! Filled with soup and dumpling skin steamed to perfection! I couldn't really taste the roe but none the less it was good to try it! 

Wonton

Of course after dumplings we had to also get some wontons! This is my friends favourite thing - Pork and Prawn Wonton Soup! Warm and a great dish for winter!

Green Beans

This is one of my favourite dishes from DTF - Green Beans with Mince Pork! The minced pork is well marinated and combined with the flavoursome beans make this one of my all time favourites! 

Xia long bao

XIA LONG BAO! This is again another signature dish from DTF! So delicious! Soupy and warm! My only complaint is that it's dangerous to eat this fresh because you can potentially burn the roof of mouth very easily! Also beware because the soup will explode onto clothes (Yes this is from experience)!

Shao Mai

Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai! Although not as tasty as the dumplings it's still very good and something I would recommend to try! 

Calamari Ring

Finally we also got the Deep Fried Calamari Rings! Even though I would have liked some dessert there was definitely too much food as I shall visit DTF again for the dessert! 

Read more for the full review:

Noobie Foodie│Coco Cubano

Hello friends,

I'm really excited to write this post - Central Park recently opened near uni and now it's become my favourite place for food and hanging out with friends! And because it's newly opened there was a lot of specials - one of which was a free burger from Coco Cubano! So 2 of my friends and I decided to go for some FREE FOOD (best thing in the world)!

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The deal was after 5pm we can wait and receive a FREE burger! But since I got there early I tried one of their coffee as well~

Tiramisu Latte

This was the Cubano aka Tiramisu Latte ($4.6) which is not my usual coffee of choice but it was very good! Interesting idea since tiramisu is a cofffee flavoured dessert to start with! And the coffee tasted a lot like tiramisu in a cake form! Definitely good to try!

Wagyu Burger

This was the Wagyu Burger ($17.9) which had 100% Wagyu beef mince with balsamic onion, capsicum, tomato, lettuce, aioli, bacon & cheese served on wholemeal bun and potato wedges on the side. The beef was slightly too dry for my liking but the bacon and cheese saved the burger for me! Very big portion and so filling!

Chicken Burger

This was my friend's Chicken Burger ($16.9) with piri piri chicken breast, bacon, aioli, cheese, bbq sauce rocket & jalapenos served on brioche bun and potato wedges on the side. Which he said was pretty good!

Read more for the full review:

Café Explorer │Bills

Hi friends,

It's been soo long since my last Cafe explorer post! But I was very blessed with a fun Sunday brunch at Bills with a few of my favourite girls a couple of weeks ago! I've been wanting to try Bills for the longest time as it's very well known among Japanese tourists (it's one of their must visit cafes) so it was definitely a great experience!

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So on to the food!

Hotcakes! 

The Ricotta Hot cakes with banana and honeycomb butter ($20)! What all of the tourists and everyone that comes to Bills MUST TRY! Fluffy and soft hotcakes that are warm and topped with syrup - what more can you ask for?? Well I guess I would have asked for more hotcakes! It was very sweet but definitely worth a try! 

Full Aussie breakfast! 

Next was the full aussie with scrambled organic eggs,  sourdough toast, bacon, cumin roast tomato, miso mushrooms, pork and fennel sausage ($24.50). I really liked the pork and fennel sausage because I love the smell and taste of fennel! Yumm! And of course you can't go wrong with bacon and eggs! 

Scrambled Egg

There is never enough egg! Which is why we also got the scrambled organic eggs and sourdough toast ($14.50)! The egg was really light and soft combined with the toast made a really light breakfast. But again I wish there was more! 

Fruit and Bran Muffin

All this food and it still wasn't enough so we also got a fruit and bran muffins ($4.50) which was a bit too dry for my taste but it had a good crunchy texture and I liked the coconut flakes on the top! 

Two Mochas

Of course what's a cafe explorer post without COFFEE! As always I got my usual Mocha ($3.9) and I really enjoyed the coffee! Would go back just for the coffee!

Read more for the full review! 

Noobie Foodie│Soda Factory

Good morning/evening friends!

It's finally the uni break and I can finally go back to regular blogging! YAY! This time it's about a very hidden and unique place called the Soda Factory. For those that can find where it is - WELL DONE! It's honestly one of the most interesting entrances to a bar/restaurant I've ever been to! Although I'm not a regular visitor to the place I wish I had more time to hang out there! Especially on Tuesdays because they have ONE DOLLAR HOT DOGS! AWW YES! And the hot dogs are soo worth trying out!!

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I really wish I tried all the different hot dog options (there are 5 in total) but because my friend Kat and I weren't that hungry we didn't end up getting that many just 2 each. It's ok because I'm totally going back to get some more!

Frank Sinatra

The first hot dog I tried was The Frank Sinatra, which was a beef and pork frankfurter, pickles and a crispy onion ring! It was a very petite hot dog for what I'm used to but it was delicious! Tasty mustard and I love the pickles!

Buffalo Bill 

OH this was SO YUMMY! The Buffalo Bill which was a battered chicken sausage with spicy buffalo sauce and cheese! OH YUM! The batter was so crispy combined with the slightly spicy sauce definitely would get again!

Yoko Ono

Kat got the Yoko Ono which was the vegetarian hot dog and I didn't expect much from it but it was actually pretty tasty! Of course not my favourite but not bad for a veggie sausage!

Read more for the full review!

Noobie Foodie│Ippudo Ramen Sydney

Hi Friends!

It's winter and right now it's absolutely FREEZING which is not all bad since it's a great excuse to eat one of my favourite food - RAMEN! Since Ippudo opened I've only had the opportunity to go there a few times and I've always enjoyed my experiences there! Here is my Noobie Foodie review of one of the most talked about ramen places in Sydney!

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So first the food!!

Pork Buns! 

Pork buns #2! 

How does one eat at Ippudo and not have the delicious pork buns ($4)? The succulent and juicy pork slice in soft fluffy buns delicious! My only wish is that they can be a bit bigger! And the sauce for the pork buns YUM!!

Gyoza

Another must have with ramen is Gyoza ($6) which is the Japanese version of dumplings! I have to admit these were not the best dumplings I've ever had because they were a bit too burnt and there wasn't enough filling inside for my liking. But I'm very pedantic about my gyoza so that's another reason why I didn't find these very satisfying. 

This was the Miso Tonkotsu Chashu ramen ($22) which is a part of their seasonal ramen menu - Chapter 6! With miso fused with pork as broth and thin slices of chashu on the top! 

I choose the Akamaru Tamago ($19) because I really love the preserved egg in ramen! And the little bit of extra spice! The broth isn't very thick and it was really important to mix the broth as there was a bit of oil residue on the top but overall it was pretty yum! 

Read more for the full review:

Noobie Foodie│Bondi Pizza

Hi Friends, 

So recently someone asked me to recommend a good pizza place for them and Bondi Pizza was actually the first place that came to mind because I really enjoyed the toppings on their pizza! But the friend wanted a place in City so I didn't recommend Bondi Pizza but Fratelli Fresh instead! So here is my noobie review of  Bondi Pizza! 

YUMMM

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So on to the food... 

Garlic Bread 

Of course at any pizza place is really important to try their Garlic Bread ($4.95) and it was sadly slightly burnt which disappointed me a little bit but none the less it was yummy and nothing beats warm garlic bread on a cold winter's night! 

Peri Peri Chicken Pizza

We ordered two different types of pizza and the first one was the Peri Peri Chicken ($25.95) and it was delicious! I love the peri peri sauce with the thin crust pizza base! Very flavoursome pizza and their was a lot of topping! 

Chilli Prawn and Chorizo! 

The second pizza we ordered was the Chilli Prawn and Chorizo ($25.95) which was just as delicious with a nice combination of pizza and chorizos with a hint of chilli and saltiness. Again on very thin and crusty base! YUM! 

Meatballs!! 

Of course that wasn't enough food so we ordered some Meatball Linguini ($22.95) which had wagu meatballs and parmesan to dress. In all honesty the pasta wasn't as satisfying and tasty as the pizza so I definitely recommend trying the pizza over the pasta! 

Ravioli! 

One of my close friends was vegetarian so she ordered Spinach, Ricotta and Pinenut Ravioli ($22.95) which I tried and it was had more flavour than the linguini but again not as good as the pizzas! 

Read more for the review: