Indigo, double Bay

One of the most visited breakfast place in Double Bay is Indigo. The queue especially on Sunday can be a long one. I went there with my foodie friends and we waited for at least 30mins :) The cafe is dog friendly and they got outdoor seating as well.

My sister recommended the place and so I decided to try it out.

First we got salmon Salad - roasted salmon, mint, peas, shallots, avocado, white cabbage, garlic, ginger,thai basil, baby spinach, roasted peanuts & parmesan w/ a lemon & mint vinaigrette dressing. Fresh and vibrant salad I must say, even though my picture doesn't do justice to the dish ;p

$28

Next is the French Toast – lemon curd, raspberry jam, seasonal fruit, honey popcorn, bacon & mascarpone. Not a fan of this one, I thought its just okay and the texture is not as fluffly ..

$23

Breakfast Bruschetta - bacon, poached eggs, tomato onion & avocado salsa, basil & balsamic reduction. There is no wow factor to the dish, and I think for the price that they put, it was on the exxy side. But again, there is nothing cheap in Double bay area anyway ;p

$24

I forgot whether this is the Haloumi Burger or the Beef wagyu burger but what I remembered is whatever taste you would expect from a burger. There is nothing special of it.

Last dish to come is sweet potato cakes - poached eggs, hazelnut & pistachio dukkah, lemon & chilli, labna, cracked wheat & smoked salmon. Was surprised to see the portion of the food on the plate >.<

2 pieces of quite charred sweet potato cakes. But at least this dish got a good flavour combination to it ..

$21

So the verdict is I won't be travelling all the way back here for the foods .. Sorry to say but this did not worth the queue. At first I thought maybe I ordered the wrong dishes. But again we picked 5 dishes from each category and nothing works, at least for me ;p And the price is sooo expensive for the quality and portion

I won't say don't go, but If you think differently or you experiencing the same thing as I do, let me know :) Oh, one more thing. Service is great! But good luck getting attention from the staff ;P

Chicky Char Char, Alexandria

Chicky char char newly open in Alexandria.. Maybe not that new but it got my attention since I passed by McEvoy st that often.. Apparently the Hubby knows the Owner's Son ;P

Went for a quick lunch with the Hubby on a Sunday, the place was pretty quiet, there were alot of people having takeaways.

I got their quarter Grilled chicken with a side of salad and chips. They offer varieties of salad that you can choose from the display.

I also ordered the Spicy Wings which I thought wasn't that good.
They got a special burger for the time being called Zomato Mega Burger. Its so huge and very delish at the same time! Inside are Beef patty, Fried Chicken, Fried egg, Pickles, bacon, relish and Mustard :)

I would recommend their Burgers and Grilled Chicken but not the wings ;P

BL burger, darlinghurst

Skip the queue from the one in Cquay for this amazeballs burger! Now Bar Luca has opened up a small Burger Bar in Darlinghurst, just next to Mr.Crackles for any Late night burger cravings!!

The place wasn't that big but decent enough for a quick bite :)
Introduced the Blame Canada burger to a couple friends and they fell in love with it on the first bitee~

Apart from the burgers, I also ordered the Chips and a side of their scrumptious Fried Chicken! Very well portioned for the price of a sides.
Can't wait to be back again! so far, for me the best burger in Sydney is Blame Canada at BL Burgers ^^

Melbourne Culinary 2.1

Second Day in Melbie.. started with breakfast in Industry Beans which is located in Fitzroy. An interesting area with heaps of cool Graffiti covering almost all the walls here.. !

Personally loves the design place itself! we were hoping to get the outdoor seating as the lighting is better but it was too full even at 9:30am! So we got ourselves a table near the entrance..

The dish here are veryy prettyyyy but I think taste wise is just okay.. Its just personal preference though and maybe I ordered the wrong dish..

Coffee Garden below comprise of Coffee Custard Pudding, Coffee caviar, cold drip gel, chocolate soil pistachio sponge and tulle. My mom and sis loves this one. The coffee caviar is the one that impressed me and yeah maybe cause im not a fan of coffee, I don't really like it.

$14

Love the Steel Cut Oats! Lavender Mango, Coconut yoghurt, crumble and freeze dried fruit. A simpler dish that works well with the combinations I think.. :)

$16

Green Papaya and Peanut Crusted Egg with Blue Swimmer Crab (optional)! Love this one, as usual my fave papaya salad done right with just the right tanginess of the nahm jim sauce and the crusted egg are just yummm. What I dont like is the blue swimmer crab in the salad, which we ordered because mom loves them hihi...

$25

Overall, I think the foods are very well priced, the Asian inspired menu is inviting, I might come back to try our their other dishes! The Shanklish Omelette even though sounds ordinary is actually an interesting one as it went through to the table next to us! :)

After a hearty breakkie, we went to Victoria market and as usual got the Donut and this time we actually have some nibbles along the way.. We had a late lunch in Chin Chin, thinking it won't be busy after lunch hour which was around 2PM. We still had to wait for quite a bit.

The place can accommodate a lot of crowd with 2 levels dining area. The basement has the bar-dim-light atmosphere (bottom photo below) and the upper area is more to a casual dining.

Even though we were full from the snacking in QV market, the taste of the foods here in Chin Chin still impressed us to the max! We got an option to do A la carte or an option to let them choose a number of their popular dishes so we can try a bit of everything. We choose the a la carte.

Went with the Butter Chicken Curry - Caramelised Sticky Pork with Chilli Vinegar - Crispy Baramundi & Green apple salad with cripsy pork - Grain Fed Wagyu sirloin with Jungle curry Paste. I take back my words that there's no good thai restaurant in Melb!

I remembered someone told me Chin chin is exxy and the foods are so so. From there onwards, I never ever will take anyone's words regarding food taste cause in general, taste is just personal and diff people will have diff likings :) The foods here are awesome. My family loves them and is proven by the never ending queue ;P The flavours in each of every dish are different from other Thai place. A good different though. I think you should at least try out Chin Chin if u ever visited Melb.

From that late lunch, we were toooo very fuull! Went back to the apartment for a bit then I asked my sis whether we're doin Huxtaburger that day. She said yes and so we go! A short stop to huxta before our dinner appointment with a family friend. Huxta have 3 different locations if I'm not wrong.. I went to the one in Collin St (CBD). The place is hidden in an alley.. NOt a surprise, it's melb afterall. everything are hidden in a laneway..

We got the THEO which is Huxtaburger with double patty, double cheese and Bacon! The only reason why we visited this place is because one of our friends claimed that the burger is better than Bar Luca's. First bite of the burger, literaaalllyyy brought me to Maccas's Beef burger taste >.< What we do love is the BUN!! It's awesomeeee.. fluffy and crispy. Just right for what a burger bun should be according to me and sis.

$14

Another stop before our main dinner in Chinatown is Crazy Wings. I know we got crazy wings too in Sydney but trust me the level of chilli for the crazy wings are wayyyy different! One small bite can literally squeeze your tears out. My dad took a bit, throw it out almost instantly and still got his mouth burnt with the spiciness!

This is only to try out your chilli tolerance and I guess just for the fun of it. Not for taste or pleasure at all hahah!

After the dinner in one of the Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, we weren't that full (wasn't good but really crowded, don't know why!) so My bro and I went to Gami Chicken as our Melb friends said it is better that Arisun's Soy chicken!

The Original fried chicken was good but the soy, seriouslyyyy cannot even be compared to Arisun. haha! I supposed Syd still got the best KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) whatsoever said by Melbournian hohooh..

Overall the second in Melb I concluded that Industry beans serves great coffee, Chin Chin is a must visit, Gami chicken MEh.

Bar Luca, Sydney CBD

Bar Luca is o ne of the best Burger place that I've visited here in Sydney. Located in Philip st near Circular Quay, it's no surprised that this place is always packed with diners during peak hour lunch time as blogger/students/part timer like me has to compete with the executives that work in that area ;P

The good thing is they are open for bookings! So rest assured if you are organised, you will definitely secure yourself a table. 

Bar Luca offers different specials everyday from Monday to Friday and unfortunately they close on the Weekend T.T I went there on Wednesday with my fellow foodies, 9 of us to taste first hand this amazeballs burger that we saw a lot on Instagram. The specials on Wed currently is free add of Bacon or Cheese !!

I ordered a side of the Crab, Coriander and Corn Fritter with the creamy Aioli. They are good especially dipped into the sauce. I would love to taste more coriander in it thoughh ;P

Fritter $9

Tried the Pulled Pork Burger which comes with Coleslaw, Coriander, tender juicy Pulled Pork and Chipotle Aioli with side ons for Fried and Chicken wing for $6! Oops not to forget the additional cheese and maple glazed bacon, yummm ~~

Pulled Pork Burger $14 

Chicken Karage Burger comes next to our table which comprise of Crispy crumbed Chicken Karage, Coriander, Wasabi Aioli, Pickled Veg and Coral Lettuce (add Bacon).
Hmmm.. you know  how when u visited a burger place that is specialised in beef burger, and you kinda don't wanna look at other varities, at Bar Luca, you better think twice cause this karage burger is at the same level of yuminessss!

Chicken Karage Burger $14

As can be seen from my epic pic below, the star of Bar Luca, the thing that occupied most of my Insta News Feed! The Blame Canada - 200g Wagyu Beef Pattie, Maple glazed Bacon, Maple Aioli and Poutine, with addition bacon and chesse and fried and chicken wings ~~~

The buns were so soft that you need to take the photo almost immediately when it arrives before it started to be less fluffy, the pattie is always serve with a pink center, and the combination of all eleements just made this burger taste heavenly delish!

Highly Highly Recommended !!

Blame Canada $15

Some shots of behind the scenes of how we foodies dine! ;P

It's so good that I'm coming back again today with different troops and so glad the special is $10 bucket wings1 yummmm ~~

Hawker Lane, Chatswood

Last Sunday, I got an opportunity to visit the new eating spot in Chatswood called Hawker Lane where all the vendors specialize in authentic street food of Asia. Hawker lane can be accessed through Charlotte Lane off Anderson st which is a small lane filled with street food pop-ups and a backdrop of urban street art.. 

There were two pop-ups last Sunday. One is a French Crepe called Maboul and the other is a Hot Dog stall. Did't get to try them out as we were so fullll from sampling all the delicious signature dishes from Hawker Lane's vendor.

Upon entry to the place, I was greeted by a lady where I did my registration as I was invited and I was given this blue hand strap and she advise me to show that to every vendor to get their signature dish samples.

A welcome Coconut Dessert were given to me and Bebski as we walked in and the coconut dessert is no other than from Kayter Coco. The one and only specialized in Coconut dessert. As usual, the coconut were sooo refreshing and the sweets on top just a perfect way to end my massive meal here in hawker Lane :)

The place was already crowded at 11:30am when I arrived. I was so excited as I walked through the area. I can smell lots of aroma from smoky wok, chilli, cumin,etc and most of all, the ambiance of the place really makes you thing you are out of Sydney! :)

My first stop is to Chachu's and Mao Chai. Apparently Mao chai and China Chilli are of the same owner and so they share a sample dish. 

From Chachu's, I chose to try their Lamb Boti which is a spiced lamb wrapped in Roti and filled with lettuce, onion and their special sauce. Original price for 1 roll is $7.90

China Chilli is specializing in Sichuan cuyisine originated from Sichuan province in South Western China. Their menu did droolsss me alot. Unfortunately when I came, they only accept cash and the place was so hectic that I don't bother to take cash out T.T

We got a sample of the Dumpling in Chilli Oil. The sauce was made from Garlic, Chilli oil and sichuan pepper which are the essentials in Sichuan cuisine. Both bebski and I lovedd the Dumpling. It was soo good. The person in charge in the shop, not sure whether he's the owner or not but he surely was a dear! He gave us heaps of $10 voucher to be used in our next visit and he even asked me how many serve of dumpling that I want. ;)

Next stop is Jim's Malaysia. I especially like how they design their stall. It was so vibrant and inviting. They got a private seating next to the counter with a street-food feel like the one back in Malay and the lineeeee was long! Which is a good thing.

I was hoping that they would give us CKT as for their sample hehehe..  But instead, we got the Fried rice, Laksa, Curry puff, BBQ bun and this dessert made of coconut cream and pandan. In indo, we called it Kue Talam. Bebski lovedd the BBQ pastry and I loveeeeee the Laksa! Would definitely be back for a whole bowl of it and not to forget the CKT!

Not only Chinese and Malay Street food, here, there are also other such as Nahm Jimm for Thai, One Tea, Makanai and Sushi World for Japanese. Not to forget Gong cha and Lamb & Cumin for their skewers!

Lamb skewers from lamb & Cumin. Strong Cumin flavour and juicy meats. Cumin though is something either you like it or not. But bebski and I definitely like 'em ;P 3 sticks of lamb skewer for $5.50.

Tuna Sushi Roll from Sushi World. Other vendors were delighted to see us with the blue straps except this shop, i wonder why ;p They don't seem to be that happy to see us getting our samples >.<

Went to Nahm Jimm and apparently they were giving out padthai and pad kra pao with rice in small portions but I got there too late that the new sample is Chicken Skewer with salads which looks rather interesting. While walking with that in my hand, a number of people approached me and asked what is that I'm carrying hihi. The peanut dressing was soo good and the chicken skewers too!

I don't know what to think or react to this very cute sample from Makanai ^.^" ... It's a portion of a sample they gave out in Costco. haha. I had to share this with bebski ;P But I acknowledge that their Chashu Pork was yuumm. even though I only get to try a bit but I can definitely taste the really good smoked pork in it!

I think this is my first time having Gong cha in Sydney ;P I hardly get this bubble drink.. This time I tried their signature Milk Foam Green tea with Bubble. Not too sweet and the tea are so fragrant.

Fresh Beef Spring Rolls from Madam Nhu. I can't have enough of the rolls. It was yumm! Madam Nhu apparently is one of Sydney's first modern Vietnamese eateries in Sydney since 2007. Where have I been all this timee!

One of the many vendor that I have been wanting to try out since long time ago! Went to One Tea once at the city and did not make any booking so left the place downheartedly.. But sad not, I got to sample their Ramen Burger, Green Tea Burger with Chicken Karage and Green Tea ice cream Bao. Love the crisp edge of the Ramen, the aromatic Green tea bun of the Karage and for the Green Ta bao, i loveee all the combos. The fried mantau that they shaped into buns, the red bean paste and the sweetness from the Green tea are just perfect!

Last but not least, we had the Giant 12oz Fried Chicken from Cheers Cut! Addition to Hot star, Shilin and other Taiwanese snacks, Cheers cut according to Bebski topped all of them all.

The chicken was as big as both of my palms! There are heaps of sauces to choose from too.. I tried their sichuan sauce as Bebski and I like it hot hot hot! Even though we were so full from all the samples, we still can managed to finish it off since it's that delish...

They have options of 8oz or 12oz chicken/squid. For takeaway, they gave us this convenient hand carry pack for the chicken rather than a boring white plastic bag ;P

On our way out, we found Aquas at the corner and Bebski decided to get a sample of the Royal Milk Tea x Seasalt even though we tried that flavour the day before at the city ;p I guess Royal Milk Tea is our favourite flavour so far from Aquas!

That ends our Journey in Hawker Lane. They should have their eftpos machine to work by next week! I will definitely definitely bring my foodie troops to this place and we will chow down the food that I don't get to try, in bigger portion! hehe ;)

I'm so thankful to be invited to this Taste of Asia Events! .^^. Until next time, Chatswood :)