Lilly Bites

Surprisingly, not many people in the group were peckish, so only Maree, Chloe and I ordered breakfast. Chloe decided on the Bacon & Scrambled Egg Roll with Chilli Jam ($7), I ordered the poached eggs on soy and linseed toast ($7) with a side of mushrooms and tomato ($1.5 each) and Maree ordered the same base as me but with avocado, bacon and mushrooms. I thought their current pricing was great value for money and totally accommodated the typical student budget. Sadly though, their online menu featured a bircher muesli which wasn’t written on the in-store menu. Also, the sides pricing online started at $2.50 not $1.50…hmm I hope Penny Lane’s prices aren’t going up soon! That’d be a real shame.

In no time at all, out came a few coffees! A cappuccino and a flat white! Love me some coffee.

Soon after the coffees arrived, our breakfast plates hit the table.

I was pretty impressed with the eggs on toast offering at Penny Lane. I thought the serving of toast and sides was generous given the price. When I ordered my side of “tomatoes” I assumed they were going to be roasted, as I’ve never been served raw sliced tomato at a café before. However, I enjoyed the fresh tomato accompaniment­–it really lightened up my dish. 

The two slices of soy and linseed were toasted nicely and the perfectly poached eggs oozed gold (tick!). The only critique I have for my dish, which is also a pet hate, was that I could taste the vinegar used to poached the eggs quite prominently when eating the whites. It wasn’t particularly pleasant but luckily that flavour didn’t permeate through the eggs.  On the whole a yummy start to the day and a solid 3.8/5. 

Maree’s dish had a serving of fanned avocado and bacon too–she scored it a 3/5 saying “it was nothing special but didn’t suck”. I like your thought process Maree.  

Chloe seemed to enjoy her breakfast roll. Not being a big morning eater (she much prefers morning tea. I prefer both Chloe :P) she did manage to finish her small start to the day and thought it was nice but the bread could have been better. A 3.5/5 was awarded.

Overall Penny Lane was a great venue to have our catch up, however I didn’t find staff particularly warm, welcoming or friendly. It could have just been the fact we were there before their first coffee of the day. 

I’ll definitely be back soon for a breakfast and study sesh.

Additional notes since returning for a quick lunch:

- There is no student discount here?! Despite being attached to UTS, they don't offer any students perks. Surprising - even outlets in Central Park have a student discount. 

- There is a minimum EFTPOS spend of $15, with a 50c charge when under. I personally got a bit annoyed seeing this because a) I don't believe they have to charge a minimum? b) a $15 minimum is super high, I don't think I've seen it this high anywhere? c) most of their menu items are under $15 d) most people pop in just for a coffee and who carries actual cash anymore?. In conclusion, not on. Rant over. 

Penny Lane Scorecard: Food & Drink: 7/10 Service: 6/10 Atmosphere: 4/5

The meal came with a piece of fried bread, which had Will a bit confused but I was intrigued. It was an interesting texture of bread but lacked any great flavour. Will said he would have just preferred an actual piece of toast on the side. On the whole however, Will loved this breakfast and scored it a 4/5.

Next up was my corn fritter dish and, sadly for me, it really didn’t hit the mark. The corn fritters tasted quite plain and mostly just of vegetables. The consistency of the fritter wasn’t to my liking either. I prefer thick, almost patty like fritters, however these seemed to lack a lot of batter and didn’t hold together very well. 

They weren’t particularly crispy either, which is normally a nice texture addition. The redeeming feature on the plate was the chilli jam and labna. Together they held such vibrantly delicious flavours and brought some excitement and lightness to the fritters and the dish overall. I scored the dish a 2.5/5 

As our meals were being collected we were asked how we found them. I normally give a pretty standard “ah it was great thanks” response, but seeing as it was the same waitress who recommended the fritters, I told her honestly “it was sadly pretty disappointing” and explained why. Her response was “ah that’s a shame…” and that’s it! Now, I was not expecting any special service from my fritter feedback but a slightly more compassionate response would have been great! I'm a big breakfast person so having a disappointing meal (especially on an anniversary!) is a definite shame.

The café itself was really nice and trendy, with a great layout and a relaxed atmosphere. We left Oceans in an alright mood, slightly brighter than the weather outside I would say. I’m glad Will had a delicious breakfast and even happier he shared it with me. Next time I’ll be sticking with my guns and ordering the bircher!

Oceans Narrabeen Scorecard:

Food & Drink: 7/10 Service: 7/10 Atmosphere: 4/5

Overall score: 18/25

Here are the recipes we followed:

Chocolate cake (called the best chocolate cake ever, I'm pretty creative with my google searches...)

Salted Caramel Buttercream 

Will’s Vanilla Buttercream  

I must say that creating a great drip crown on the cake was a fun but tricky challenge. This was the first time we had ever attempted the instragram worthy trend and only had Miss Sabath’s brief decorating demonstration at the Cake Bake and Sweets Show to guide us. She told the crowd to use a teaspoon for the drips and a palate knife to smooth the top off, which we did. 

Getting the right consistency of the chocolate ganache was difficult at times as the temperature of the chocolate cooled down, making the drips slow and thicken. We just kept popping the Ganache in the microwave for short blitzes in order to get the right runny consistency back. I was pretty happy with the drips and the left over chocolate Ganache was used to coat strawberries for that evening’s dessert!

Dad couldn’t believe what we put together and neither could the party guests! It was such a beautiful and delicate cake to look at, I literally just wanted to dive in! The cake was soon adorned with candles and subsequently divided up–I was surprised and relieved at how well the cake sliced, keeping its shape and layers perfectly.

The feedback from around the table was absolutely wonderful, everyone had big smiles on their faces as they tucked in. I loved how light and tasty the chocolate cake was which meant it didn’t become be too intense, overly decadent or sugary to eat (pheww). I think this was because the recipe called for oil instead of butter? The salted caramel butter cream was incredible and easy enough to make, seriously, pour that into in an IV drip and plug me in ASAP. And of course, Will’s butter cream was perfection – sweet, smooth and so more-ish.

In my eyes, the cake was perfect with just the right amount of sweet delicious magic so you didn’t feel ill after finishing your slab. My gawd, I want another slice now.

We decided on our dishes and Jen went to order at the counter. Sadly, Kyrstal’s choice of the Apple Sweetened 5 Grain Porridge had run out, followed by her second choice of the Salad of Pomegranate and then her choice of The Greens Cleanse juice!! At only 10:30, I was surprised that so many options had run out, and wished they relayed that information to us when we arrived instead of having to run back and forth from the ordering counter and our tables!

Our breakfasts hit the table in no time at all, and man did all the plates look delicious! The first dessert, I mean breakfast, that caught my eye was Amy’s Choc Crackle French Toast ($16). 

This French toast wasn’t your standard slab of thick, crunchy toast topped with maple syrup n berries, but instead came out in log form with a generous serving of stewed plums, lemon curd and cream underneath. Amy gave the dish a score of 3/5; it was nice enough but overall a bit too sweet with strong hits of sour. Amy said she would order this dish again but to share with a friend after breakfast.  

Krystal settled on the Wild Mushroom & Quinoa Omelette ($18) for breakfast and was very happy with her decision! The plating was lovely, and the circular omelette came with a crown of cress, slices of radish, and a crumble of marinated fetta. This dish was a winner and got a score of 4/5 from Miss Krystal. It definitely looked like a great start to the day, and even arrived with a side serve of sourdough toast.

I ordered the Breakfast Salad ($20) after seeing a few gorgeous snaps of this dish online, and I'm glad I did my research! This dish was really beautiful. I loved the fresh, smoky flavour of the trout, the subtly pickled cucumbers, lashings of dill (so. much. dill.) and discs of radish. The wild rice gave the salad a yummy nutty bite and I adored my soft centred crumbed egg. 

A slice of crusty, thick toast to accompany this dish (and to wipe the delicious plate clean) would have been great. The salad got a solid 4/5 from me and I’d happily return tomorrow to have it again!

Sarah ordered the Pork and Bacon Croquette ($19), which was a pretty intriguing looking dish. I don’t know about you, but if I ordered a dish specifically called a “Pork and Bacon Croquette”, I’d expect the croquette to be the star of the show and the element on the plate that fills me up the most. 

This didn’t seem the case today, as it was more a “Fried Eggs on Toast with a side of Croquet and Mashed peas” kinda dish. Sarah said the dish looked better than it tasted (cause it looked pretty cool) and scored it a 3/5.

Miss Jen got the Breakfast Burger ($15) and she seemed pretty happy with her choice even though she wasn’t a fan of lettuce and tomato! The burger came with a fried egg, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, double smoked bacon, cucumber pickle and pimento sauce. The egg oozed gold and the burger gods rejoiced. Jen gave the burger a 3.5/5. After we had finished our meals it was definitely time for dessert! 

Sarah and I headed to the counter where there was lots of tempting sweets on display. Unfortunately for us, The Greens had run out of their jam donuts (something we were all looking forward too, cue tears) and instead there were just plain donuts. With this sad news in mind, I reminisced about the jam donuts I saw being pumped and filled with gooey jam earlier:

Anyway, back to the jam donut-less situation. The waitress struggled for a while to remember the name of the new donuts on display, saying they were something Greek….or something European...before finally concluding that she just wasn’t sure, “basically they are just cinnamon donuts, wait no...CRONUTS!”.

We ended up ordering a whole heap of treats to share and on the whole, they were good and would tick off your sugary needs. The brownie, which took centre stage on our tasting plate, had a lovely chewy, crunchy texture. It was nice in flavour but, for me (as a mad brownie fan), it wasn't anything incredible or something I’d return for. 

The chocolate ganache tart was seriously dark and rich in chocolatey flavour. I liked the crispy candied orange slice on top which made the flavour combination swing more towards a Jaffa rather than your standard plain chocolate tart. Yummy stuff.

The donut (fairly sure it wasn’t a cronut…) didn’t really hit the spot for me but I did enjoy its crispy outer coating.

And the passionfruit tart was enjoyed around the table.

Out of all the desserts, my favourite was the tiramisu slice as it was super light in texture and a delight to eat. The traditional tiramisu flavours were all on point and perfectly balanced. 

Although the food was nice, the service was pretty bad, and that’s putting it lightly. For me, the service you receive when dining at a restaurant is paramount to your overall foodie happiness. Sadly today, The Greens just wasn’t up to scratch and it bumped down my overall experience by a few big notches. To summarise the downfall in its most basic sense: the staff seemed very clueless, un-attentive and lacked basic initiative. I just didn’t feel we were looked after at all, and unless we were being given food, tracking down a waiter seemed close to impossible. As one of the bloggers said, “it’s a very DIY venue” which sums it up perfectly. I think I would have actually left happier if I did do the service side myself. 

The only beacon of hope (service wise) during our 90 minute visit was from this friendly waiter. He was the only one to come to our table on his own initiative once, engaged us in a friendly conversation, and later happily posed for photos with our coffees. If only we could clone this bearded man.

In conclusion, The Greens has a lot going for it–an amazing location with a killer view, very trendy decor, a yummy menu thats reasonably priced, fabulous plating up and tasty flavours too. Once the service matches all these other great attributes, I reckon this restaurant will become one of my favourite breakfast spots. Perhaps service on the day we visited was a one off, and if so, I'm more than happy to return to confirm that (if another Breakfast Salad is on the cards!). 

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I have implemented a new scoring system, just to help me summarise my review and make it easier for you to figure out if you’ll visit each eatery. My scorecard is based on food (10 marks), service (10 marks) and atmosphere (5 marks), which reflects the importance of each component to my personal dining experience.

The Greens Scorecard

Food: 7.5/10 Service: 4/10 Atmosphere: 4/5 

Overall score: 15.5/25

While we were waiting for our coffees to arrive, I explored the gorgeous store. There was lots of amazing bottled and jarred produce to discover and buy, as well as fresh fruit and veggies.

There were even some lovely free locally grown grapefruits to take home with you if you liked.

I have always loved the concept of sourcing and supporting local produce and it’s truly wonderful to see it in action. 

We bought a jar of organic olives from Olive Downs, a local Jamestown farm, as well as the most magnificent honey from another Jamestown farm called ‘Pure South Australia Honey’. I’ve had a spoonful of that glorious gold honey in my porridge every morning since and my goodness, it’s truly beautiful. If I can get more details on this honey and where to source it, I’ll add it in!

Another thing I noticed about the store was the group of happy children drawing away in the corner window table while their mum’s enjoyed an afternoon cuppa. The local ambulance team (all volunteers!) came in for one soon after! Bindlestick seems like the perfect place to relax and gather after a long day. All I think they need to add is a few more tables and chairs to relax into.

Out came out coffees and they hit a delightful spot. My tea was beautifully brewed too.

The ladies at Blindlestick also brought over a wooden board with some lovely sweet treats for us to try. 

The Lattice Slice was very tasty with its smooth centre and soft biscuit crunch, but the Lemon Tart with mascarpone icing was my personal favourite. I loved the subtle sour lemon flavour that cut through the sweetness of each mouthful. It was a really well balanced dessert and a delight to eat. Plus there’s something about a good ratio of icing to tart makes me drool.

We left Blindlestick incredibly impressed with the trendy décor, wonderful produce, excellent coffees and yummy sweet treats on offer. If you’re ever in Jamestown or driving nearby on the hunt for an afternoon snack or lunch, stop by! They’ll greet you with a smile and you’ll leave with an even bigger one.

The list is basically like a delicious pizza toppings menu: select any combo that makes your mouth water and have it served on top of your meal (typically schnitzels). Imagine your schnitzel topped with the Mexican extra (salsa, ham, jalapenos, cheese, sour cream and corn chips–my gawd), or perhaps a local option like the Flinders Fry extra (2 fried eggs, mushrooms and home made beer battered onion rings–drool). The combination possibilities were really endless, and this means each time you visit the pub you could have your favourite dish with a little twist.

On the first night it was schnitzels all ‘round, and the toppings ranged from your classic mushroom gravy, a Hawaiian, and the Surf and Turf. The meals were all served promptly, cooked to perfection, and really hit the spot. I was a big fan of all the salads on the side, and the thick cut chips accompanying my veggie schnitzel.

When we visited The Commercial Hotel on our final night with Farmer Andrew and Farmer Gilmore, we ordered some pretty similar food, but brave William ordered a Kangaroo Schnitzel with the Commercial Special extra on top (mushroom sauce, bacon, onion, fried egg and melted cheese).

Will seriously enjoyed his Kangaroo Schnitzel, saying the meat was super tender and tasty. The extras were delicious and he would definitely order the combo again.

 Here’s Mum’s Schnitzel on our second visit with the salad buffet! Yummyy.

There isn’t much of a dessert menu at The Commercial Hotel but they do have a Nut Sundae on offer. Mum was feeling like something sweet, so ordered this ice cream dessert. Out came three scoops of vanilla ice cream, topped with crushed up walnuts and chocolate sauce. Mum thought it was absolutely delightful!

The Commercial Hotel is a wonderful family-friendly pub that I wish I could visit every weekend! It serves up the classics cooked perfectly and a tasty extras menu that’ll make anyone smile with foodie delight.  

I spent a good 20 minutes wandering around the store, seeing the wonderful pots, bottles and jars of Maggie Beer’s products towered up high with lots of little testers available to try.

My favourite testers were the Salted Brandy Caramel, which was absolutely mouth-wateringly superb, and the Burnt Fig Jam. 

I bought one of each and headed out with the family to see Maggie’s farm animals. We saw lots and lots of beautiful Pheasant birds, a few camera confident roosters, and two beautiful but shy peacocks. Will took these gorgeous photos.

Maggie Beer’s Farm shop was a great stop on our Barossa Day. If we had come an hour or so later we would have been treated to a cooking demonstration! Maybe next time! Until then, I was happy eating away at my Salted Brandy Caramel as we drove to our next stop.

The soup was lovely, filling and flavoursome. Will thought the soup could have had a bigger mushroom flavour, but he was comparing his soup to the amazing Jamie Oliver Mushroom Soup we make that includes dried porcini for an intense flavour. While I agreed, I thought it was yummy regardless. Dipping the buttered herb bread into the soup was definitely a highlight.

I had a little explore in the outdoor area of the cafe, it seems like a perfect lunch spot in summer!

We left the café very happy with our lunch and ready for the final drive of our holiday, an hour back to Adelaide. On the way out we were tempted to have some road trip snacks and Red Door Espresso’s display of cookies fitted the bill. There were a few different cookies–chocolate chip, chocolate, melting moments etc–and they were all priced at $2.50 each, which seemed pretty damn pricey considering we had been paying $1-1.50 for similar, delicious cookies throughout our trip. The waitress assured us that the cookies were all made in house and were super tasty, hence the more expensive price tag. “It’s worth the price,” she said. “She was wrong,” we later said.

We bought 8 cookies, which was a rookie error, and would have been better off spending our money buying Arnott’s biscuits at the IGA. The cookies we bought, chocolate chip and plain chocolate, had a really strange consistency, like they were stale.  And the taste? They were far off the classic recipe, didn’t taste particularly nice and unfortunately were pretty sad to eat. We shared a few between us but didn’t bother with the rest. For the price, I was hoping for something better!

So in conclusion, go to Red Door Espresso for a yummy, hearty lunch, but I wouldn’t bother with their pricey cookies!

Mum got fried eggs with her Veggie Plate and they were cooked to perfection as well.

Will’s breakfast was very similar to mine but the avocado was replaced by bacon and prosciutto. Like mine, this breakfast was delicious and very filling. It was a bit of a bummer that the chipolata sausage included in the menu was replaced by prosciutto without warning. Maybe being given the option to swap it for more bacon or something would have been better. But nevertheless, super great breakfast.

Dad’s mushroom filled breakfast included shiitake, button and enoki mushrooms cooked in Pepe Saya butter (droooool) served with parmesan cheese, truffle oil and sourdough. There was also a helping of fresh chimichuri sauce. Dad really enjoyed this meal, thinking it was fresh, tasty and plentiful. The chimichuri really brought the dish and all its yummy flavours together.

And I can’t forget about the juices! I ordered the ‘5th Element’ ($7.50) as it reminded me of the classic juice I’d always make at home with carrot, celery, ginger and beetroot. For me, it was so delicious, fresh and literally felt like it was giving me the most wonderful cleanse. I think it must be a juice combo you either love or hate, because Will wasn’t a fan :P

Will ordered ‘The Marshall 2.0’ ($7.50) which had a fruity combo of pineapple, banana, spinach and passionfruit. This juice was also very yummy and had a delightfully fresh zing to it.

To top off the delicious breakfast, which by 12pm had turned into brunch, I felt like a sweet treat! I bought a slice of Argo’s gluten free brownie ($5.50) to share with the gang and it got the thumbs up. The slice was large, fudgy and deliciously chocolatey (I could taste a hint of coffee which was lovely). It was a nice end to our breakfast for sure.

We left Argo deliciously full, incredibly impressed with the café’s offerings, and ready to take on our last day in Adelaide. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful as well.

Once all of the baking students had arrived–a group of 11 excited individuals–the class began. Don talked us through the history of Brasserie Bread and its humble beginnings, and shared his knowledge on the different types of bread (focusing on sourdough of course!), and the operations of their current bakery. 

Something I found amazing was the starter that Brasserie Bread uses to create their amazing sourdough everyday, which is 20 years old!!! It was started by co-founder Michael using grapes as its natural sugar element and has been fed daily ever since. Don told us that Michael reckons he can still taste those grapes when enjoying a slice of the magnificent sourdough.

Once we were all up-to-date with the knowledge surrounding Brasserie Bread and sourdough, were able to get hands on with the dough. Today we would be mixing and kneading a dough that we would take home and bake tomorrow as well as be given dough made the day before to shape, bake and eat today. Hopefully that makes sense!

Flour, water, 20-year-old starter, and salt were all pre-measured and ready for us to use. All we had to do was combine the ingredients, flour and starter first, knead, then add the salt and continue kneading. The kneading process was very therapeutic and I'm considering taking it up as a relaxation hobby. What you had to do was literally throw down the dough onto your table with all your might, fold it on top of itself, scoop it up and do it again and again. Don said you’ll never meet an angry baker, and from all that dough bashing I totally understand why.

Here’s my little sourdough loaf!

We kneaded our dough around 5 times, with a short break between each go. The dough was pretty sticky, but with each rest, it became less and less so. On one of the larger kneading breaks, baker Yudha entered the room with a jolly smile and walked us through making our own starter. 

Yudha’s practical demonstration included mixing the starter together with a pair of chopsticks, which apparently is the best tool for the job and requires minimal clean up! At the end of the class everyone is given all the instructions on how to make your own starter and sourdough, which is great, so you aren’t frantically trying to remember everything you see!

Once Yudha finished his demonstration, he pulled out the biggest slab of dough I’ve ever seen! 

I loved how the dough (which was rested overnight) felt! It was like a fluffy marshmallow and not sticky at all. This was the dough that our class would be using, shaping and baking today. Yudha cut and weighed up the dough into smaller pieces and here began our dough shaping lesson!

With each new piece of dough, Don showed us a new technique on how to shape it. We were taught how to make the classic dinner rolls, weave platted rolls, shape batard loaves and tightly roll a baguette. I really enjoyed this process, in particular the platted roll.

Once we finished shaping our dough, we placed most of them on trays to rest up quickly before being baked. Lastly, our batard loaf was rested on this thick blanket material in order to hold its shape. 

We also took the time to score our bread and oil up our platted roll, which I believe makes the bread more soft.

While our dough was resting and being baked, Don gave us a tour of the Brasserie Bread bakery. This was something I was really looking forward to and man oh man, the tour didn’t disappoint. I felt like I was in a bread heaven, everywhere you looked was mountains of freshly baked, beautiful looking bread.

I loved seeing the massive ovens that, at the time, were pumping out some incredible smelling garlic bread (which we would be tasting later!) as well as seeing the bakers working away at mixing, shaping and lining up all the loaves ready for proving. They were all such smiling and happy individuals. The tour was seriously remarkable and a true eye opener at the sheer volume of bread the bakery churns out each day. It was so impressive and awesome! Here are some of the pictures of the tour we went on, I wish I could do it again!!

Here is just one of the many trays full of bread rolls coming out the oven. In order to egg wash them efficiently and quickly, they actually using a hose which creates a fine spray of egg!

These ovens were just being emptied as we walked by. The smell of the freshly baked bread was wonderful.

Some sweets were also in the bakery; these incredible looking croissants and these delicious smelling brownies. Don said it was a shame they weren’t sliced up, as we could have tried one! I think he was just pulling our leg, but seriously, I really wanted a slice to nibble on…or a tray.

Here’s a few pictures of the bakers at work. I couldn’t believe the size of that mixer, it was like a bathtub!!

And some more pictures of some freshly baked bread!

Once we had finished the tour, we headed back to the classroom to check out our freshly baked bread. By this point, I was in a complete bread bliss. And good news, all of our bread had turned out wonderfully!

The next and final stage of the afternoon was a taste testing session. 

There were many loaves of different bread waiting patiently on the table for us to try. Along side the bread was a plate of triple creamed chese (woww), beetroot dip, smoked salmon and the amazing Pepe Saya butter. I was beyond ready to tuck in. Seriously, who doesn’t adore bread?

Don slowly went over each bread on the table, cutting up tasters and explaining to us the flavour and background of the loaf in question. My favourite breads were the French Mountain bread, the Single Origin Sourdough, and the Garlic Bread. 

Oh my goodness that garlic bread, I don’t know if it was because it was JUST out of the oven, but it could possibly be the best I’ve ever had. The garlic is cooked the day before with sugar and balsamic vinegar until it is perfectly caramelised and then folded into an Italian dough. I loved the flavour, the softness of the dough, and the generous layers of garlic filling. 

Once we were all truly full of the most wonderful bread, it was time to pack up! We stored our resting dough from earlier into disposable containers to take home as well as loaded up bags full of our wonderful freshly baked bread. 

Dad and I had the most superb experience attending the Art of Sourdough class and I don’t think I could have organised a better present to celebrate such a special birthday. Don was a brilliant teacher, the class size was nice and small, we learnt so much, got our hands dirty, our bellies full, and the tour was amazing! Dad and I were also given another loaf of bread each! We were bursting at the seams with bread and their ain’t nothing wrong with that.

The following morning we were up early and baked our dough from the class. Both loaves came out perfectly and added to our small mountain of bread in the pantry. I think each and every meal since the class has involved bread in some way and I’ve loved every single slice. Dad has even begun his own starter!

What an awesome experience and just the perfect timing as Dad and I (with Mum and Will) are off today to visit Adelaide. We will be seeing lots of the Flinders Ranges and catching up with Famer Andrew who is one of the producers of the amazing single origin flour that Brasserie Bread uses. I couldn’t think of a better time to feel all loved up on Brasserie Bread than now! I’ll keep you updated on our SA trip via instagram @lillybites and with a few blog posts in the coming weeks. 

Disclaimer: I attended the Art of Sourdough class as a guest, but paid in full for Dad’s spot.

They were also very generous with their testers!! There were plates filled with large mouthful size pieces of different cakes to try. Who doesn’t love a bit of a taste test! 

Using my hands like you would when framing a photograph, I asked for slices “ahh about this big?” and the waitress happily sorted out our order. We got a slice of the Tiramisu, Peanut butter and Chocolate Ganache slab and the Baked Raspberry Cheesecake. They were all priced at $4.50 per 100g.

We also got a Kürtősh! I asked the waitress which flavour would be best to have for your first ever Kürtősh and she said the classic cinnamon flavour was the way to go, although the Nutella one did come a close second in her mind!  A cinnamon chimney roof was ordered for $7.50 and was baked fresh while we waited at our table.

The Kürtősh arrived at our table and boy was it magnificent. I’m fairly sure I’ve fallen in love. 

The twirling rolls of fluffy, pull-apart pastry were a complete joy to eat. I adored its crispy, sugary, caramelised outer coating that led to the soft, delicate internal walls. It was baked perfectly golden and there was just the right amount of cinnamon coating.

The next thing I tucked into was our trio of sweet slices. The Tiramisu was lovely – light, full of flavour and very generous with the tasty mascarpone! The Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ganache slice reminded me of a deliciously decadent Reese’s Pieces (aint nothing wrong with dat). By the time I had a spoonful of the Baked Raspberry Cheesecake, I was feeling the sugar coma take over, but I do remember it tasting delightful.

Kürtősh was seriously such a delightful place to enjoy a delicious sweet treat after dinner. The super friendly staff really made the experience that much more wonderful for me! And man, them chimney roofs. I should have taken 5 with me home. Until next time, Kürtősh.

A waiter walked us through the menu and suggested we order one of their cheeses that came with two sides ($20) and two pastas ($20 each). We were tempted by the Scarmoza cheese but couldn’t decide which sides to have. I was pretty set on ordering the Pumpkin Croquettes but the waiter said that both the Tempura Cauliflower and Pecorino Crusted Eggplant were better than the croquettes (cue my internal sobs). We thought the waiter knew best, so went with his suggestions. We also ordered Beef Carpaccio ($17) to have with our starters and all three pastas to share afterwards.

Out came our starters, photographed above by Krystal. All the items on the cheese and sides plate were coloured somewhere between yellow and brown which, for me, wasn’t super tempting. The plate also came with three slices of bread and little pieces of biscotti (?) that kind of looked like cashews.

The Tempura Cauliflower was okay, but lacked any extra flavour or punch, plus it didn’t have a delicately crispy coating like your typical tempura veggies. It was a bit sad to eat to be honest. A hit of seasoning or even a sauce would have really lifted this side for me.

I did enjoy the Pecorino Crusted Eggplant with its salty coating and soft innards. I liked how thick the slabs of eggplant were but again, maybe a sauce would have been good.

The Scarmoza cheese was lovely to eat. Its semi-soft texture and strong smoky flavour caught me pleasantly by surprise.

For me, the highlight of the starters was the Carpaccio, photographed again by Miss Krystal. The Carpaccio was served with a drizzling of balsamic and lime wedge and together, the flavours were beautiful. I loved how tender and thin each slice was, it literally just melted in your mouth.

As soon as we finished our starters, mains appeared on our table and out came the parmesan wheel for our Cacio e Pepe (cue squeals of excitement).

The waiter twirled and tossed the spaghetti around and around the Parmesan wheel. We asked about the wheels, and he told us that they only last 3 days or so and today’s wheel had peppercorns embedded into it.

I enjoyed tucking into my serve of the Parmesan infused spaghetti. It was a delightfully simple pasta dish which reminded me of my Dad’s go-to order when feeling unwell at a restaurant­–spaghetti with salt, pepper, olive oil and cheese (he would also ask for a tonne of garlic). I liked the subtle salty flavours, crumbs of Parmesan and fresh parsley throughout this spaghetti. The pasta was cooked nice and al dente too. The dish did, however, feel a bit dry and an extra few swigs of oil would have fixed this up.

The next dish we tried was the Buffalo Ricotta Gnocchi with napolitana sauce. The gnocchi was bliss to eat­ with its dainty parcels of fluffiness cooked to perfection. 

The accompanying tomato sauce was nice but fairly simple in flavour. It could have definitely been bumped up with more seasoning and herbs. Despite this, the Gnocchi was my favourite main of the night as nothing beats perfect cloud-like gnocchi.

The last pasta dish we had was Buffalo’s Ragu of pork and fennel sausage. I am a big fan of this combo ever since I ate the delicious ‘Sausage Pappardelle’ at Jamie’s Italian. Sadly though, this dish didn’t tick all the boxes for me. The pasta was really well cooked (clearly Buffalo has mastered this) and did I love the generosity of the serve. However, the ragu lacked a hearty, rich flavour and was pretty average. I did taste a few chunks of sausage mince amongst the pasta, but the fennel flavour was non-existent. I actually didn’t realise there was fennel in the dish until writing up my review and checking the menu online. Also, I thought there could have been more sauce served with the meal, as there was only a light coating on the pasta.

Dinner was done and sadly we had a fairly underwhelming experience at Buffalo’s Dining Club, which is strange and disappointing as they have such amazing reviews on Zomato with a 4.6/5?! It made me think that our average experience may have been a one off? Perhaps it was just the night we visited and the fact that we may have been the first few tables served in the sitting? The service wasn’t super warm or attentive either. I don’t know! I think the main letdown was the lack of memorable hearty flavours and seasoning. Well, hopefully next times is truer to it’s rating!

While we were waiting for our meals to arrive, I had a look around and took a few snaps:

Today’s review is going to feature more photos with shorter commentary given by my wonderful colleges whilst they were tucking away at their lunches!

But first, my dish! 

Since I’d stuffed myself silly with the most wonderful cake over the weekend, I didn’t want anything too creamy, so I opted for something veggie based. The Rotolo Al Forno ($24) caught my eye and I was super glad I ordered this dish. Out from the kitchen came two slices of roasted pumpkin, ricotta and wilted spinach, bound together by fresh pasta sheets. The two pasta slabs were baked to perfection in a hearty, rich tomato sauce. I loved every mouthful of the dish, with its contrast in flavours and textures. For me, the pasta was the perfect thickness and the tomato sauce was a killer. The tablespoon of crispy breadcrumbs was a nice touch too. My only issue with the dish was the serving size and price. Perhaps my stomach is a bit too large but I finished the dish and didn’t feel completely satisfied, wishing there was another delicious roll to enjoy. Also, for $24, and seeing as it didn’t include any meat (pasta, pumpkin, tomato, spinach, cheese), I thought it was definitely on the pricey side of town.

Wendy ordered the special, Alex’s Pumpkin Ravioli with Pancetta & Sage Butter. 8 year old Alex was a competition winner and got his yummy dish featured at the restaurant for the whole week! Wendy thought this dish was delicious and loved the pumpkin filling and salty pancetta. At $22.50 though, Wendy felt the serve was a bit small.

Ian ordered the Fish in a Bag, which was definitively a healthy alternative to your standard pasta. Inside the foil parcel was a collection of perfectly cooked seafood: mackerel, claims, anchovies and mussels. It also had fennel, cracked wheat, spicy arrabbiata sauce and wedges of lemon to accompany all the yummy flavours. Ian absolutely loved this dish and had actually ordered the exact same dish last time he dined here!

Julie ordered the Seafood Stew with lentils, a dish on the specials board for $29 (from memory). Overall, it got a thumbs up from Julie as all the seafood was very well cooked and it tasted delicious. She just thought the serve was a bit small, and wished there was more.

Kevin ordered the Mussel & Squid Spaghetti Nero. This pasta also came with slow-cooked octopus, capers and parsley. Kevin really enjoyed this yummy dish but said if you weren’t a massive seafood fan, it may have been a bit too fishy in smell and flavour.

For dessert, I shared the Epic Brownie and Blackberry Pavlova with Wendy and Ian.

The Blackberry Pavlova ($10) was a seriously delicious dish and it looked gorgeous too. The Pavlova was served with scrumptious mascarpone cream, macerated berries, pieces of smashed hazelnut praline, a drizzling of dark chocolate, and mint leaves. I thought this dish was perfectly balanced and not overly sweet, with a lovely hint of citrus (?) bustling its way through each mouthful. Also, texturally, there was a wonderful contrast between the cream, crispy pavlova, crunchy praline and juicy berries. Yum.

The Epic Brownie ($10.50) was a bit disappointing. I think this was because they called it the epic brownie. I’m a pretty huge brownie fan and for me, the small slice of brownie, baby scoop of amaretto ice cream, light sprinkle of caramelised popcorn and pouring of chocolate sauce didn’t scream epic. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice brownie and would hit your chocolaty spot, but it wasn’t epic (Google defined: heroic or grand in scale or character). Perhaps it was just how the brownie was plated on that day, who knows. Anyway, to the tasting. The brownie itself was very rich and dark in flavour and tasted yum. Each mouthful was gooey and felt like the brownie had only just set in the oven–my kind of baking. I enjoyed the crunchy popcorn but man, I wish the plate was served with an epic mountain of it. The ice cream and chocolate sauce was also nice addition to the chocolatey dessert.

Jamie’s Italian proved to be a lovely venue to celebrate the end of my internship with my team. The trendy vibe of the restaurant, friendly service and tasty food ticked all the right boxes. I’ve been pining for another delicious slice of the Rotolo Al Forno and feel like giving the epic brownie another chance to impress. Maybe I’ll be back before I know it!

Our breakfast took a rather long time to make an appearance–longer than your typical Sunday-busy-cafe breakfast wait. Luckily, the token “I'm hungry” and “how long has it been?” comments were muffled by the gorgeous beach view and the warm sunshine from our table. Plus, the wait gave me the perfect excuse to go and take some pictures of the cute dogs about. They were all super cute.

When our food arrived, it was such a glorious sight that the time delay was quickly forgotten. Across the table, everyone’s dishes looked wonderful and super tempting.  

The meal that made everyone drool was definitely Sam’s Pancakes. Woah. There were layers of deliciously fluffy pancakes topped with slices of fresh banana, a scoop of roasted banana cream, a sprinkle of peanut and bacon crumble, and a drizzling of maple syrup. 

I was able to try some of the dish: winner winner. I found the pancakes (and all the gorgeous adornments) wonderfully sweet and tasty.  The insanely good crumble perfectly balanced the dish in its sweet/salty combination. The banana cream was an interesting and nice rendition on your standard scoop of ice cream.  

Josh’s eggs and chorizo was a hearty, yummy meal. The scrambled eggs were great and the roasted peppers added a nice tasty element to the dish. Josh’s favourite component by far was the chorizo. It was full of flavour and absolutely delicious.

Will’s Frank & Beans were presented cutely. There was a little ramekin filled up with braised white beans and sliced chorizo, topped off with a poached egg, and Turkish toast on the side.  Will also got his token side of bacon for $5. The beans had a killer flavour (love dat chorizo), but for Will, they still held a bit too much of a bite. He felt that they could have been cooked a little longer to be softer and more like baked beans. Extra tomato sauce incorporated into the mix would have been great too. The bacon was seriously delicious and the poached egg was cooked nicely. For a meal off the specials board, overall Will was impressed and happy with his selection.

I enjoyed my Pearl Barley & Rolled Oat Porridge. It was a pretty gorgeous dish to look at, topped with flax seeds, sliced banana and two spoons of Careel Bay Honey that I thought looked like gems. Will told me that the honey was from nearby–how lovelyl! I tried the porridge on its own and thought that it wasn’t too sweet and flavourful, and I quickly found my eyes darting over to the pot of brown sugar on the table. However, once I mixed the glorious honeycomb and banana in, the dish was wonderful and sweetened just enough (sweet tooths may still want to grab that sugar). I loved the texture of the porridge and enjoyed its subtle flavours–the crunch and taste of the flax seeds provided quite a delightful earthly undertone. This meal kept me full all day.

Overall the Bronze Kiosk was the perfect spot for this casual Sunday farewell brunch. We all thought the food was super delicious and great value. You just can’t beat breakfast right by the beach with wonderful company.

Until next time Bronze Kiosk. I have more dishes to tick off your menu!

After the show, I was lucky enough to meet Katherine and ask her for a few tips on how to go about constructing my Dad’s soon to be birthday cake, inspired by her masterpieces (of course). She was seriously awesome. 

We spent the rest of our time at the show checking out all the stalls and seeing what was on offer. I thought the selection of stalls was great; there were heaps of booths selling baking products and equipment, and others selling sweet treats like fudge, chocolate, and ice cream.

These cake transporting boxes were super cute and awesome! I loved how they looked but, with a $99 price tag, I sadly had to walk away! They’re on the birthday list though :P

I also loved seeing all the cake decorating displays, which were all so gorgeous. 

This beautiful sugar sculpture was a masterpiece, and was created that morning in just 4 hours.

I must admit when walking around I felt like I was in Kitchen Aid Mixer heaven–I entered every single competition to win one because, man oh man, I'm in love. I’ll happily accept any Kitchen Aid Mixer donations, and in return will bake you delicious treats regularly.

Will managed to trick me about 3 times into thinking Buddy was at the show (an amazing celebrity baker who I am a big, big fan of). This was sadly the closest I got to meeting a food idol of mine :P 

We found a tall table outside with a great view of the water. The chairs were a little too high for the table, so you couldn’t tuck yourself under and instead had to perch. Maybe aesthetics beat function here?

The Boathouse is an order at the counter style café, which definitely works with their beachy vibe. The only place to read the menu was on the large chalkboard near the cashier.

I was feeling like something sweet and grain filled and The Boathouse menu did not disappoint. I was tossing up between the Boathouse Muesli ($18), Quinoa Bircher ($18) or the Porridge ($16). In the end I ordered the Quinoa Bircher (which was recommended by the friendly waitress) but instead of greek yogurt, I asked for a serving of the coconut yogurt from the Muesli dish. I also got a Berry Smoothie for $8. 

Will ordered Fried eggs with bacon, roast tomato and sourdough for $18 with a $5 side of pork sausage. The pricing of the menu seemed on the steeper side of things, but as I would soon find out, the price was 150% worth it, plus you pay for the beautiful view.

How gorgeous is this table number?

First out was the Berry Smoothie. It looked pretty similar to the one from Armchair Collective, so I had a feeling it would be tasty. The mixture was super vibrant in colour and I'm a sucker for that honey drizzle stuff. 

The smoothie tasted pretty damn delicious and I enjoyed the fresh berry taste. It did, however, remind me more of a berry milkshake in its sweet, milky flavour, which honestly, I didn’t mind at all.

Will’s coffee came out with the highly anticipated and Instagram-famous anchor stencil art–my heart fluttered with excitement like a 12 year old seeing One Direction. 

In no time at all, out came our meals. My Quinoa Bircher looked absolutely beautiful…perhaps it was even love at first sight. There was a generous serving of bircher, a generous helping of fruit salad, and a generous jar filled with coconut yogurt (clearly generosity is a theme at The Boathouse).

The Quinoa Bircher was seriously something special and maybe even the best I’ve ever had (a seriously big call I know!). I’ve never tried bircher in quinoa form before, but I’ll definitely be on the hunt for it from now on. I absolutely loved the texture of the quinoa mixed together with the dried fruit and nuts–every mouthful was interesting and yummy.

The coconut yogurt was so. damn. good. There’s something about coconut that makes me happy and this yogurt was super tasty and fresh with coconut flavour. There were chia seeds throughout the yogurt that provided a lovely texture.

The fruit salad was gorgeous and included a whole variety of perfectly chopped up fruit–grapes, kiwi fruit, dragon fruit, apples, strawberries and watermelon. This was a great combination and provided a whole heap of different textures, vibrant colours and flavours.  

This bowl of Quinoa Bircher was so large and filling, I literally didn’t feel hungry until dinner (although I was thinking and talking about that insane Bircher for the rest of the day!).

In conclusion: Quinona Bircher = next level deliciousness. I want another bowl noww please.

Will’s breakfast tasted as good as it looked, absolutely delicious. Although the ingredients on the plate were simple (sausages, poached eggs, tomato, bacon and toast) it was presented in such a beautiful way, you couldn’t help but get excited to dig in.

The serving of bacon was large and tasty. The roasted tomato soft and juicy. The extra sausages were a highlight for Will (awesome flavours!). And the eggs…man, they oozed gold. 

Will smashed these perfectly cooked eggs across his toast, and for a moment, I literally wanted to leap across the table and steal the whole slice (a big bite was shared have no fear!).

We finished up our meals and walked around the café–there is much to explore!

Will and I are big succulent fans and loved checking out all the beautiful ones plotted around The Boathouse.

The Boathouse, in my opinion, is worth its weight in gold. We had the most amazing (and seriously delicious) breakfast here and cannot wait to return. I’ve got a whole heap of their menu items still to tick off…so, until next time!

When speaking to George it was clear how much time, effort, passion, and detail went into creating the space. George said that even the cleaver door handles and the knifes which brilliantly adorned the bar taps were all sourced from the butcher who previously owned and operated the old Butcher’s store next door.

At 7pm, guests began arriving and the place hummed with excitement. We took our seats at a table just opposite the Chef’s gallery. It was such a brilliant view of the kitchen all night long.

Anthony and Head Chef Brad created the new dining menu, and together they seemed like such a dynamic combination (and the meals soon to be eaten would totally confirm that!). 

The menu focuses on communal dining and share plates with the dishes categorised into Snack, Graze, Big, Vegetable and Indulge. When asking Maitre d’ Rocco about the menu he simply said “This menu…how do I describe it? It’s sexy."

Our lovely waitress Michele welcomed us and took our order for entrees. We picked a few dishes off the Snack and Graze section, and also ordered some cocktails!

The cocktail menu had a large range of tantalising drinks, all with some pretty crafty names: The Butcher’s Mistress, Moscow Mule, The Big Smoke, and The Apprentice Slept in…just to name a few! Bar Manager and cocktail connoisseur Ben assured me there was a drink that included lychees, my favourite fruit…win.

Our entrees came out really quickly! First up was the Maple Nuts ($8) served in a gorgeous small ceramic bowl. 

I loved this entree–there’s just something about cashews, peanuts and macadamias crusted in sweet deliciousness that ticks all the right boxes. There were also pieces of broken pretzels scattered throughout the mix which were totally yum.

The next entree we tried was the Dry Chips ($8). These chips were such a delight to eat; they were so thin and crispy and a thousand times better than your classic packet of chips. The drying method made each chip super crispy, and they almost melted on your tongue.

Polenta Chips ($12) was the next entree to hit our table. Three hunky chunky slabs of lightly golden polenta were served next to a circle of hollandaise sauce that had an egg yolk right in the centre (it almost looked like a fried egg!). These polenta chips were really tasty–crunchy enough on the outside and as fluffy as a cloud on the inside. The hollandaise sauce was packed with flavour (maybe brother Butcher’s Block shared some tips?), and whirling the polenta into the yummy sauce laced with oozing egg yolk was pretty damn superb.

We also tried the grazing plate Charcuteie ($24). The plate came with three chargrilled slices of bread, ribbons of thinly sliced cured gammon and a jar of tomato jam. Everyone loved this dish. The gammon was lovely–it was salty, moist and may have even had a hint of citrus through it. The jam complimented the flavours of the meat so well.

The final grazing plate we ordered was the Octopus ($22) as per Mother’s request. This dish made Mum (and everyone else on the table) very happy. The octopus was so beautifully tender and the chargrilled flavour was delectable. I really enjoyed the look, texture and flavour combination of the baby fennel, roasted tomatoes and preserved lemon. These flavours were simple but executed to perfection.

After entrees, we ordered our mains from the Big and Vegetable sections of the menu. While we waited for our dishes to arrive, I was able to peer into the kitchen and see what Brad and his team were busy creating.

Our mains glided onto our table and far out…if I thought entrees were special, these looked absolutely spectacular.

The first dish we tried was the Tea Smoked Salmon Belly ($39), an absolute masterpiece. Guys, get down to Wahroonga and order this bad boy now. The salmon was served with a blushed pink meringue, roasted beetroots, slivers of radish, edible flowers and a sweet dried slice of orange.  

The salmon was just insane and smoked to absolute perfection–it was so juicy and I loved the delicate tea taste. The soft meringue was flavoured with hints of lime, beetroot and a subtle sweetness, and the orange slice was wonderfully brittle. When you filled your fork up with the flakey salmon, meringue, orange shards and beetroot, that’s when the magic happened. Each ingredient alone is delicious but together, they’re absolutely, finger-licking, scrape the plate clean, give me more please, delicious. This was my favourite dish of the night (can you tell?). 

The next main we devoured was the Not Corned Beef ($38). Mum’s remark sums it up perfectly: “Oh. My. Goodness. That was really, really, really tasty.”

How do you begin to explain a dish that would make any meat lover cry with happiness? Visually, it was absolute temptation–I had to hold Will back as I took photos. The meat on the two short ribs was just falling off the bone and possessed such complex and deep smokey flavours. I loved the smokey yet sweet sticky sauce–bottle that shit up ASAP. And corn three ways? Corn cob, fried corn, popcorn...Genius.

The Pork Cheek ($33) was another amazing dish that seriously thrilled my taste buds. The pork was beautifully cooked and pulled apart with ease, drool.

I absolutely adored the flavour combination of the five-spice pork, the subtly sweet orange floss, the dried orange and the pickled watermelon rind. I was unsure about this combination on paper, but in my mouth…fireworks.

The sides were so beautiful to look at and so tasty. The plating all night was absolutely incredible and so picturesque–I am in awe of those chefs in the kitchen! I seriously need to organise a few lessons with Brad.

The Carrots ($17) were super yummy and roasted to perfection; they were soft but still had a slight bite. I loved the sprinkling of walnuts and the sumac yoghurt that really lifted the dish and all of its earthy flavours. The simple Sunday Roast carrots will never be the same again.

The potatoes ($12) had a charming crispy crunch and were soft in the centre. Hidden within this plate were small nuggets of ‘Butcher’s Butter’, which I absolutely loved. This butter was jam packed with yummy salty eschalot flavour–the taste reminded Will and I of French Onion Dip but so much better.  

The last side we had was the Caprese ($18) which was wonderful. Large chunks of multi-coloured tomato were presented on a bed of basil jelly with buffalo mozzarella and crème fraiche hiding underneath. 

I loved the freshness this dish brought to the table. The basil jelly was strange but oh so awesome at the same time–when I had a mouthful I could have sworn I was eating freshly picked basil!

We had many cocktails throughout our evening, and in an attempt to keep this review from becoming as long as a book, I’ve uploaded photos and snapshot reviews of the cocktails on my Facebook page (as well as other photos from the night). We ordered The Butcher’s Mistress, The Butcher’s Wife, The Big Smoke, Old Fashioned T-Bone, and The Beccacino. One cocktail I absolutely loved and will quickly mention was called Untitled ($20). 

This drink had Liqueur 43, Bacardi, mango puree, lime, pineapple and peach bitters. It was like drinking a refined, incredibly delicious mango slushy–so fresh and full of fruity flavour. I loved it and feel it deserves a name! Perhaps The Butcher’s Holiday? Hmm.. 

Dessert time! There were four dishes under the ‘Indulge’ section of the menu and Rocco convinced us to try them all. To be honest, we really didn’t need much convincing!

When the desserts arrived, they all looked so incredibly stunning, delicate and complex. Luckily, Anthony was able to run us through the dishes so we could grasp what insane deliciousness we were about to dive into.

The first dessert on the chopping block was titled ‘Pear’ ($20). This dish looked utterly beautiful and tasted even better (it was Dad’s favourite dessert).

The pear was cooked extraordinarily well–cutting like butter but holding its shape. The contrast in flavours between the sweet pear, the sour labneh and salty parmesan crumble was a match made in heaven.

If you’re a chocoholic like me, you’re going to find the dessert ‘Chocolate’ ($20) absolutely insane. This dish was a masterpiece to look at, reminding me of an enchanted landscape. To quote Rocco, the dessert had four corners of chocolate to explore. 

On top of a base of flawless chocolate panna cotta, there were crisp chocolate pearls, melt in your mouth chocolate floss, gooey marmalade, and a chocolate crumb (which I liked to call Milo for adults). On top of all of this, was a crown of white chocolate feathers. The flavours were heavenly but not sickly sweet. I was in a chocolate nirvana and every spoonful was amazing.

The ‘Smashed and Bashed Macaroon’ ($20) was such an interesting and delightful dessert (Will’s favourite). Its presentation and taste were so vibrant, tantalizing and sweet–I loved it. 

The macaroons were served with fizzy cream, rhubarb berry jam, and fresh plump raspberries and blueberries. The fizzy cream was crazy–your mouth literally tingled in zingy delight.  

Last but not least was the cheese plate ($25), simply titled ‘Cheese’. This dish was cleverly put together to juxtapose a diverse range of tastes and textures. The deliciously bitter yet smooth cheese was offset by an amazing serve of sweet, chewy honey comb, enjoyed on a square of crispy flat bread with crunchy dried muscatels on top. Man oh man, here’s a cheese plate done right.

I’m not sure if you could tell, but we left The Butcher’s Apprentice completely and utterly full, deliciously satisfied and buzzing with excitement with what was about to hit Wahroonga. This dinner and evening was one of the most incredible experiences I've had out in a long time–an absolute foodies dream. Anthony and George have managed to do it again, creating something completely magical. The venue, staff, passion, vibe, and most importantly the food–it was all out of this world amazing. 

The Butcher’s Apprentice will be opening its doors to the public on Wednesday the 27th of May and I cannot wait to dine again! Check out their website at http://www.thebutchersapprentice.com.au.

Thank you for having me Anthony, George and The Butcher’s Apprentice Team. I’ve been in a butcher’s bliss ever since.