Sample Sales and Lunch at Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills

On a day planned for frantic errand running around the city, mum and I spent the late morning navigating the Jac + Jack sample sale which was conveniently located in the same place as Paramount Coffee Project.

First off, the sample sale was amazing. Rarely do I go to sample sales purely because I never find anything I really love (here's to you, all the Ladakh and One Teaspoon sample sales), or anything that still has my size. The Jac + Jack one however was full of excellent stock, had plenty of XS's dotted around and as we were paying cash we skipped an absurdly long line and probably spent only an hour or so in racks of heavenly cashmere and basics goodness.

Moving onto lunch, we were graciously welcomed to sit on the bar table where our lovely waiter asked if we would like to start off with some coffee. Upon ordering a soy latte, we were then informed that the Paramount Coffee Project makes their own almond milk; which is excellent given I prefer almond over soy any day. 

Almond Milk Mocha

Mum's almond milk mocha was what she regarded the perfect balance of coffee and chocolate; personally I prefer a tad more chocolate but mum absolutely loved it and quote her, "the more you drink the better it gets"

Almond Milk Latte

My almond milk latte was excellent as well (but in all honesty I'm not really a coffee snob and I have no idea what I'm talking about generally because my previous coffee order was a decaf soy mocha - lame I know - and I now drink a soy chai latte - not much better eh? -) so I can't really say much.

Sorry for the quality of the below two photos, I used my phone instead because Joe wasn't focussing and in all honesty I was irritated and hungry and really keen for food.

Baked eggs: chorizo, cannelini beans, toast

The baked eggs with chorizo, cannelini beans and toast was absolutely delicious. For this dish alone I will walk the not very long walk to this part of Surry Hills any day. The combination of the fresh and acidic tomatoes, the perfectly spiced chorizo and, surprisingly, the the beans (which I usually hate) made the dish mouthwateringly good. My only pet peeves? The yolk of the egg could've been a bit runnier, the yolk itself was for some reason very salty, and I wish there was more buttered toast! The toast is a delicious way to scrape up the rest of the tomato-y sauce a la baked beans on toast style; albeit in a fancier and more flavoursome way.

Crab Po Boy: soft shell crab, house slaw, ranch sauce, milk bun w/ onion rings

After seeing nearly every Urbanspoon reviewer choose this, I felt more than sure that this would be a good order. Temporarily forgetting that I don't even like soft shell crab (how does one even forget this?), I ordered this regardless. In all honesty I didn't hate it. I liked it very much but it is an incredibly intense dish. The flavour can be quite heavy on the palette and I think I needed a more acidic or fruity drink to offset the rich taste of the soft shell crab and the beautifully creamy sauce. The onion rings were also great, but not going to lie, in retrospect they're a bit on the pricey side given they are at $1 per onion ring.

The vibe of the cafe is like that of most Surry Hills restaurants. A diverse mix of yuppies, hipsters, new mothers, old friends, first dates and bloggers; the minimalist interior and excellent service is something that is probably why people come back and back again. Not going to lie, I'm going to be back just for the atmosphere (and the baked eggs).

Lunch at Grill'd Burgers, Chatswood

Just a quickie food post (and then some blogging of other shenanigans that I've been getting up to in this wondrous month of nothing!)

'Field of dreams' - grilled field mushroom, basil pesto, roasted peppers, tasty cheese, salad & herbed mayo

Craving a burger nearly a fortnight back, I finally got around to satisfying the craving with the lovely Annie, when we made an impromptu trip to Chatswood for both post-exams celebratory food (the trend continues) and my need to gratify materialistic desires.

I remember a while back the first time I tried Grill'd, I ordered the Almighty, a beast of a trad' aussie beef burger whilst A got a field of dreams. Upon entering the cozy little joint in the Concourse a few days ago, all I really felt like was a big grilled mushroom; so unsurprisingly that's what I ordered.

I feel to some degree that I played up the deliciousness of this burger far too much in my head and maybe I was better suited to getting the simple, traditional beef burger or the chicken and brie burger that my C via Instagram chastised me for not getting.

At times I felt the mushroom was almost rubbery in texture and a tad bland for my liking. Although I didn't mind the combination of flavours together, in fact I think it was a great combo, I think for me some parts just weren't working. The cheese could have been a bit more generous and the basil pesto could have been used a tad more sparingly. Chips which were lovely and crisp at the beginning, were not the burning, right out of the oil warmth that I love (on a side note though, this may be because I had to get Joe out, take a photo, then take a photo via my Note 3 for Instagram; and although in my mind this hardly took too much time, the reality of it may be different).

I can't say I was exhilarated this time around, but I feel like it was a series of situations that made my tastebuds a bit strange. After all, I was feeling quite uncomfortable all day and quite tired which was a bit out of the ordinary.

Lunch at Bavarian Bier Cafe

After falling off my bike four times, complete with gear grease smeared all over my legs; we escaped the Manly sun by quickly popping into the Bavarian Bier Cafe near the Manly Wharf.

First up, J and I each got the Franziskaner hefe-weissbier hell, aka 'ladies bier', and considering she had the peach one last time, she got a lychee one this time, and I got a peach. It was very refreshing, very good, didn't have the bitter strange taste that beer usually has - or I might just be getting used to the taste of beer.

For the main, I felt like eating something meaty, so got this beast of a burger: the Big Schulz Burger, which had chargrilled wagyu beef, brioche, charred bacon, cheddar, fresh farm egg, onions and bbq sauce. The burger itself was very very delicious, chips crunchy and tasty and everything was perfectly cooked. Only iffy business was the meat was a bit stringy but I dunno, as I say, high high standards for wagyu since coming back from Japan.

Service was extraordinary, atmosphere was very nice and chill.

Anyway, definitely will be back.

Lunch at Pancakes on the Rocks

I quite like Pancakes on the Rocks; been here a couple of times. I tend to steer clear of the crazy sugar creations though, because wow that stuff is unbelievably sweet. 

The chicken and mushroom crepe is my standard go to option, and this time I had it, it was pretty good. Last time, it was very very mushy and wasn't too great, but this time it was quite good!

The signature pancake stack is always delicious. But those pancakes are so big! After finishing the main, I could barely get down one of these pancakes: they're the size of an outstretched hand! But very very delicious, the more you eat, the better it gets.

Lunch at Chur Burger

*I've been gone for a while now, but all will be explained: for the past month I was off gallivanting around Asia having some much-needed away time from Sydney. Anyway, before I start the trip reports I figured I'll just do this quickie review and then off we can go!*

Still semi-dead from returning down under the night before, I quickly met up with T and HZ for lunch at this burger joint that HZ apparently read 15 reviews for (supposedly what happens to you when you're stuck in Sydney post-hsc whilst the majority of the people you know are off travelling/touristing).

Between the 3 of us we ordered the vege and pork options + a side of chilli salt chips + 2 cans of L&P. The vege burger I had was very nice I think but it was a little dry although that didn't really bother me much.

I wasn't a big fan of the other one (pulled pork, chur bbq sauce, red slaw, fennel mayo), but I'm not sure if that was just because I have a bizarre preference of not eating meat when I go out or if it's because I'm not the biggest fan of pulled pork. 

The L&P soft drink was pretty damn good though, it tasted just like a Schweppes but it had a little somethin' somethin' in there that made it different and interesting. Not sure if my taste buds were fooling me.

It was a really chill place to eat tbh and great to just chat and catch up with friends, food wasn't the best of the best but they were just the right portions, not too shabby, I'll probably come back.

Friends are fools, it's good to be make breathing Australian air and seeing the blue skies.