257 Home Kitchen

I actually hardly come to Eastwood, so didn't know this restaurant existed. Came here with relatives for some Shanghainese food. This place is well lit, clean with modern decor, and staff were quite attentive. Not gonna lie, I don't really eat Chinese food out since I feel like places aren't really clean, in terms of food/table stuff.

food spread

names of stuff we ordered

didn't have heaps of soup, but decent bit of meat inside and skin was quite thin

love a pan fried bun with a crunchy base

I found it was really cool how they just get a live fish then add some batter and deep fry it, so that the skin ends up 'popping out' and can pull a part out and have deep fried fish. The sweet and sour sauce went really well with it. Would recommend, even though it's turning something healthy into not healthy at all...

Dishes in general were quite nice, well portioned, not overly salty and decently priced.

Cloud Thief

Didn’t have this at night noodle markets last year since I knew they would have a permanent store after the markets finished, and it’s not as overpriced compared to the markets. It’s still pricey for a a bao since in theory it’s just plain flour and water, but I guess you’re paying the the technique in which they can make the baos so light and fluffy.

Left- Beer Battered Barramundi: Beer battered Barramundi fillet, Cloud Thief’s Asian tartare sauce, crisp iceberg lettuce, red radish and wasabi pea and seaweed crumb-$6.50

Right-Peking Duck: Crispy skin Peking duck, crisp cucumber, shredded iceberg lettuce with spring onion and our signature Peking sauce-$8

The fish was cooked so well, and loved the flavours in it. This was our favourite since it was something a bit different. 

Wasn’t going to order the duck originally, but they didn’t have the pork (?) on the day and the other normal ones didn’t sound that interesting, so went with a more ‘premium’ option. There was a decent sized portion of duck which wasn’t too fatty. 

Ben and Jerry's Day, Carriageworks, Park Royal

I must admit, I was on a roll with free food today, and never had this much ice cream in one day (apart from maybe last year in Tokyo). free Ben and Jerry's day today, and looking back at past post, this is actually my 3rd one. Went in first yr, this yr and last yr for Ben and Jerry's free cone day. Throughout the years they have given out free tubs in the city, so I have managed to get more free ice cream from them. I actually do occasionally buy their ice cream when it's on sale at the supermarkets.

First time going with no uni and arriving just after 12pm, meant there were literally no lines. The line moved so quickly even at 12:30 that I couldn't finish my ice cream in time while relining up. Last yr it was about 15min/scoop, this yr was 4 scoops in 25min (i.e. new record). Ended up getting 5 scoops, and was super full at the end. The serving size seemed bigger than previous years as well, but maybe cause I was there early. Was secretly hoping for smaller serving sizes so I could try more flavours lol.

1. Caramel Almond Brittle (non dairy)

The salted caramel wasn't as prominent, but I found the almond brittle a bit too sweet/chunky. It was quite smooth for an almond milk based ice cream.

2. P.B & cookies (non dairy)

This one was hard to eat, since you try to lick it and it topples over since the ice cream isn't binding everything together. It's very peanut buttery, and overwhelmed the vanilla base and cookie chunks. It's a really heavy and sweet ice cream.

3. Berry Berry Extraordinary

I've had this flavour a few times, but I needed a sorbet to cut through the heaviness.

4. Cocoa Loco

Oops, forgot to take a photo of this, and forgot to save my snap chat. This was a lot lighter and smoother, and did taste like chocolate milk. I remember I had the Frozen Flakes, the other cereal flavour last year, but now trying the chocolate cereal version. They didn't have the flavour from last time here, so some flavours do change regularly.

5. Salted Caramel Blondie

By this stage I was actually stuffed, but I still wanted to try this one since it had blondies in it. The salted caramel was super thick and heavy, which made it hard to finish. Surprisingly the brownie bits weren't actually that sweet.

6. Lemonade

BW came just as I was pretty much stuffed, but thank goodness we got a lemon sorbet to help cut through all the sweetness and just add some acidity. It was a bit icy and not as smooth as the berry sorbet. 

flavour card

I'm sure I've had more flavours than the ones I've ticked, but forgot the name of the flavours I've tried. 

On the way to Carriageworks, passed by insect ice cream. i've had some a few weeks ago, but the flavour I wanted ran out, so even though I was super full from 5 ice creams, I still love trying weird things and decided to get some, plus there wasn't a line. I don't mind eating these sorts of insects since they're all farmed, rather than 'wild,' whereas if a fly touched my food, I would tend to not eat it since it's wild/alive.

Strawberries and swirls

This was the one I had a ew weeks ago. The meal worms were tasteless, and added a nice texture without being overly crunchy.

Scurry Berry and Choc Hopper

 

I wanted to try the Scurry Berry one last time, and luckily they had it there. There's just so many insects in it, why wouldn't you want to try? The ants did look a bit larger than normal, and there were so many crunchy bits in it. The grasshopper also had larger chunks in it, but I didn't really finish the ice cream since it was just average chocolate. You can't taste the flavour of the bugs cause the sweetness in the ice cream covers it. The insects are all 'dry' and just have a crunchy texture.

Carriageworks

I've never been here before, and always see photos of markets here, but really, who has the time to go to markets at night time? Night time is prime time for study time

Biennale at Carriageworks

big canvases

Different projections

Baseball bat

This was my favourite, you use the baseball bat to hit the wall as loud as you can. Since it's in a warehouse, the sound echoes. I hit it once softly, then bashed it again, and wanted to keep hitting it cause I got too excited, until the person was like, only allowed one go, and the wall has to last till June. Didn't;t manage to make a dent in it though....I like interactive artworks/destroying stuff you're allowed to haha.

 

I thought this was part of the Biennale, but got here too late since they were deconstructing these massive cloths with paints on it. It was still here on the weekend, but I should've done my research to know that this artwork was part of something else.

Catching peak hour trains at Central is so cray. Like even though I live in a whole, at least I get a seat, and the people aren't rushing/pushing, and there is decent air con on the bus. Didn't realise trains were so crowded, even though every 3mins they go to Parra.

Park Royal function centre

Decided to go to a CPD event, even though I wasn't officially invited, but the person organising it still let me go even if I'm still a student. Yay for free 3 course dinner and drinks. So many smart opthals there. There were quite a lot of people, around 120ish, 10 ppl per table. Event was sponsored by an IOL company amongst others, so not surprised the last talk about IOLs was the longest. The last time I was here was about a year ago when the Park Royal just opened and we had our work dinner there. There were drinks on arrival which is always nice. I think most people were driving so not many people had alcohol, so I felt weird have a couple of glasses.

Entree: confit ocean trout w/ celeriac and dill puree, beetroot mascarpone and baby leaves

Trout was cooked well, but I found the puree lacked some flavour. The beetroot looks pretty but wasn't the flavourful either, but that's ok since I'm not a beetroot fan.

Main: slow cooked lamb rump w/ thyme infused crushed potatoes, grilled artichoke and porcini jus

there were shared steamed veggies sides

I think cause there's so many people, it's hard to get the food piping hot. There was a decent chunk of lamb, but i still feel like it was a bit dry since I ended up using all the sauce and wishing there was still more. The sauce wasn't actually salty either, so although it looks like a generous serving, the slightly overcooked lamb needed more of it. You could see the thyme in the potatoes, but couldn't really taste it. Ended up having sparkling wine, red wine, and a lemon lime bitter, but it didn't have a slice of lime in it, whereas other people's did. 

Creme brûlée tart w/ caramelised poached pear

I didn't want the other dessert with the crumble and ice cream since I already had heaps of ice cream before. This tart is nothing like the Bourke St Bakery creme brûlée tarts, and I can make a better brûlée than this. There wasn't a hard top to crack through, and the tart itself was more solid and cheesecakey/bit floury, rather than a smooth custard. Didn't finish the pastry either. I tried a bit of the crumble which was more moist and soft, and not overly sweet.

I think if I did move out of Sydney for work, I would miss out on all these free CPD events and food.  Sat at the back corner, which meant we got our food last. They pretty much talked for 2.5 hrs while we ate. Ended up bumping into some optoms I work with. 

Let's hope I don't get diabetes...

Three Blue Ducks-Take 1 and 2

I was planning to go to this cafe and made a booking online (slowly accumulating those Dimmi points), and coincidentally a day later, this place was awarded 1 hat in the Good Food Guide. I think what really differs this cafe from others is the whole sustainability idea of food, and organic food whilst minimising waste. The whole farm to table thing would be amazing in an ideal world, but realistically, food does travel quite a bit before you even buy it in shops. I loved how they also try to plant stuff in their little garden out the back, even in an eastern suburbs area where land/property is expensive, and not many people even have yards (unless you live in those multi million dollar houses with beach front views). Sort of ironic how they don't serve any duck here though.

food spread

 

Dark chocolate, coconut & berry shake (diary free)-$8 

Sticky chai pot-$4.50

The shake tasted really healthy, especially because it was diary free so not creamy or heavy. So it was a bit watery when you drink it but the texture of it wasn't too thin. I liked how it wasn't sweet soyou could taste the subtle blend of the dark choc and berries. Probably the most opposite drink to a milkshake. 

Roast lamb rump: charred herb salsa, kasundi pumpkin, Dutch carrot & coriander-$32

This dish is small considering the price, but then it's really quality over quantity when you're eating 'healthy' food. Lamb was cooked medium rare, and you could really taste the lamb flavour. Even the pumpkin was small, but all the veggies went well with the rest. The flavour mainly came from the salsa, but in comparison to other dishes I've had, this one has flavours coming more from the ingredients rather than adding salt/butter.

Corn fritters: guacamole, fermented cabbage, jalapeno, herb salad, labneh & poached eggs-$22

#yolkporn

Even the yolk looks more organic. I don't know if it's a psychological thing but it also tasted more organic as well. The corn fritter were cooked very well without an oily residue, and tasted really healthy despite being fried. I could actually appreciate the little bit of a spicy kick from the jalapeño, and the labneh was a nice, healthier alternative as a sauce for the fritters. The avo helped bring some creaminess to the dish, and the salad and acidity from the cabbage helped keep this dish light. 

garden-they even have a few fat chickens

reminds me of those 'hipster' melbourne alleyways with a brick wall and graffiti

Came back here for dinner after our research presentations. Only one taking photos, but #noshame.

Bronte Beach

Tumeric and ginger kombucha-$8

I feel like Kombucha is one of those 'clean eats' type of drinks, and super healthy but only if you're more well off can you actually afford this sort of stuff. Decided to get this instead of any alcohol. It had a nice kick of both numeric and ginger without being overly too strong. It's definitely not sweet at all. I don't mind tumeric/ginger flavour drinks, but I think this is definitely an acquired taste.

Sweet potato hummus, charred onions, black sesame & sourdough-$14  

This hummus was so delicious, with a bit of sweetness from the sweet potato, and topped with onions and black sesame. Wish there was more bread to eat the hummus with, although I did end up finishing the plate without any bread.

Burrata, heirloom tomato, grilled veg & preserved lemon-$19 

Burrata is a funny cheese with a bit of a skin, so had to break it first to scoop and eat the cheese. Loved the variety of veggies in this entree and it went well with the fresh cheese.

Roast barramundi, pumpkin, kale & chickpea salad, harissa-$31 

I hardly order fish when I eat out, because there's always a nicer meat option available. Since I tried the lamb for lunch before, had steak for dinner the night before, and the chicken had a Thai sauce with some chilli, decided to go for the fish. The skin had a decent crisp but could be crispier. The seasoning was all on the skin, so best to eat the skin with some fish. The barra was relatively fresh, and paired well with the sauce, and I could actually appreciate the slight chilli kick to it. My pumpkin was the smallest piece compared to the other dishes though, I guess when they use locally sourced produce, stuff won't be the same size...At least it was plated on a white plate so made taking photos a bit easier compared to on a dark plate.

Lemon tart w/ coconut ice cream-$12

The coconut ice cream was really fragrant and went well with the lemon tart. The acidity balance well with the sweetness, and it wasn't overly sweet. The pastry was quite light and not very buttery, definitely healthier than your average pastry. Still haven't figured out how to make tart pastries/short crust bases without using tons of butter or even tasting the butter at all like this one. Something to figure out in my holidays, but I feel like my holidays are already ending with uni starting soon ish...guess baking adventures will have to wait, and in the meantime I'll keep going on more food adventures (even though they probably take the same amount of time...)