The Grounds of Alexandria Take 5

Came here in February to check out the decor and a cake in February since things were Valentines themed. Just some photos here.

Every time I come to The Grounds, it keeps changing and expanding.

sat at another place where I haven't been before

food spread

Red velvet shake n the left is pretty thick, so better for sharing

 

I found the food more expensive than what I remembered from last time, but everything still taste amazing.

Love you to the moon and back cake-$25 (from memory)

Got the last one for the day. Luckily they kept it aside when we sat down. Love the colours in this, since I love purple, and when there's glittery stuff in food, I love eating it. Literally coming here for the cake haha

inside

Cake tasted really nice as well with a vanilla sponge and blueberry filling inside.

Devon Take 4

It's been over 2 years since my last visit to Devon, and first time coming to their new Barangaroo venture. Didn't even realise this place has already been opened for the majority of this year. Not an office worker, so wouldn't know/hardly come to this side of Sydney, but there are heaps of new restaurants since the last time I visited. 

food spread

 

Matcha and white choc milkshake-$7

It's served in a nice slim glass bottle, so quantity wise it is smaller than your average milk shake tin cup. There was a good hit of matcha and wasn't too sweet or heavy either. Sort of refreshing in a way.

Dr Seuss: Thick cut bacon, hash brown, green ketchup. fried egg, pea puree, edamame, pea tendrils-$19.50

There aren't any green eggs but there is ham here (pretty sure I have a copy of the book somewhere at home). The bacon was definitely thick but not overly salty, and loved how you could dip it into the puree and the yolk. The greens helped to keep this dish light.

Beef Cheek Hash: sweet soy braised beef cheek, mushrooms, crispy potatoes, Devon style bumbu, fried egg-$23

This dish is served in a cute little pan and the potatoes were definitely crunchy which I loved. The beef cheeks were super flavourful with the sweet soy, good balance of sweet and salty. The yolk was also runny as well. The whole dish just worked together.

Gojima

I know I'm late to the sushi burger party, but better late than never. The first time I came here they were opened for a week, then closed for a day before their grand opening. Just a coincidence I came the only day they were closed...First steps walking in was how similar the menu design is to Shack Shake (in New York but now in a few cities like London and Dubai). It even has frozen custard, which is pretty iconic to Shake Shack (apart from the burger itself).

Gojima Cheeseburger: angus beef, cheese, tomato, pickles, onions, lettuce and special sauce-$12.90
Green tea (brewed genmaicha and matcha) thickshake-$7.90

    


inside

This lived up to the hype! I was quite surprised at how delicious this rice burger is. The rice crispy on the outside and a bit on the inside, which held up perfectly with the seaweed. The beef was not too fatty and still a bit pink on the inside. Good balance of veggies as well. The sauce was definitely the highlight. Loved that sort of Jap sauce with bits of seaweed and not a salty sort of flavour, but had  Jap twist to it. No idea what base the sauce is made out of, but it was a creamy orange colour. The paper around it was enough to not get your hands dirty at all. I loved how I could eat my burger with one hand and using my other hand for my phone lel. Hands weren't dirty at all, but they do give you a wet wipe as well.

They use their frozen custard in their thick shakes. You can taste the roasted green tea with the matcha. It was a tad bitter and not too sweet, a good balance for a thick shake as most of the time you expect something overly sweet. I thought Shack Shack frozen custard was pretty mindblowing-this denser than ice cream texture but still smooth and creamy, really have to try it since it's hard to describe. I'll probably try their frozen custard next time and a burger with sashimi.

this looks exactly like Shake Shack menu style 

 

El Burger

With this burger craze happening, going to new burger places is a great way to procrastinate. I used to always go past Winston Hills early in my high school days, but now anytime I go west I actually have to make an effort. When I first heard of this burger place inside a food court, I thought it wouldn't look that great. First time coming the the shops here, and this burger joint has quite a nice fit out. Quite spacious inside with 2 large tables and simple stool style seating. 

Fatties Box: burger, chips, shake-$15

El burger: beef patty, cos lettuce, cheese, pickles, spanish onion, tomato, el burger sauce ($9)

Cheesy Bacon Chips ($6)

Honeycomb Caramel Shake ($6)

The Fatties box available to FB members of the Fatties Burger Appreciation Society. It's not on the menu, but you can ask, and it's a pretty good deal if you have burger cravings.

I think with all these burgers I've been having recently, the burger here is average compared to other gourmet burgers (i.e. not fast food but cooked to order). It's still better than other food court food. The patty could have been more flavourful and thicker, but considering the price it's a decent portion. They included bacon for fatties as well, and loved the crispiness from it. Their sauce is a little sweet, kind of like a salad dressing without the acidity. Loved the fresh veggies to help make this burger not too heavy. I could actually eat this with two hands and fit it into my mouth without knives/forks. They have plastic cutlery, but it wasn't stacked too high to eat. The bread was soft, not as milky as other places, but not as oily either.

The chips were probably a bit too cheesy for my liking, but surprisingly the burger placed on top didn't soak up a lot of the oil from the cheese under it. The bacon bits were fun to eat. Actually my first time have 'loaded fries.' Fried here were soft crinkle cut, I prefer a crunch on the outside, but that's just personal preference. It didn't look like a big serving of chips, but the cheese covering it just made it look small. 

The shake was your average milkshake, and not too thick with enough flavour and not just milk.

inside

It wasn't as pink as I was expecting. Coincidentally on that day, there were new food law regulations about how a patty should be cooked all the way through and no pink to prevent any bacteria. It's quite stupid since gourmet burger places have been making burgers pink, juicy and moist for so long now and no one has actually died, but they put new laws in because of a burger craze uprising recently. I don't know of anyone who has had burger food poisoning, but plenty from KFC or random kebab places. Personally haven't experienced any food poisoning either, I think I would know how much 'raw food' my stomach can tolerate. 

Overall, it's above average for food court food. The burger itself isn't too rich that you can't finish it. Toppings well proportioned, just the burger itself could be more flavourful. Maybe because they just used beef instead of wagyu beef mince like I've been having recently...Still a satisfying cheap feed :)