The Grounds of Alexandria Take 4

It's sort of become tradition that we take our overseas relatives here I'm sure I've been here more than 4 times, but according to my blog it's my 4th time here. This place has expanded so much since my last visit. They are slowly taking over the other factories/warehouses, and using that space for markets on weekend or parking on weekdays. I didn't realise they had more parking next door, and drove into the main carpark, then where the old Salt Meats Cheese shop used to be for parking. Apparently it's easier to find parking on weekends since all the offices car parks and street parking are emptier from people not working there, but still crowded at the cafe...

Capp-$4

Still one of my favourite coffees in Sydney, despite the not average $3.50 a cup price.

drinks

          


Deconstructed Mocha-$7.5

First time having one of these deconstructed drinks. Yes, they are overpriced and you do make it yourself, but it's fun for the novelty. Pour in the coffee into the melted choc, then add in the frothed milk, top with sprinkles.

Chai Latte-~$6
Icy Latte: seasonal brewed coffee cold whipped milk-$7

The iced chai latte had a good hit of chai, the chai with spice rather than just being sweet. Icy latte was a bit sweeter than normal coffee, but a bit light because of the whipped milk. 

 
food spread


House Smoked Salmon on Brioche with charred kale, a soft cooked egg and hollandaise-$18

This looked quite interesting irl. Good amount of salmon on a lovely soft brioche. Loved the charred kale was a slightly crispy texture.

Grounds Brekkie Bowl: spinach, cucumber, avocado, other grains, hazelnuts, eggs, some dressing-$19

This is a seasonal salad, so I don't remember exactly what was in it, but it tasted very fresh. The metal bowl just reminds me of Korean restaurants...

Our Signature Avocado : Avocado, heirloom tomato, feta, pomegranate, za’atar, with The Grounds sourdough-$18

There's a lot more toppings added like pomegranate and za'atar, and more toppings added compared to when I had it last time. Not complaining. There's that bottom spread of avo, then even more slices of avo on top, yas to avocado toast and no home deposit.

The Grounds Big Brekkie: Serrano ham, smoked tomatoes, baby peppers, chorizo, roast pumpkin, avocado, poached eggs, labne and sourdough toast-$22

Another good favourite to share, although this does look a bit smaller than last time.

Maple Glazed Kassler Ham with tempura sweet potato & pickle sauce-$22

Interesting combo using some tempura. The ham was a bit on the saltier side rather than sweet. Yay for more poached eggs.

The ‘Ground’ Burger: Ground beef brisket, cheese, lettuce, dill cornichon and mayo on a toasted brioche bun, served with crunchy battered chips-$22

This has definitely shrunk in size, but the flavours remain the same. Love their mayo and crunchy chips. We even ordered an extra side of chips because they were definitely crunchy with good amount of potato inside.

Skillet pie-$23

I think this had slow cooked beef and pastry was nice and thin yet not too flaky. They have another pie now, but this sort of stuff worth having outside since can't make that pastry at home.

private room which you can see into the people making desserts

decor which like sitting in a rustic kitchen

6 for $36 or $7 each (from memory)

Pistachio olive oil, strawberry tart, raspberry cake + macarons, lime meringue tart, raspberry polenta cake with figs, Paris brest

The lime was was actually quite sour. I think we all loved the one with pistachio and the cake with figs. Really can't go wrong with taking some cakes home.

Red Velvet-$12

It was topped with fresh fruits such as half a fig, raspberries and a macaron shell. It's a decent size and definitely share it around. I think it's one of my favourite red velvets ever. I'm not a fan of cream cheese icing, but this was the first one which was actually not sweet. The cake itself had some raspberries jelly/sauce/actual fruit pieces, so more sour than that heavy, dense, chocolate red velvet flavour. Highly recommend.

Kevin Bacon is now so fat

Also apparently they now have some baby goats just last week, so time for another visit (just also need to check out The Grounds of the City first). The animals are perfect when taking infants here to see something different and an atmosphere not really found in Asia.

until next time

Black Star Pastry

Sometime I think we take tables and chairs for granted. For those who haven't been, the original Newton store had stools for tables and chairs. Here in Rosebury there's about a million times the space, with ample seating and not crowded. Parking this side of town is a bit better as well.

Shirley Quiche: mushrooms and herbs

I was in the area to pick up a Messina cake, and decided to try go Black Star down the street in Rosebury. There is so much space in here and not just 5 or so chairs like in Newtown. So spacious and kind of an industrial decor feel inside. The egg was quite fluffy inside, not too dense with super thin and flaky pastry. Parts of it was too salty, but loved the super flavourful herbs and juicy mushrooms. It took me forever to decide which quiche to try. There were so many savoury options for lunch as well as heaps of salads. Maybe I should make another detour here for other lunch options.

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Well what do you know, was in the area and we decided to drop here for lunch. There's new pies like kangaroo, mussels, and of course the lamb, my very first Black Star savoury item, which still remains one of my favourite pies. Yes, and I did end up getting salad. 

Salad of the Day (large)-$8.50, Kangaroo pie-$9

Salad was delicious, not too overly dressed or oily. Loved the addition of the currents, but would have liked some crunch, and a tad bit more creaminess from the goats cheese. Decent serving size and loved the freshness.

inside

Kangaroo pie caught my eye because, well, it's kangaroo. This one actually tasted quite authentic, just like how kangaroo tastes like, similar to kangaroo sausages, but since it's mince here, a lot softer compared to actual, lean, red meat kangaroo. It's an acquired taste and my friend didn't like it. Pie is a bit smaller than my last pie a year or two ago from Newtown Black Star. Pastry could be more flaky and buttery (even though that's unhealthy), but it was still super thin at the bottom, and easy to cut into.

spot the Lorraine quiche

Lorraine's Patisserie

I thought I've bought something here before, but actually haven't only walked past. I was here for the signature Date Tart that I had in Rockpool (which has reopened as Eleven Bridge) earlier this year, but unfortunately they don't make it anymore. Apparently they might make it later once the menu changes or something. You can see the whole kitchen once you walk in, but in terms of standing space inside the shops probably max 4 people. There's also no seating, but I do have to give credit on their better quality cake boxes and recyclable paper bags instead of plastic.

sweet treats to end a not so great week

look at that brûlée on top

Marscapone cake: Lightened mascarpone, layered with crisp coconut dacquoise, fresh strawberries-$9

One of their signature cakes, this was better than I expected. A good hit of coconut in the dacquouise and not as sweet as the almond dacquoisde in then Strawberry and Watermelon cake from Black star. This one was more dense and moisture didn't soak into it as easily. Loved the creaminess from the mascarpone and it wasn't too rich either. That brûlée top gave a subtle touch of bitterness. Probably on par with the Black Star cake. 

Rhubarb pie: Buttery pastry, rhubarb compote, crunchy demerera sugar-$9.50

inside

A friend recommended this, and I trust her judgement since she's eaten some of the best pastries in the world. It looked really sweet with all that brown sugar on top, but surprisingly it was really needed to help balance out the sourness from the rhubarb. The pastry had a harder texture and not too buttery. The crunch from the sugar on top made it fun to eat.

Lorraine cutting out a slice of my cake

They run out of things throughout the day, so they keep making more. Waited around 5mins for the cakes to be sliced and wrapped with plastic on the side. Will be back sometime to try the cheesecake, and hopefully they would start making the date tart again...

dessert cabinet

The Pie Tin

I've actually been wanting to go to this place since 1st yr uni, so I was super excited to go with Happy Apple for a long overdue catch up :) So lovely seeing you! Newtown is quite a trek from UNSW. Well not really, but in peak traffic a bus ride takes over 30min, and it's quite a detour compared to Surry Hills/Darlinghurst where all the buses normally pass through back to the CBD.

savoury pies

noo, I thought I uploaded the sweet pies onto my blog and then deleted it off my phone since my phone is constantly running on only 100mb of space, but obviously I didn't upload it ):

'insert dessert pie photo'

dessert pie cabinet is on the left, but too far to see here ):

There were a lot of chocolate options to choose from, but they didn't have the infamous apple pie, so we opted for something still a little bit different yet not too decadent. Savoury pies range from $6.90-$8.90, sweet from $7.90-$8.90 (except for the apple one)

Look at that cute pie tin number!

Lemon brûlée tart-$8.90, sweet roasted duck with cointreau & seasonal vegetables-$8.90

Thanks Happy Apple for the pies! Decided to get the duck pie since I've never had duck in a pie before. Tbh, I think the Pie Tin is overhyped. The pies were not, but not spectacular, and unfortunately I have to say, I've had better. It's still really good, just not amazing like everyone has said. If Manu from MKR was eating this, he'll be like 'where's the sauce?' The duck reminded me of shredded pork, it was a bit on the dry side, and without much sauce in the pie, it lacked some flavour. Wasn't as sweet as I hoped it would be, but it was very lean and the serving inside was decent. Seasonal veggies included carrots, onions and other stuff...

The pastry is just normal 'healthier' pastry, but if you have a pie, you might as well go all out on the buttery/fattiness. The pastry wasn't really flaky like puff pastry or really buttery either. 

Didn't feel like something too heavy, and around half of the pies that night were chocolate based =/ Chose the lemon brûlée pie since I've had brûlée tarts before, but not in pie form. The shortcrust pastry particularly the edge was a bit hard, quite hard to just cut it with your spark (they don't have knives). Again, the pastry was more plain in terms of butteriness. I know butter is bad, but sometimes a tad bit more does make something taste better...Loved the kind of crunchy-ish top which was blow torched. There was a sweet custard which was balanced well with the lemon flavour and wasn't too acidic.

take away :)

slow roasted shredded pork with apple & bbq sauce-$8.90

inside

This pie looked and was a bit on the dry side. Again, I would have preferred more sauce. Apple always goes well with pork, but would have preferred more. It was generally nice but not spectacular.

I just really want to try the apple pie if I come back next time...