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.

Cuppa Flower

I really love this concept of a flower cafe, where you can buy flowers and then also have food. Coming back from Japan, they have the best flower cafe with fresh flowers everywhere, but Japan has better everything pretty much. For Sydney standards, this cafe has pretty good decor and atmosphere.

food spread 

They added flowers to the table cause they saw me taking photos lol. They normally do put flowers, just was probably a bit slow to start the day. They were real, but weren't really fragrant.

fresh flowers

wish I could afford a fresh bunch at home

cake cabinet, I'm told these are only for dine in customers, as they sell out fast.

Japanese chiffon cake ft Totoro-$5

 

They're so cute!

Nice and light, wish I could make my chiffon cakes rise as high. Green tea wasn't as flavourful as the black sesame one, but both weren't that sweet which is always a plus.

Green tea latte (small)-$4.20

This is one of the prettiest coffee art I've ever seen, flower art to match the flower cafe! Tasted alright as well, not too sweet cause I prefer a more bitter green tea latte.

   

Ricotta pancakes w/ mixed berries, ricotta cheese, marscapone, maple syrup-$18.80

Love all the colours on this pancake board, makes everything super vibrant. The pancakes weren't the fluffiest or the biggest, but I really loved the added marscapone and berries to go with it, and ricotta to add some more creaminess. Didn't add the maple syrup since there was already some sweetness from the berry sauce, although I liked how they gave you a honey serving utensil.

Cuppa Flower Benedict: beetroot and potato rosti, bacon (or ham), 2 poached eggs, avocado, hollandaise sauce-$18.50 

#yolkporn

First time seeing beetroot rosti so decided to order it. The beetroot doesn't really add flavour, just more colour. The rosti wasn't fried in too much oil. Eggs cooked perfectly with an oozy yolk. I thought this dish was worth the price. You get a choice between bacon or ham, and also decent side of avo. I love the addition of an edible flower to help fit in with the whole cafe theme. 

kitchen 

outside

Come here before lunch on a weekday and don't have to deal with long weekend lines. Food and service was really pleasant. I do have to admit if anyone goes to Tokyo, Aoyama Flower Cafe is a must go, cafe filled with flowers everywhere and just smells amazing.

Cafe del Mar

A relatively fancier dinner for a group catch up. As you would expect, restaurants at Darling Harbour with views and nice decor ain't cheap, but thanks to Dandelion for finding a voucher for us to use (ended up being around half price). I've been here before, but mainly at the balcony for some drinks and finger food. I remember the inside was really pretty and that hasn't changed, When step inside, it's sort of like an indoor trapeze with fancy lighting and decor. It's more formal dining, so lighting inside was pretty crap (soz for blurry photos). Also, didn't focus some properly since everyone was starving so didn't check if I took my photos properly lol.

 

they have so many types of fancy chairs

It’s expected touristy places like this restaurant in Darling Harbour isn’t cheap and portions were small, but it was pretty decent quality. Loved the decor with big chairs and relatively bigger tables.

food spread

We ordered from the a la carte menu, so we could share and try more dishes.

Squid was deep fried well with a good batter and not chewy on the inside. Really flavourful, and I have to admit the chilli did help elevate the dish to give it an extra kick. Lovely creaminess from the aioli.

yeah, I take photos of bread+olive oil+vinaigrette

Torched blue mackarel, spanner crab salsa, paprika aioli-$26

Mackerel had so many elements, each were delicious individually, as well as together. Yes, it is pricey for a few pieces, but the flavours really came through with the paprika and salsa, without having a super salty mackerel.

Angalotti of house made ricotta, pea, egg yolk, asparagus and hazelnut-$22

This pasta was cooked well, I just wished there was more filling. Used some bread on that sauce.

 

Titania chestnut fed pure bred bresaola (50g)-$18

I don’t normally order this stuff, but it sounded interesting on the menu. I can’t really judge it apart from it’s not as salty or taste ass artificial as the stuff from the supermarket delis.

   

Rabbit 2 ways, sweetbread ravioli, boudin blanc-$28

Tbh, wasn’t really sure what the 2 ways this rabbit was cooked. Both ways didn’t over cook the meat or made it tough/dry, This isn’t on the menu anymore.

We ordered 2 mains, since there were more vegetarian options in entrees, and entrees are cheaper so can try more things lel.

Confit Saltbush lamb belly, ricotta gnudi, summer greens, black garlic-$36

Lamb was so tender and loved the sauce with it, perfectly seasoned.

Brulée cannelloni of ricotta and mint, pumpkin toffee, zucchini flower-$26

This was one of our favourites. The filling was so delicious, wrapped in a nice thin pasta sheet. Again, wished there was more. I love zucchini flowers, and these ones had a light batter with a creamy filling. That ricotta filling had just the right creaminess, and the slight toffee flavour really highlighted the sweetness of the pumpkin. 

White polenta, grana padano-$12

Polenta chips were just a tad bit dry on the inside, but did have nice crisp. Would have liked more cheese sprinkled on top. I looooved the truffle mash, mainly because you could actually see and taste the truffle.

Truffled mash-$10

The mash was smooth and not grainy (not the smoothest I've ever had, but better tham your average mash). Did go a bit harder once it went cold from the butter, but I highly recommend ordering this side. Probably the best truffle mash I’ve had (not that I’ve had a lot, but I would imagine this one to be near the top).

open kitchen

inside bar

Belle's Hot Chicken

PSA: come before they close on 22nd July, then re-open n September (something about more development happening in the area, and all the pop ups on this side have to leave)

I've heard it's packed during lunch times with people from the new Barangaroo offices coming down, but come at 3pm, and it's nice and quiet and plenty of seats. 

Wings (medium heat) with potato salad side-$16 plus blue cheese dressing-$2

I'm actually not a massive fan of fried chicken because it's so unhealthy, and bad for the skin. The only positive I can think about is it's helpful to warm you up on a rainy winter day. The chicken is dry rubbed with the spices, and I opted for medium heat. The dry rubbing did give the chicken a unique Southern-style flavour you can't really find in Sydney, but the skin could have been crunchier. The guy said it wasn't chilli at all, I found it quite a mild chilli, and could appreciate the kick it gave. This is a good level of spiciness for those people whose max tolerance is Kettle chilli chips. The chicken was super hot in temperature, although it didn't look until you got your hands messy and just rip it apart. There's oil/juices inside which splashed out when ripping it, but made the chicken super moist and you can see the steam coming out. There's a piece of bread at the bottom to help soak up the oil.

Had the blue cheese dip (which I though would be more thick in texture, until the menu actually says dressing). It did smell (or stink) like blue cheese, but that's the beauty of it. Helped enhance the flavour of the chicken. The potato salad was super creamy, with perfectly cooked potatoes and nice pieces of apple to make it more refreshing.

Be prepared to use both hands, especially if you ordered the wings (attempted to use cutlery and gave up immediately). So glad they provide tissues and wet wipes to help clean yourself up a bit after haha.

Le Monde

Been wanting to try this place for around 2 years and finally went after some errands at uni. Love how this place isn't too far of a walk from Central, and no need to walk up the hill.

Crunchy Potato Rosti: smoked salmon, roasted cherry tomato, feta, spinach, poached egg, saffron hollandaise, crushed pistachio-$16

perfectly poached egg

We both opted for Le Monde's Signatures from the menu. You had a choice between smokehouse bacon or salmon, and since salmon is healthier and less fattening, I went with that option. Salmon wasn't overly smoked, and that yolk in combination with the rosti didn't make the potato dry. You could see heaps of oil since it's been fried, it didn't feel too oily in your mouth-crunchy outside, soft inside. The pistachios were a pleasant addition in the dish which did add flavour without being salty. Lovely creaminess from the cheese and veggies were cooked well.

Truffled Poached Eggs: grilled haloumi, confit tomato, avocado, white truffle oil on toasted miche-$16

Tried a bit of the this dish, and unfortunately the truffle oil they used was just way too subtle, and almost undetectable. I guess we were expecting at least a hit of fragrance or taste but that didn't happen. The sourdough here was also super hard to cut into. 

food + detox juice

inside