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.

Pablo & Rusty's

Situated in the middle of the CBD, walking in you feel like every table is having a meeting of some sort. It’s quite busy even after lunch time, as people just come here for coffee. 

food spread

 

Capp-$4, Daintree sticky chai-$6

The coffee was average with decent foam. The chai was quite nice served in a pot with heaps of spices. It could be a bit more 'spicier' but it wasn't too sweet.

Grilled halloumi, red quinoa, kale and almond tabouli, beetroot baba ganoush, zucchini flowers and vincotto-$22

I’m not a massive fan of halloumi, but I do like zucchini flowers, so when the waitress recommended that this was one of their more popular dishes, decided to give it a go. I liked how this halloumi had a little bit of sweetness to it from the vincotto sauce, and the kale went really well with the slight sweetness from the beetroot. The quinoa helped make this dish quite filling.

Galbi jjim beef short rib, brown rice salad, daikon kimchi, pickles & gochujang ketchup-$26

The ribs were quite nice and had decent chunks of meat. The marinade had a nice sweet taste without being overly salty. The Korean ketchup was too spicy for me. I did find the kim chi a little bit spicier than usual. There was a good amount of rice which made the dish again quite filling.

Ms G's

This place has been on my places to visit or a while, so finally decided to make the trek to this side of the city. There’s a lot of fusion dishes here, where they take the ‘basics’ of cuisines such as Viet, Thai, Korean, Chinese and Western food and literally mix them up. Being on this side of Sydney, dishes are more pricier than your average dinner.

Tables are small and it’s quite crowded inside with dim lighting, so if you’re after a quiet dinner to chat, this isn’t the place for you. Ended up using iPhone torch light to take photos, and other people around turning heads #noshame

food spread

Cheeseburger spring roll-$6

inside

This sounded pretty interesting on paper, and it was really good. Tasted exactly like a cheeseburger with the beef mince, melty American cheese, and pickles wrapped in a spring roll. It was deep fried well with a good crisp and not too oil.

Squash, peas, butterbeans with pickled radicchio, mint, yuzu and white miso ranch-$18

The salad sounded interesting with a yuzu sauce, but I wouldn’t order it again since I don’t think it’s worth the money. The yuzu was quite subtle, and the actual salad was average.

Vietnamese pork and prawn pancake 'Korean style'-$24

The pancake had more toppings than actual batter and was quite oily. There was a nice crunch from the shrimp heads without being too salty, and still interesting to try. It’s just nothing like your Korean pancake as there was a lot of air in between this pancake, and only bits of batter sticking the toppings together.

Tom yum fried rice with snow crab, kaffir lime & crispy wonton skin-$29

Our favourite dish was the fried rice. I didn’t realise you could buy those Thai Tom Yum paste in grocery stores. I still remember when I went to Thailand around 9 years ago that the Tom Yum soup was way too spicy to drink. The fried rice was cooked well with that dry sort of rice texture without being dry, and there was just the right amount of spice for me to enjoy. Would recommend this dish as well.

red lighting=not ideal for food photos

Lox, Stock & Barrel

Rare trip out to this side of Sydney for the Bondi Beach Markets, so decided to make the most of the trip with a stop at a cafe. I remember Dandelion coming here for some lattes, and so decided to try stuff here. Came here around lunch time around on a weekend but didn't have to wait for a table. The music here can get a bit loud at times. 

food spread

Mushroom latte: blend of chaga & lion's mane, lucuma, macadamia, espresso, almond & cashew milk (sugar free, dairy free)-$6.50

Large flat white-$4.50

The mushroom latte is definitely an acquired taste, more so than tumeric imo. It sort of tastes like coke without the sugar or fizz but with milk. It has some nutty flavour in it but doesn't really taste like mushrooms. Sort of like how truffle is a type of mushroom but has its own flavour. The coffee has a good hit of flavour to it.

Smoked lox w/ onion, caper, rocket and cream cheese-$15

It's not a cheap or amazing bagel, but wanted to try the smoked lox, which is just smoked salmon. It wasn't very smoky, but it's a decent bagel with cream cheese, capers and rocket. Does remind me of bagels from NYC...

Fattoush: raw vegetable and herb salad, spices, nuts, za'atar, dressing: lemon, olive oil, tahini-$18

Most of the time I try not to order salads outside home since technically I can make them myself, but I just don't have time to chop and prep everything. Chose this since it has za'atar. It's a really filling salad, and also loved the crunchiness from the croutons. It does have slight acidity from the lemon which helps keep it fresh.