The Q on Harris

Making the most of non 9am uni starts by exploring new places for breakfast. The menu is quite limited here, but it’s a quiet cafe just away from the city with a nice courtyard and natural lighting, perfect for a place to chat. I’m quite behind on places to eat since uni has started, so didn’t even realise they stopped selling their matcha cheesecake last year. 

food spread

Capp: $3.50

Batch brew Solok Radjo: rum raisin and tropical fruit punch with full bodied velvety dark cocoa finish-$3.50

The coffee was average. I thought the filtered coffee came cold, but I guess there’s a lot of variations for filtered coffee. This one was quite bitter and on the first sip reminded me of Chinese herbal tea. I never put sugar in coffee because I think that just ruins the taste of the actual coffee flavour (except for iced coffee, then again I hardly have those drinks). Slowly we sipped our way through this huge mug. Tried to appreciate the different flavour notes in the coffee, but I’m no coffee connoisseur. 

Buta Katsu Sandwich: House made thick-cut ham cats, tomato chutney and mustard mayo, with a side of potato korokke-$18

It didn’t say how many grams it was, but I’m assuming 150-200g, like other thick cut pork cats sandwiches I’ve had. The skin could have been more light and crispy/golden since it was a little bit on the oily side. The potato side was a fun addition to have on the dish. It was a surpassingly filling dish. 

Q Bowl: house smoked caramelised bacon, tempura shiitake mushrooms, glazed dutch carrot, pickled raddish, black rice-$16

I think this is more on the pricey end for a bowl of rice. You could choose between house smoked bacon, pastrami or salmon. Couldn’t really taste the smokiness in the bacon, but I liked how it wasn’t over caramelised. The tempura could also be lighter for the mushrooms. The pickled raddish helped give some acidity from the heaviness from the bacon. 

Kakawa Chocolate

Sydney (and Aus) is always a few years late to the trends worldwide, but we finally have decent ice cream sandwiches! It's in a tiny shop which also does hand made chocolates and other edible gifts in a slightly newer side of Sydney where new restaurants have emerged.

   
Black sesame ice cream Sandwich-$6

You could taste the sesame flavour without the ice cream being too sweet. I loved how the biscuits were soft and thin but still held the ice cream together without being too messy to eat. The biscuits weren't too buttery or sweet, but towards the end you could feel yourself a little bit bloated from the butter in the 'bread' biscuit. It's so nice and sleek, or clean cut, and just a nice little snack, other more on the expensive side.

~$3 a piece of chocolate

Bread and Circus

My first thought when I walked in was 'Wow, this place feels so healthy!' The place uses fresh fruit and veg as decor (which makes sense if they use/cook it the day after since they have daily menu changes). Picked up a pineapple thinking it was a fake, and I was caught out by the weight and then realised everything on the table was real. There's also peppercorn, non-grounded black pepper, different types of squash. Each table has random bowls of fruit and veg.

Drinks

Pimms without the pimms: preservative-free ginger beer poured over slices of cucumber, lime and seasonal fruit w/fresh mint-$6

Cold pressed juice-something green: kale, spinach, apple, cucumber, celery and lemon w/ ginger (large)-$8

Tea-kyoto roasted green: refreshingly bold, caramel sweetness-$5

The ginger beer did taste organic-very gingery with some soda and without being sweet like normal ginger beer. Quite pretty with the fruits in it as well. I opted for a large green juice, should have gotten small since this one was massive. I think it's still good value for a cold pressed juice. There's just something different compared to normal juice, like it doesn't 'separate' as easily, and is a bit more thicker as well without any fibrous stuff. I opted for ginger with it, and by the end it did sink to the bottom (could taste it but not see), so was quite gingery at the end. The tea had a really strong roasted green tea fragrance, couldn't really taste the sweetness, but I only had one sip. Still tasted super healthy.

food spread

Sandwich box: preservative-free bangalow pork salami w/ pickle and parmesan-$16

I don't normally get sandwiches, but this concept is quite interesting, more of a deconstructed sandwich. I wanted to try the chicken, but a friend had already tried it, and they ran out of chicken side dishes (guess I have to make another trip here). At first I was like let's not get salami because it's preservative, but i didn't read the first few words 'preservative-free.' So we opted for this since non of us have had preservative free salami before. It didn't have that chilliness in normal salami (which is good), and definitely tasted less salty and not as fatty. Since it was served cold, it was less oily as well. Some papaya and cabbage salad at the bottom. Would have liked more avo since 2 tiny slices wasn't really enough compared to the whole box. The mustard was quite spicy though.

Daily Plate: slow roasted grass fed leg lamb w/ garlic thyme rosemary served w/ daily salads-$27

I didn't realise it said daily salads, so we ended up having more of the same salads. The other daily plate sold out, so we got this to share. Lamb was tender and lean, perfectly cooked and tasted quite natural. 

Salad plate (sharing)-$25
fresh shredded cabbage sprouts kale & shiso w/ yuzu and pomegranate
green papaya salad cucumber & torn mint w/ chilli lime sea salt and crushed almond
balsamic roasted brussel sprouts and leeks w/ lemon olive oil and crunchy cavolo nero
cardamom roasted beetroot and baby spinach w/ crushed walnut goats feta and honey 

All the salads were super fresh, light and surprisingly filling. Normally when I have salad I don't put dressing, since creamy stuff taste nice but really fattening and not healthy. These were very well dressed, and heaps of different textures. Chose all except for the eggplant salad since there were chilli flakes. Hate eggplant but one somehow made it onto the plate, and it tasted alright. I also hate betroot as well, but this one had a good crunch (unlike those sloppy, drippy, tinned versions), and the way they dressed it made it super fresh. I wouldn't mind eating this type of beetroot daily. Would have liked more creaminess from the feta.

My favourite was the kale one, with some crunchy bits in-between. Couldn't really taste the yuzu or pomegranate though, just a general acidity throughout the salad. The papaya was the crowd favourite (wasn't chilli at all). The brussel sprouts were actually surprisingly delicious as well, shows that you don't need butter all the time like in MasterChef when they cook this veggie. Loved all the types of nuts as well.

Loved the fresh produce and quality of food here, and highly recommended even if you don't like salad.

Cafe Oratnek

Situated amongst terraces in a slightly different part of Redfern is this cute little cafe. Walkable from Central so not too far away. Love the Asian style food with a modern and Western twist.

pastries

Matcha lamington-$5

I was expecting the lamington to be really sweet, but it actually wasn't. So light and fluffy, with a good coating of matcha and desiccated coconut. First time having a matcha lamington, and it was worth it.

small matcha latte-$4.20

The matcha here is the bitter type of matcha, close to Cre Asion's bitterness, but not quite as bitter. If you prefer sweet green tea lattes, this one's not for you. I love both bitter and sweeter versions of matcha lattes. This latte had a really authentic matcha taste, and milk frothed perfectly. 

Matcha french toast, banana chips, coconut, strawberries, matcha mousse-$15 

inside

This is not your average french toast, it wasn't fried in egg, but had a more bread-cake texture, kind of like denser pancakes but without being too heavy or buttery. This french toast did taste a lot healthier as it wasn't oily, and there was enough bread to accompany that super light and slightly sweet matcha mousse. You could even eat the mousse by itself. The banana chips gave the dish a good crunch as well. 

200g pork fillet katsu, cabbage, Japanese bbq sauce, mustard-$12 

It was hard deciding which savoury option we should order, but opted for this sandwich (saw other tables plates, and the other dishes looked and smelt really good as well). Even after eating the french toast, the katsu still retained it's crunch. I loved how they served the sandwich on it's side, so the sauce won't soak into the pork as quickly, making it less soggy. The crumb was really thin and didn't leave an oily feel, so also felt more 'healthy'. Good portion of meat in this, and the cabbage, sauce and mustard really helped the pork flavours to shine, and without the mustard being too dominant. 

Reuben and Moore-The Hub

Walk past this whenever quite a few times when I go to Macquarie and decided to finally try it. I almost never buy sandwiches since you can make them yourself at home. 

Signature Reuben Sandwich: wagyu salt beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, pickles and mustard mayo on rye-$14.50

Opted for no chips (so I could save that $3 and I wasn't super hungry) even though it's listed on the menu with sandwich and ships for $17.50. It was stacked well with good height, but would have rpeferred more meat than veggies. The Reuben I had back in NYC at Katz's Delicatessen, which was over $30 for a sandwich, but that had so much meat it fed our family for 2 meals, no jokes. The meat here could have been seasoned moree, but the veggies had that distinct saukrat flavour and pickles, which were served warm in the sandwich. Bread was nice and soft, and the whole sandwich held together easily when you ate it. It's decent for Sydney standards, but NYC still wins. One of these days I'll post about NYC food, when I find some time...

The Coffee Club

Don't normally go to these type of cafe, but my Mum had a voucher, so I tagged along. 

large coffee-$5

Buy one get one free. The coffee was average, probably a bit on the watery side.

menu

 
Top: The Reuben w/ salad and chips-$15.90
Bottom: Smoked salmon, onion, tomato, cream cheese w/ salad and chips-$15.90

Fillings for both sandwiches were generous. The reuben had flavourful beef with good amount of sauce. Smoked salmon one was quite rich with the cream cheese, but decent serving of salmon. The turkish bread wasn't too tough. Chips and salad were average. I guess it's on ok price considering the size of the sandwich and it came with sides.

Passiontree Velvet-Mother's Day High Tea

It's been a while since I've been to high tea, and when I heard there was a new place near me, I thought why not do something special and different for Mother's Day this year?

Passiontree Velvet is  at Macquarie Centre, located in the Fresh Food Market side (near Coles). 

colourful displays filled with macarons, tarts, eclairs and cake!

chocolate

Tt's actually my first time having high tea inside a shopping centre. It's a different feeling compared to the "traditional" high tea places like the QVB Tea Room, or inside hotels with a view. There aren't massive rushes of people walking around here so it is a nice place to relax and have a cup of tea, but you do have the occasional curious browser looking at your high tea stand. There is also natural lighting coming in as well.

some of the menu

Harney and Sons Tea: Paris (front) and Yellow and Blue (behind)

I had the Paris tea which is a black tea with vanilla and some fruit flavours. It was quite a generous serving of tea leaves and the tea smelt really nice, but couldn't really taste the sweetness in it. It's similar to the Earl Grey Harney and Sons tea that I tried before. The Yellow and Blue herbal tea is mainly a chamomile tea, but there is also some lavender fragrance which makes it really nice. The staff are super friendly and happy to refill your tea. Some places only refill your tea once since they don't want you to think their tea is bland after the second refill...

Mother's Day Duchess Full High Tea for 2-$90

The Duchess Full High Tea consists of come cakes, scones, finger sandwiches and a drink which is normally around $35pp. The Mother's Day high tea included some macarons as well as 2 gifts for Mum to take home, so it was definitely value for money, since one macaron is $3 (tbh, the macarons was the turning point for me to decide to book a high tea here rather than having a Mother's Day brunch somewhere else). I love high tea since you can try a selection of everything without having to purchase the bigger sizes and end up eating too much sugar. Even though I prefer things not too sweet, I secretly have a sweet tooth.

I realised the stand is slightly different, since the metal goes around the plates rather than through it. The plates aren't fancy Royal Albert China, but sometimes simple white and wooden boards for tea pots also work. Starting from the bottom tier...

Finger Sandwiches: ham, egg, tuna and cucumber, and smoked salmon biscuit in the middle

I like how they used white, wholemeal and multigrain bread. Normally it's white and wholemeal. There are also a lot more variety in sandwiches here, to probably compensate for the lack of pastries compared to a high tea place which makes their own savouries inside their kitchen there. Sandwiches are easier to serve in a shopping centre. It's also pretty cool how it's a three tiered sandwich, but since it's small, it's not messy and easy to pick up and eat.

Sweets!

The macarons which were gifted as part of the high tea are blueberry, vanilla, lemon and jasmine flavoured.

The Rocks Eclair: chocolate ganache, pistachio sponge, caramelised pistachio and choc cookie chunk

that dark choc ganache...

I actually emailed them beforehand and asked if eclairs will be featured on the high tea, and they said it wasn't, so I was prepared to purchase a separate eclair on top of the high tea...So I was presently excited when I saw an eclair when they brought the high tea out! (I think they replaced it with another mousse cake) The choux pastry was light, and the chocolate was dark enough so not that sweet. Couldn't really taste the pistachio in the sponge, but I loved how it gave it some colour, and the addition of the cookie crunch gave it some texture some all that ganache

lemon meringue tart

I also love my meringues, but this one is more dense and not as airy compared to other meringues which I prefer. It's not too sweet while the lemon filling inside was more on the sweet side still had some acidity. 

salted caramel tart

Both my mum and I was wondering where did the salt go? There was a good amount of cocoa, but the salt was very subtle...maybe it was because of all those sweet things which masked the saltiness....

berry white chocolate mousse

Loved the white chocolate in this since it wasn't overpowering in the sweetness/creaminess from your typical white chocolate. A few years ago when my mum watched an episode of Masterchef and learnt what white choc is actually, she used to love white choc then didn't after...so luckily the white choc wasn't too sweet.'t berry compote gave it some acidity, and loved the berry sponge at the bottom. Oh, and of course, loved the addition of a mini macaron.

Scones were a tad on the small side, and a tiny bit crumbly (hopefully it was just this batch). At least they weren't rock hard like the scones at the high tea at Westfield Chatswood which weren't fresh (according to my mum). These were soft and warm to serve. The whipped cream is more on the dense/creamy side, the jam wasn't too artificially flavoured luckily (I actually don't really like jam apart from one French supermarket jam).

Really enjoyed the high tea despite being in the middle of a supermarket. All the staff were really friendly and helpful, and definitely got value for money. Hopefully be back to try their coffee and other cakes :)

Their colour obviously isn't as nice as the Tiffany Blue (patent) colour, it's a slightly darker shade, but still love the coloured boxes. Some take home goodies:

20 assorted chocolates ($40), and a Harley and Son's Handbag Tea (normally $7). We were super full, and decided to take home the macarons for dessert.

The vanilla macaron had more of a cream filling, the blueberry had a little compote in it, jasmine one could be more stronger in flavour, and the lemon was actually quite sour rather than the 'artificial' lemon flavour. Chocolates generally have a very smooth texture.

Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for everything that you do for me <3