Circa Expresso @ Parramatta

This cafe has been on my eating list for a very long time now, and since it was uni holidays it was about time I went (which resulted in me going twice). Circa Expresso is located in an alley way outside of Westfield shopping centre. It is a quirky cafe with a painted wall upon entry, a bike hanging on one of the walls, and little bits and pieces everywhere (definitely not what you expect in Parramatta). 

First:

Baked eggs with sujuk, Danish feta, diced tomato & chilli and toast served in a pan

This is what I call a great breakfast (that isn't bacon and eggs). Sujuk is a spicy Turkish sausage which I found similar to a spicy chorizo sausage. This entire dish was delicious, all the bits and pieces were beautiful, and the eggs had a runny centre. A slight hint of chilli to the dish bound everything together. To me, there was not one bad thing to the dish.

Breakfast granola: Poached rhubarb, yoghurt and fresh fruit

This was my vegetarian friends dish. I don't eat granola, or yoghurt, so this dish isn't a very me dish. However, I did like the poached rhubarb.

Second:

Coffee

A mocha to start a lovely brunch with a good friend and it was the first coffee I have ever finished. I have always given coffee a chance, but never been happy or pleased with the taste. But this time, I was very happy.

Penne with portobello mushrooms, pork & fennel sausage, baby spinach and parmesan

One of the specials of the day, pasta for only $12. This was a great pasta dish with simple yet strong flavours that complemented each other. For the price, it was a great pasta, even better than some pastas I have tried in high end restaurants.

Pork and fennel sausage served with caramelised onion, pickled cucumber, baby spinach 

served on sourdough bread

We all love a good sandwich, and this is one for the books. The pork and fennel sausage were juicy and filled with flavour. I really enjoyed the pickled cucumber, it added a saltiness that was balanced with the caramelised onion. 

French toast with poached rhubarb, labne and pistachio

After our savoury part of brunch, we turned to the sweet and seeing French toast on the line of specials, was an offer not to be refused. The French toast was different to how I make it at home, using bigger bread that soaks in more of the batter. The poached rhubarb, with the subtle labne and crunch of pistachio. Nothing wrong with this dish, it was just spoonfuls of tastiness. 

Banana bread with passion fruit butter

This was so tasty, I could eat it every day. The banana bread was served slightly warm, but the passion fruit butter is what makes it great. It was smooth and delicious. It was just gloriously wonderful! Possibly my favourite thing on the menu.

Both times at Crica Expresso were exquisite, with friendly staff and even better food. Definitely hits the spot for a great brunch!

Good food, good times!

Temasek @ Parramatta Roxy Arcade

All food lovers should be able to relate to this "That sad moment when you are really craving to go to a restaurant and you find out that they are closed for a few weeks." Temasek  was closed for about a month over and Christmas and New Years and I had an extreme craving. So on the first day it re-opened, a friend planned for the oz tag team to go there to eat dinner. This resulted in CRAVING FULLFILLED!

Temasek is a restaurant that combines different traditional dishes from China, Malaysia and Singapore with authentic flavours. It is a popular restaurant that is constantly busy, with it expanding 2 sides of the Roxy Arcade. The restaurant gives the vibe of an Asian food market. Now to the delicious food that fulfilled my craving.


Entrees:

Curry puffs

Satay chicken skewers

What lovely starters! Both vegetarian and beef curry puffs were purchased. The cover of the curry puff was light, fluffy and crispy. The chicken skewers with the satay sauce were delightful and set our palates for the meal to come.

Mains:

Beef Rendang

Kecap Manis Sotong - Fried calamari in sweet sauce

Nasi Goreng

Sambal Chicken

Sambal Balacaan Kang Kong

Sambal = chili/spicy, kang kong = water spinach. A vegetable dish that has plenty of crunch and an ample amount of spice.

Hainanese Chicken

Temasek is well known for the Hainanese chicken and chicken rice. For those who don't know what Hainanese chicken is, it is chicken that is boiled in a chicken broth which results in a moist and succulent chicken. The chicken rice is also made using the chicken broth.

Stir fried chicken with mixed vegetable

Serai (lemon grass) pork

One of my favourite dishes of the night. The pork had a great taste of the lemon grass and I could also taste a bit of honey to it as well. It went very well with the rice.

Hokkien Noodles

Desserts:

Ice Kacang - Combination of red bean, grass jelly, pineapple and palm seeds served with crushed ice in a bowl. Toppd with palm sugar, red syrup evaporated milk and sweet corn

Sago pudding

The two popular desserts of choice. The Ice Kacang has a variety of flavours that infuse well together (despite the sweet corn on top, which added a strange texture). It is a perfect dessert after a hot summers night with relatively spicy food. The sago pudding was a sweet dessert, with a coconut taste and a soft texture. I preferred the Ice Kacang as it was more refreshing, and I love herbal jelly.


Overall Temasek is a wonderful restaurant to dine at, with friends and family. The flavours of the food are quite strong compared to other Asian restaurants, so prepare yourself for explosions of different tastes. Depending on the amount of people you go with, and how much food you order, it shouldn't cost more then $40 per person (including drinks and dessert).

Good food, good times!