The Hub House Diner @ Dulwich Hill

It has been more than a month since my last post due to the end of another uni semester, and exams, but I am now back in the blogging scene.  People are constantly looking for a place for a good burger, and Hub House Diner is one of  those places. It has a great diner vibe with bubbly wait staff and food for all times of the day. They are open Tuesday to Sunday for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner offering great food at affordable prices! I went with my sister and sister-in-law for dinner.

House Chargrilled beef burger

My sister-in-law ordered the burger that had the bacon. The burger may look smaller in the pictures, but there is more than meets the eye.

Half Chargrilled Basted Chicken - Hickory Smoked BBQ Sauce

You can choose between a lemon chilli, or hickory smoked BBQ sauce. The half chicken serving was the largest half chicken serving I have ever seen. Apart from the serving size, there was a generous amount of coleslaw and fries too. The coleslaw wasn't extremely creamy, which allowed for a light side. The hickory sauce is smokey and slightly sticky. It was finger-licking goodness.

Hub Beef Cheese Burger

I thought I would start with the basics which is a cheeseburger with the standard trimmings of cheese, onion, gherkin, mustard and tomato sauce.  It may be simple in nature, but a fantastic burger! I found the burgers clean to eat without sacrificing any droppings. All the burgers come with a side of fries, which are crunchy and have a chicken salt that is slightly lemony.

 

Deconstructed pumpkin pie

The desserts became a must when we started seeing other people get desserts and how tasty they looked. Our favourite was the deconstructed pumpkin pie. It had elements of a sweet pumpkin mousse, meringue, honeycomb, cream and pistachio soil. The pumpkin mousse was amazing! The flavour was strong, and sweet but not overpowering. The honeycomb and pistachio soil added crunch against the cloud like meringue. I feel that this is a must order!

Eton Mess

Eton mess was great as well. It has meringue, macerated fruit, whipped cream, lemon curd, raspberry coulis, pistachio soil and topped with a honeycomb marshmallow. It is a dessert calling summer with the bright colours and flavours. The meringue crunch cut through the soft ingredients. The honeycomb marshmallow was delicious. The dessert became too sweet (never thought I would say that) over time, which made is slightly sickening. However, we still finished it! 

Love the quote on the takeaway box

Hub House Diner is a great place for dinner, and I definitely want to check it out during breakfast and lunch. The serving sizes are generous, where none of use actually finished our fries, and we all love fries! The service is fantastic, and the food was great. All mains are under $30 (with burger and fries less than $20), and desserts under $15. 

Good food, good times!

Cara & Co Restaurant @ Level 4, Westfield Sydney

We all love good food vouchers, so myself and a couple of friends were able to dine at the exquisite Cara & Co Restaurant. Cara & Co Restaurant is located inside the retail store Cara and Co, which is inside Westfield Sydney.

It feels really strange to walk into a retail store, and then into a restaurant. It is also surprising that the store doesn't smell like food. The restaurant décor is chic, yet has a feel of a 70s themed restaurant with the neutral colours of browns, blacks and beige. There were lovely artworks along the walls which made the restaurant quite quirky.

The reason I placed the image of the warm towels is because they first look like little mints, and then when water is place on them they become hand towels. I checked in using Foursquare and someone commented saying that they thought they were pre dining mints, so ate them hahah, a rookie mistake.

Anyways, now to the food. The vouchers allowed us to each choose an entree, main and dessert, but they provided an amuse bouche and a second dessert/post dining experience treat.

Complimentary bread with butter and black salt

Olive bread with capsicum jelly and bonito sauce 

Lovely little cylindrical parcels topped with a lovely flower. There was a strong olive taste which was counteracted by the sauce and capsicum jelly. It was a little teaser to what was on its way.

Four cuts of chicken, hazelnut crust, sherry sauce, 

apple pieces, pate and chicken crackle

I found this to be the best of the entrées. The four cuts of chicken were cooked perfectly and allowed to understand the different textures and tastes of the chicken. Chicken crackle is not as good as pork crackle, but continued to add the crunchy element to the dish. All the components worked extremely well with all the sauces.

Kingfish with beetroot, dill and sourdough crisps

Kingfish is a delicate fish with a subtle taste. When serving king fish, you don't want flavours that will overpower the fish, which is what the chefs did well. The dill was probably the strongest of all taste, but it provided that extra kick.

Veal tartare with watercress, aged cheese, cucumber and oyster pearls

This was not my cup of tea, the veal tartare was great, but the other components just didn't work for me. There was a lot of strong flavours, including the oyster pearls which were a bit too salty for my liking.

Veal fillet with crumb, tomato, asparagus, capers, peas and tuna foam sauce 

Everything on this dish was excellent, the veal was cooked to a medium-rare, and the crumb tasted of cracked popcorn kernels. All the vegetables perfectly accompanied the veal. The down side to this dish was the tuna foam sauce. It had the taste of the ocean, and wasn't pleasant to the palate. A would have preferred a simple potato puree and brown sauce to complement the veal.

Lamb's neck with pisatchio crumb and cauliflower, brocletti, kholrabi and anchovy 

This was my friends main dish, and the dish I wish I ordered. The lamb's neck with crumb was delectable, and all the vegetables worked well. The lamb was full of flavour, and the sauce was different to the tuna foam sauce (which was great!).

Summer berries with coconut pannacotta, coconut and herb ice cream, berry sherbet, fruit tuille and rum sauce

The desserts weren't on the menu, so we went by how they sounded. Originally this dish didn't sound that great, but when it was brought out I was envious of my friend. The dish had SUMMER written all over it. The fresh colours, and summery tastes had your taste buds dancing. Every component had a refreshing taste, and all fresh summer berries were exquisite.

Chilli sorbet with lemon jelly, apple pieces, lemon cream, sugar crunch and crumble

The chilli sorbet was a great pick me up with a punch of chilli right at the end. Crunchy pieces of apple and the crumble against the soft creams and sorbet allowed a texture filled spoonful of goodness. This dish didn't quite call out summer, but it did call out tastes of Autumn.

Madeleines and mini chocolates 

After dessert, we were provided with madeleines and mini chocolates to end the meal. 

Cara & Co Restaurant is a great place to dine, with excellent food and good service. The serving sizes of the dishes are generous and filled with flavour. Each dish is presented delicately, expressing beauty in the dish. It is a perfect place for a birthday lunch or an intimate dinner.

Good food, good times!

Dan's House @ Haymarket

We all love a good meal deal, and one of my uni friends found a great one for Dan's House which is a Chinese Cuisine restaurant with a speciality in peking duck, and other duck based dishes. It is a new restaurant that has been open since Late April 2012. The deal allowed us to pick 2 entrées with peking duck as the main dish, and a dessert to share.

Sugar cane smoked duck breast with lychee and mango jelly

As soon as I saw this on the menu I wanted to try it, the idea of lychee and mango with duck sounded tantalising. The result, was good but not great. I found that the texture of the mango jelly was too hard, which didn't quite work with the soft duck. However, the lychee sauce with the duck and the cucumber worked extremely well. If the mango jelly was a bit softer, it would have made the dish great.

Sichuan numbing chicken with fresh fruit salad

Now this entrée was tasty! After doing some quick Google research, the term 'numbing' comes about due to the use of Sichuan pepper as an ingredient. The chicken was cooked with perfection, but the marinade is what made the dish. It had a perfect balance of sweetness and spice. That marinade could accompany any meat. The strange part of the dish was the fruit salad for 2 reasons, first we were unsure how to eat it with the dish, and secondly the fruit purée at the base. 

We ended up just blowing the fruit salad into our bowl and eating it with the chicken (which was a good result). However, the ingredient of the purée was difficult to figure out (I was supposed to ask the waiter, but I forgot too). It tasted like rock melon, but at the same time it didn't, and it had a slightly rough texture. We were both confused.

Peking duck with complimentary soup

Mmm peking duck. We both love peking duck, and this definitely hit the spot. No words can really describe how good peking is. In summary though, soft duck meat with a slightly crispy skin and vegetables all wrapped up results in a great main.

Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo and vanilla ice cream

When this dish came out I was actually unsure on how to eat it, lucky for me, my friend knew how. We split the sago cream into 2 portions, and dumped a spoonful of ice cream into each bowl. The sago cream had bits on mango, but the pomelo is what made the difference where it added the bitterness, resulting in a bittersweet dessert.

The overall dining experience was exceptional, where the wait staff reminded me of people you would see at Yum Cha. This means, that as soon as they saw any dirty plates on the table they would take it away.

Good food, good times!

Chicken Paella

Due to the exams I haven't been updating my blog as much as I could have, but don't worry I have been eating =). So after a full day of studying I thought I deserved a break, and with that my sister and I made dinner.

We wanted something warm, cosy and easy to make and to that she found a recipe for Chicken Paella. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish which is a great comfort food, and everything is cooked and served in one big pan, which means less cleaning up! =D

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 200g chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.4kg chicken pieces, trimmed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 
  

Method:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a paella pan or a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

2. Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, onion and garlic to pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until soft.

3. Add chicken. Cook, turning often, for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden.

4. Add wine and 1/2 cup stock. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, turning occasionally, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until almost all liquid has evaporated.

5. Add rice, tomatoes, paprika and 1 1/2 cups stock. Return to simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent mixture from catching on bottom of pan, for 15 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed.

6. Add peas, chorizo and remaining 1/2 cup stock. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes or until stock is just absorbed.

7. Season with salt and pepper. Serve paella at the table from the pan. You can further add a drizzle of lemon.

This is the first time we made this dish and it turned out great. Everyone loved it, and was very fulfilling. Perfect on cold nights.


Good food, good times!

Tray-baked Chicken and Dressed Potatoes

Every so often I enjoy making a nice home cooked meal for some uni friends and for recipes I always turn to 'Jamie's 30 Minute Meals'. This book has yet to fail and everything in it is easy, cheap and lovely to eat.

 

 Tray-baked chicken with dressed potatoes and salad

The original recipe states to use skinless chicken breasts, but I find that breast pieces are too dry, so I used chicken thigh fillets. Therefore, in this case I allocated 2 thigh fillets, per individual.

Tray-baked Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 5)

Dried oregano/oregano leaves

Sweet Paprika

Butter (approximately 100g)

10 chicken thigh fillets

2 lemons

600g cherry tomatoes on vine (I couldn't find those so I used 2 punnets of boxed cherry tomatoes)

10 rashers of bacon (if possible get on the striped/streaky part - if not then cut the bacon in half so that the middle bacon is separate from the bacon streaks.)

Rosemary

Method (I did this in 2 batches)

1. Wash the chicken thigh fillets and remove any fatty parts.

2. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius.

4. On a large piece of greaseproof paper, sprinkle a good pinch salt & pepper, along with dried oregano leaves and sweet paprika.

5. Roll the chicken thigh fillets in the flavours.

6. In a large frying pan drizzle over some olive oil and a knob of butter (around 50g)

7. Add the chicken to the hot pan and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden on both sides.

 

8. While chicken is cooking, get a nice roasting tray and quarter 1 lemon and 1 punnet of tomatoes and chuck them on the tray.
9. Using tongs, arrange the chicken on the tray and a lay/wrap a piece of bacon around each piece of chicken.
10. Still using the frying pan, add sprigs of rosemary to fuse with the juices in the pan and pour over the chicken in the tray. 
NOTE: If there aren't any juices left in the pan add more butter (50g).

11. Cook in the oven for at least 15-20 minutes, ensuring that the chicken is cooked through.

Finished product! =D

Dressed Potatoes

While the chicken was cooking I started on the potatoes.

Ingredients (serving 5)
2 sweet potatoes
4 small to medium potatoes (white-washed ones)
Half a lemon
1 fresh red chilli
Bunch of coriander
100g of feta cheese

Method
1. Peel and wash the potatoes,
2. Cut the potatoes in chunks and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with half a lemon.
3. Wrap in cling-wrap/film and microwave on full for 15 minutes.
4. Check the potatoes are cooked through, and using tongs squeeze over the lemon.

5. Using a fork, crush all the potatoes together, leaving it a bit chunky.
6. Finely chop coriander, chilli and feta cheese and add to potatoes.
7. Mix all together.

To finish off I made a basic salad with a salad mix, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and corn.

Dinner is served!

Good food, good times!

Two Two Fried Chicken @ Strathfield

On Friday Night I had dinner with my brother and his wife at Two Two fried chicken (2, The Boulevarde, Strathfield). Two two (for short) is a Korean restaurant that provides Korean styled fried chicken. After doing some research, I have found out that it is actually world renowned for its chicken, and has opened recently in the Philippines.

It is a small restaurant with the maximum capacity being 30-40 people. When we walked in we received the menu and a side dish of cubed pickled radish, but when looking at other peoples tables they also received popcorn. I am not sure if the waitress forgot, or that maybe they just didn't think we wanted it. It was strange, it seemed like a double standard had occurred. Apart from that, it was a great place to eat some chickeny goodness.

Two two have an arrangement of different flavoured chicken including garlic and soy sauce. After contemplating on what to order we decided on two plates of chicken and fries between the 3 of us.

Hot Chilli Chicken (whole) $27.00

Boneless Fried Chicken (whole) $25.00

A meal for 3!

If you love spice in your life then you will love the hot chilli chicken. The flavour hits you straight away. There was a bit of sweetness to it, but the more you eat, then the sweetness just disappears. After a while, it became a a bit to spicy for me so I moved onto the boneless fried chicken.

The boneless fried chicken tasted very similar to KFC. The main difference being that you can't  see the oil dripping off the meat. Some pieces were a bit dry, but that is the general rule of thumb when buying chicken.

The fries were just normal thick cut potatoes, but the tomato sauce (well what was thought to be tomato sauce) was very different. There was an alcoholic taste to it, something that tasted similar to rice wine. It was a peculiar taste. The pickled radish and salad provided a refreshing taste when the palate was overwhelmed with the chilli chicken, and the fried chicken.

Two two chicken was a great place to eat, with the food being filling and satisfying. If you ever want to eat some chickeny goodness, and don't want to resort to your local KFC then go to two two chicken!

Good food, good times!