Revolver, Annandale

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Time for a new beginning… new job, little changes and getting my priorities right. No time to waste on people who take me for granted and time to cherish those who have always been there for me. So what better than a bit of brunch with mummy dearest and Mister T on a sweltering hot Sunday morning!

Sumac cured bacon, parmesan scrambled eggs, & fennel & Rocket salsa ($14.50)

Skim mocha ($3.20)

Revolver Big Breakie ($16.50)

The Food Zoo experience: The coffee was good, staff were cheerful and loved the cozy atmosphere and cute little LV chairs. I loved the value of the big brekkie, authentic tasting baked beans and a complete abundance of bacon… Thinking about it still makes me feel so full!! Definitely will be going back to try the lunch menu =)

Revolver
291 Annandale St
Annandale, NSW 2038
T: (02) 9555 4727

Armory Wharf Cafe, Newington

I can’t think of a place that I love to spend my time at more than Blaxland Riverside Park. Usually The Mister and I buy takeaway lunch or dinner and sit on the tables facing Parramatta River for a nice relaxing meal. There are bike paths throughout the park, and plenty of free parking.

Of the many times I’d frequented the park, I’ve always had my eye on the Armory Wharf Cafe. It is usually very busy during the weekend lunch times, and I finally made the commitment to wake up earlier and head on over for breakfast… yes, even though breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, mornings are so my least favourite time of the day. for shame ):

 Caramel Milkshake, $5 + Fresh Lemonade, $4.50

As usual, to for drinks I ordered a caramel milkshake

 Breakfast Burritto, $12

This consisted of chorizo, boiled egg, Heidi Gruyere cheese, baby spinach, cherry tomato, sweet corn and capsicum pickle. The cheese was a little overwhelming for me, but overall I loved this. Initially I thought the chorizo would be overly salty but my worries were soon put to rest, and I got a tasty burritto :)

 Tempura flathead fillets w/ chips, lemon caper sauce and lemon cheek, $18

The good thing about eating with a guy is that they never fail to order one of the greasiest foods for breakfast, which worked so well for me since I wanted a bit of chips and fried. Unfortunately for The Mister, he had to eat the whole greasy thing, as well as drink my caramel milkshake. The fish was very well fried and it was very crispy and a delight for me to eat. There is the option to add a small side salad for $3.50, which The Mister regretting not doing so when he was about half way through the meal.

There is definitely a reason that this place has been busy every time I visited, and I would definitely, and have, come back for another meal.

Following a large meal, Blaxland Riverside Park is a beautiful place for a brisky post-meal walk… and we managed to make it all the way to the ferry terminal down the bike track.. but be warned, on a hot day, there is very little shade… and the walk back was slightly torturous, and I somehow managed to get myself a night sunburn… Damn I miss summer already.

Armory Wharf Cafe
Building 13, Blaxland Riverside Park Jamieson Street
Newington, 2127
T: (02) 9714 7513

Pho Hai Duong, Marrickville

After buying ice-cream at Serendipity, the BF and I realised we were actually starving! So we drove to Marrickville shops and wandered around the main street. They say, if you’re looking for a good restaurant, always go to the ones that are packed and busy!

We scoured the streets of Marricville (well more like the main street) and eventally ended up at Pho Hai duong. It’s perpendicular to the main street and I noticed it was one of the more cleaner and brighter restaurants around the area.

Coconut Juice

Soothing coconut juice… Drinks come out first but don’t finish it so hastily! Best sipped in between spoonfuls of steaming hot beef noodle soup!

Vietnamese Crepe Style Pancake with Prawn and Pork

An interesting entree – the crepe is actually made with salted egg yolk so I loved the grainy texture. However the flavour was a bit bland so make sure you top it up with the fish sauce provided.

Crispy Skin Chicken with Tomato Rice

When you order crispy skin chicken I guess you really expect crispy skin chicken. However, the meat was at best, standard  with the skin being soggy and not crispy at all!! However the tomato rice was really good with strong flavour but still didn’t make up for the dissatisfying crispy skin chicken.

Pho Rice Noodle Soup with Medium Rare Beef (large)

Highlight of any vietnamese meal – the Pho! The presentation was by far the best I had seen for a cheap vietnamese meal. There was a good serving of beef and onion and I loved the strong beef stock soup. I’ve been craving pho ever since!

Pho Hai Duong
304 Illawarra Rd
Marrickville 2204
T: (02) 9559 5078

Serendipity Ice Cream, Marrickville

So, a few weeks ago I heard about this awesome ice-cream place from the BFs brother all the way in Marrickville and my mind was set on trying it out for myself! So a few days later, we trekked all the way to Marrickville to this little treasure and here’s what we discovered…

The shop front is really small but the exterior of the building is bright pink so not too hard to find. Inside you’ll be able to buy tubs of icecream either in 500ml portions for $6 or 150ml for $3. The smaller size is good to eat it on the spot but if you are a glutton for ice-cream, like me, you may want to bring an eski or cooler bag to keep the bigger tubs on your drive home.

There were so many flavours I wanted to try but eventually settled on three: Taro, Black Sesame and Peanut Butter Disaster. Serendipity make their own icecream with natural ingredients and you can really taste it. I loved the Taro! It took a while getting used to as I’m a huge fan of the taro icecream from passion flower. The texture and colour was completely different. The taro was a light purple with little bits of taro in it so I found that really exciting.

The BF chose the Black Sesame and like the taro,  it tasted 100% natural and not washed out with your typical milky and creamy supermarket ice-cream.

Love. Peanut. Butter. Anything which has peanut butter… Like the dream bars from Mrs Fields or the Peanut Butter Frappe from Max Brennar. The ice-cream here was super rich with flavour and maybe a little too strong. Maybe I have to go and buy some Serendipity Vanilla icecream to mix it with next time! hehe.

If you sign up to the Serendipity mailing list, once a month you are invited to collect a free 150mL ice-cream which is the new flavour that they are promoting. This month we got the Banana Berry Sundae and the taste was just amazing. The mix was perfect and the flavour was just so good it tasted like you were eatinbg a frozen banana!

Serendipity Icecream is also participating in the Sydney International Food Festival next month (October) with home-made ice-cream classes on 16th and 23rd October. Check it out!

Serendipity Ice Cream
333-339 Enmore Rd
Marrickville, NSW 2204
T: (02) 9557 8986