Veggie Burgers: Chickens Plus vs. Fish on Fire

In the last couple weeks, I've gone to Chickens Plus and Fish on Fire on Glebe Point Road - and at both, I've had veggie burgers!  I've just been in that kind of mood lately, although last week I did try a beef burger from CP ($5.50) and it was pretty tasty.

Anyhow, I do enjoy veggie burgers here in Oz.  I have to say that they're a bit different from ones that I'm used to in Canada but they're still quite good. As opposed to a bunch of beans, lentils and oats - like the ones I'm used to - these ones are filled with green peas, carrots and corn.  Pretty nutritious, actually. In the end, I prefer CP's offerings over that of FOF, and will probably stick with them from now on.  Another thing that I like about the burger culture here is the presence of beetroot and pineapple; two things that are rarely common in Canada.

The VB from CP is super substantial.  The patty is filling (and contains the ingredients listed above), but there are also several slices of beetroot and tomato, adding to its appeal.  The bun is a nice quality as well with the bread both soft and structured enough to carry the weight of the patty and toppings.  The burger comes with one sauce; I had "plenty" of mayo.

Chickens Plus Veggie Burger

w/ lettuce, tomato, beetroot, red onion 

& a sauce of your choice ($5.90)

  

I wasn't too keen on the VB at FOF.  Though, the patty had the same fillings as that of CP, it didn't have that well-packed consistency and was a bit sloppy.  It also only came with only a sauce and 'salad' as toppings, which was essentially lettuce and some red cabbage.  Finally, the bun really put me off; it was almost crusty on the outside, but had that gooey, uncooked taste within.  I can say though, that the $2 extra for the order of fries was well worth it, as they were super tasty.  

Fish on Fire Veggie Burger ( $4.50)

 Add fries for $2

I'm not saying that FOF isn't worth going to, but if you are on Glebe Point Road and looking for a Veggie Burger, I'd recommend Chickens Plus as the winner.  Both restos have many other choices, and I have enjoyed their fries as well.  FOF does have outdoor seating, however, which is much more appealing that CP's counter-style.  But if neither has the seating that you're looking for, the park across the road is a nice alternative to both!

I'll say "yes" to Sushi Nami anytime!

One of the only meals that I'll never turn down is sushi.  I have to be in the mood for pub food, pizza, Mexican or fine dining, but it's a rarity when I say "no" to some delicious raw fish. Of late, our favorite spot to go is Sushi Nami Royale.  The quality of sashimi is great - important since we eat so much of it; there is a pretty good variety; and between 3-5 pm and 9:30-11:30 pm, they have a Tsu-Nami menu, where food AND booze is 20% off!  Ding, ding, ding! It's a no-brainer.

We make a serious effort to try different things when we eat at Sushi Nami, but one thing stays the same: the Sashimi Appetizer - a great deal at the regular price of $9.95, and even better when it's 20% off. The pieces of tuna are like candy and the salmon is plump and supple on your tongue.  I'm not a huge fan of the Surf Clam, but do love the little parcels of snapper wrapped around pieces of cucumber.

Sashimi Appetizer $9.95

2 Salmon, 2 Tuna, 2 Snapper & 2 Surf Clam

We also generally try to have a salad (or two!).  On this occasion, we order both the Kani and Sunomono  salads.  SN also does a good size portion of the Hiyashi Wakame (Japanese Seaweed Salad) for $6.95.  The Kani salad is delicious and creamy.  With shredded crab meat, and long strands of carrot and cucumber, I like to twirl it around my fork like spaghetti.  The good amount of avocado adds another creamy layer while also playing the role of the 'cherry on top'. 

Kani Salad $7.95
Crab Meat, Cucumber & Flying Fish Roe

The Sunomono salad is pretty delicious too - but definitely not for the faint of heart as serious octopus tentacles are involved.  Again, the texture of the shredded seafood is what I really love, paired with the slight crunch of roe.  The sauce here is based on soy and is quite mysterious.

Sunomono $9.95

Shrimp, Cucumber, Crab Meat, Octopus & Seaweed

And because a good roll is always nice, we opt for the Spicy Scallop roll which is pretty tasty with the spicy sauce and tempura bits.  A spicy salmon/tuna is a good 'go-to' as well, but the Fusion rolls are really special.   I'll have to make another trip to Sushi Nami soon to illustrate what they are all about!

Spicy Scallop (6pcs) $ 5.95

Chopped Scallop, Green Onion, Tempura Bits & Spicy Sauce

But you can't have sushi without a bit of deep fried...so we try the Karakuchi Shrimp Fry - three large shrimp stretched on skewers and deep fried in tempura batter, then coated with a spicy sauce. What a crunch!

Karakuchi Shrimp Fry 7.95

Lightly fried Shrimp and coated with the house Spicy Sauce

 

This is such a great deal and is really one to take advantage of.  How can you go wrong with a guaranteed 20% off almost everything in your order?  I say "almost" as there is a specific Tsu-Nami menu with limited items, but I'm sure your palate will be more than satisfied with those available.  

jane's to go? I'll take that!

At the end of June, myself and my staff fun day team managed to pull off one of the most adventure-packed staff fun days to date.  Using our  powers of persuasion, we managed to have a day full of excitement capped off with gourmet-good food.

We started off at 9am with a session of laser tag at Alpha Strike.  That shit is sooo much fun!  I have never squealed and giggled so much in my life -- and being able to take down my boss didn't hurt ether!  When we were finished, we boarded an Ambasstours double decker to take us to our next destination: Kartbahn in Bayer's Lake.  We speed around the track for an hour or so and once we had our fill of burnin' rubber,  got back on the bus to pick up lunch - a gourmet brown bag from jane's on the common.

We had preordered the week before from an incredible selection of smoked salmon, roast beef, turkey, ham and cheese and veggie sandwiches.  With these came a drink and two side salads; broccoli with dried cherries, fennel and nuts and a tasty orzo and chickpeas with sundried tomatoes.  To top it all off: a decadently dense gluten free brownie, which I took home and later warmed and topped with vanilla fro-yo and fresh raspberries.  

If you're ever looking for a great quality lunch or need a change from fast food, this is the spot to go.   Fer real, this part was the highlight of my day, and wayyy better than take-out pizza!

A Warming Meal at Minato

A few weeks ago, we decided to try Minato on Queen Street and have been back a couple times since.  Although I wasn't a big fan of the sushi, I've loved all the Korean dishes that we've tried.  Our favorites have definitely been the rice-based Bee Bim Bap, and the Mandoo Guk, a traditional Korean Dumpling Soup.

On this night out, we stareted with the always good palate teaser, the Shrimp & Veggie Tempura.  I could make a whole meal of this dish; plump shrimp, creamy sweet potato and tender zucchinni deep fried to a crispy goodness and served with a sweet and salty dipping sauce.

Shrimp & Veggie Tempura

The Bee Bim Bap is served in a searing hot stone bowl.  A layer of greens, carrots, bean sprouts and sesame seeds cloak a mound of white rice, which is then topped with a raw egg and served with spicy sauce.   The idea here is that you stir the ingredients around so that the heat from the bowl and hot rice cooks the egg.  I love watching people getting ready to eat this dish - the sheer excitement of a sizzling bowl and the anticipation of the final result as they break the yoke is a pretty good show.

Bee Bim Bap

The Mandoo Guk is a surprisingly filling vegetarian soup that has often been my way to perk up within the last few cold, damp and rainy weeks.  A steamy, revitalizing  broth with earthy mushrooms and plump, tender dumplings is a meal in itself, and fulfills the heartiest of appetites when you add in the served bowl of rice served alongside. 

Mandoo Guk

Darrell's Peanut Butter Burger

Back in March, when we were having some seriously good (global warming-induced) weather, I worked up an appetite running an arm's length of errands on Spring Garden Rd. I met up with a friend later on in the day, and since I felt as though I could consume my weight's worth in food, we decided to go to Darrell's for some tasty grub that left me weak in the knees. I decided on the famous Peanut Butter Burger. I mean c'mon; burger - good, peanut butter - good. As simple as that and I was sold. I also got a side of Darrell's seasoned potato wedges on the side.

The burger was pretty messy, and I used up a load of napkins, but it was worth it. The sweet, creamy PB mixing with the juicy meat was incredible. The seasoned fries had a touch of heat, and were crispy on the outside and soft within- just the way I like 'em! Paired up with a cold beer, this was the perfect meal to sate my appetite!

Next time though, I'm trying one of Darrel's famous milkshakes. My friend's chicken burger looked pretty damn good too!

Just look at that meat...and bacon...and melted cheese!

Now, look at that PB!!

Chabaa Thai warms up a 'chili' night!

A couple Saturdays ago, a friend and I waited in line at Chabaa Thai for 30 minutes! I know- crazy! However, by the time we got to the resto we were so cold that venturing back out, unfed, was not an option. The other reason, was the fact that a jam-packed resto is normally a sign of good things!

We took advantage of our time in line and decided on our order. We shared Deep Fried Spring Rolls as an appy and moved on to an order of both Green and Masaman Curries.

And as the saying goes... "when in Thailand..." so we played the part and ordered two Singhas, a Thai beer that paired nicely with the spicy cuisine. How can you go wrong with Thai Spring Rolls? They were crispy and light and the sauce had a touch of spice.

Spring Rolls

Glass noodles, shredded cabbage, carrots and mushrooms, wrapped in a spring roll skin,

deep fried and served w/ sweet n' sour sauce.

We made some good choices with the curries too. The Masaman was rich and earthy; the mild red curry sauce was slightly sweet from the addition of sweet potato and peanuts. The green curry on the other hand, was spiiiicy! I went with the vegetarian option, adding tofu for a little more body along with the crunchy bamboo and tender eggplant. Fresh basil leaves added a vibrant lemony flavour. I make an effort to try the green curry in every Thai resto that I go to in order to find my fave. This one was certainly worth the wait!

Masaman Curry

Red curry paste in coconut milk w/

sweet potatoes, onions, peanut sauce, chicken and tofu.

Green Curry

Green curry paste in coconut milk w/

mini eggplant, basil, bamboo shoots, red chilies & tofu

Decadent bites at Doraku

Last Friday night, a friend of mine and I made plans to meet at Doraku on Dresden row for a feed of sushi. Now, I've tried a couple of sushi spots in the city, but I was happy to discover that none could compare to Doraku's fresh fare. I love sushi any time of day, but it's always my go-to food when I'm going out to eat late-night. I guess it's because I know that there's nothing but goodness going into my body that I'll eat until the platter is clean. Or in this case, until I out-eat my date!

We ordered a bunch of stuff. He had the Chicken Udon soup and cleared the bowl, and we shared an order of edamame and various rolls.

Although I was more than satisfied with my choices, I went a little on the safe side, and ordered rolls that I recognized. Had the item's ingredients been listed on the menu, I might have been a little more adventurous. However, we ordered some staples; Shrimp Tempura rolls, Spicy Tuna rolls with a delicious drizzle of spicy mayo, Alaskan roll with super-fresh, meaty salmon and the Philadelphia roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber. The Philadelphia rolls were a nice addition to my sushi repertoire- I'll order these puppies in the future for sure!

You can't really mess up edamame, and so these were great as well, little salty bites of goodness that went nicely with our cold pints of Sapporo. a Japanese Beer.

I'm so happy to have strayed from my usual sushi spot, which, I have to admit that I frequent mostly because of it's proximity to my apt However, after having sushi as good as this stuff, it's as though my taste buds came alive again, tasting the sweet fish, the vibrant sauces and fresh vegetables for the first time. If your usual sushi place is getting a bit dull, I'd suggest heading to Doraku to give your mouth a little wake-up call!

Hamachi Kita delivers..literally!

One of my very close gal pals and favorite partner in crime recently made the ridiculous decision to further her education, move to Australia and abandon me. Hmph. Kidding...I'm so proud of her moving across the globe, and now get regular updates of the cuisine down unda'!

When I asked my pal what she wanted to do for the "last supper", she mentioned a local restaurant that we've both been dying to frequent due to their incredible menu of gourmet comfort food. Unfortunately, when the day arrived, accompanied, in true Nova Scotian fashion by torrents of rain, we were swayed to abandon our original plan and order in.

We tossed several ideas back and forth, and decided that sushi would be just the thing to drown our farewell sorrows...but what better to pair with sushi than curry! That's right, Hamachi Kita offers a menu of both of our favorite types of ethnic foods. The Asian fusion offered by this menu is downright dreamy- we proceeded to pour over their online menu and made our selections.

We ordered our favorite type of curry that never fails to sate our hunger for spicy-sweet fare; Thai Red curry with duck is, in my opinion, a staple for any Thai restaurant visit. With the spicy broth, rich meat and sweet red peppers and snow peas, the flavors touch all of your taste buds.

Thai Red Curry

We then moved on to the sushi component of the meal; lots and lots of rolls! We compromised on this issue, getting Maria's Fire Kamakachi, a mix of rich smoked salmon with creamy avocado; my deluxe lobster roll, no explanation is necessary here...mmmm... and a classic; the well-loved spicy tuna roll.

Maria & Krissy's Special Combo
Fire Kamakachi~Avocado, spicy mayo, tempura, topped with smoked salmon
Deluxe Lobster Roll~Avocado, green onion and spicy lobster
Spicy Tuna Maki

Lastly, Maria allowed me to indulge in a little deep fried goodness - sweet shrimp in crisp, salty won ton wrappers...I felt the need for something naughty, so deep-fried normally does the trick!

Shrimp Fire Crackers Jumbo shrimp seasoned in red curry,
wrapped in won ton wrappers and deep-fried

These delicious dishes paired with vodka martinis marinating a slice of pickled ginger made for an absolutely lovely meal- no restaurant setting required. I miss my gal pal, but I know that someday I'll be hanging out in Aussie land eating Kangaroo steak...and I can't hardly wait!