Flaky Tart Bakery Kirribilli NSW

From Rose Bay to another lovely corner of Sydney,  the Flaky Tart Bakery in Kirribilli does look, on first impressions, a village store from the good old days, inviting passers-by to sample its aromatic and pretty looking fares.   The glass corner does hold some award winning achievement stickers in baking.   The bakery is sited in a busy junction - Ennis Road and Broughton Streets -  in the village hub, one cannot possibly miss it  - walk away from the Milson's Point Station towards the cafes and restaurants and away from Alfred Street.

Visiting a bakery is always a winner on a coolish winter's morning.  The Flaky tart encourages us further - there is a board that says "Take a bite out of life with an appetite for fun....tickle its fancy, tweek its cheek and give it a sassy grin."     Biting into its pastries, pies and doughnuts makes me want to follow their advice.

The friendly staff member handling my choices over the display took initiative to recommend  selections - and looking at her sincere expressions, I knew she was in line with the stars with what she believes in the bakery.  Interesting enough, she had been with friends down Wollongong way - and had dined at the Mochi along Keira Street.

It was a busy morning for the Flaky Tart - people came in, a lot knew what they wanted.   It could have been standing room only at times.  There are only a few tables but this is the sort of place you say hello like to a neighbour and enjoy the best of your day.    You are greeted in a good nice way, you are allowed to ponder if you are not sure but your orders will be taken once you have decided.   The staff can be busy but still have time to give a nod and make you feel at home.







The Flaky Tart Bakery visited is located at 4 Ennis Road, Kirribilli NSW, near a slopy junction of set of traffic lights, away from the Alfred Street side of Milson's Point rail station.

Opening hours are from 530am to 5pm  every week day;  from 7am to 3pm on Saturdays; and from 8am to 2pm on Sundays.
Contact + 61 2 9955 3958




My impressions of the Flaky Tart Bakery at Kirribilli NSW:
Ambiance:  3.5 out of 5

Customer Engagement:  4 out of 5
Culinary Delight: 3.5 out of 5
X Factor:   3 out out of 5
Overall:     14 / 4  out of 5

Vanilla slices.   Doughnuts.  Pies.   Maybe not the sausage rolls.  Explore with your eyes and palate.  Enjoy visiting, have a coffee and pastry.   Take away some delights home.

 

Moorish Blue MacMahon's Point NSW

My group of six were made welcome to more than a restaurant - it was more like a home, a two level abode with different internal aspects, fascinating corners, several appointed segmented spaces and a spacious main dining area downstairs.   There were tables with bay windows with views of Sydney Harbour,  the Bridge tantalisingly visible behind some foliage.   There were other tables beside street level windows.   This is where the Moorish Blue has anchored itself, in a heritage building now decorated with Tunisian, Moroccan and North African designs and feel.    I was anticipating palm trees outside as well......


And all this within a village atmosphere leading down to MacMahon's Point.   Think of weddings, anniversaries, catering and the Harbour fireworks on New Year's Eve.


The colour blue has hues and delightful shades across the place - in the plates, on the tables, on rattan chairs and with variations on the walls.    Comfort cushions are provided on canteen like benches.   The ceilings are high.  There are nooks and corners to explore.  You can choose to sit outside with a lovable puppy watching guard with you.


Moorish Blue categorises its meal choices according to brunch, lunch, dinner, sets and catering arrangements.  

The main entrance from Blues Point Road.

It is always a good idea to relax with cocktails  - and the Moorish Blue has one named after itself, with the Curacao continuing its iconic colour theme, mixed with coconut rum and lemonade.   What about a Belly Dancer, which has Gin and Cointreau tempered with a  dash of fresh lemon juice?   It is not New York, but you can sample the Tunisian Long Iced Tea -    which has Tequila, Vodka, Rum, Gin and Triple Sec moderated with mint, home made lemonade and of course, a Tunisian brewed tea.    

For lighter stuff, try the Honey Apple Sangria, which includes peach Schnapps and has a dash of white wine and cinnamon.   The Medina has vodka tempered with vanilla, pear and cinnamon flavours, whilst you can go native with the Fig Calpirinha -  white rum shaken with lots of ice and freshened up further with lime and fresh figs.

To fire the imagination, Moorish Blue also offers Persian fairy floss in a Martini, with Vodka, Frangelico and ruby red grape fruit juice.   When it gets too hard to pick a cocktail from an extensive selection, just go for a familiar and popular one - the Paloma, with soda and fresh grapefruit juice tempering the Tequila.

Looking down from an upstairs window.

The main man at the bar was so engaging and friendly when we were there.  He did not make a fuss of us changing tables,  he made sure how we all felt about our experience in the restaurant and he let us enjoy his pet.    

The place filled up as we progressed through to dessert.  Infant Mica with us relaxed during the course of the meal, most probably not just looking at each of us but also soaking in the ambient atmosphere.    Dining tables were spaced sufficiently for each group to have their own world of conversation.   The wait staff were quick to their feet and cleared tables on a timely basis with a smile.

I recognised the Shakshouka egg dish from Shenkin's but was curious with the Cous Cous lamb salad, dressed in spicy Caraway or Persian cumin flavours and served with preserved turnips.   For brunch, there are two types of the Big Breakfast - one with cured beef or the Basturma, and another with vegetarian ingredients and saffron flavoured onions.

I was truly happy with my Cous Cous lamb salad.   The texture of this particular dishwas delightful, especially the Cous Cous blending in with the other ingredients -  and the resulting harmonious lull was only broken by small bite sized slices of lamb.

Shaushoka from the Moorish Blue.

Arabian eggs  -  fried eggs, cumin, lemon mint and chargrilled flat bread.

My Cous Cous lamb salad.

                                     Eggs Benedict with saffron Hollandaise and salmon.

Deep fried chicken wings - yummy and uplifting!

Carrot cake.

Tiramisu serve.

Hot choc with Persian fairy floss.

For lunch, I have eyed a course that consists of :

Entree -  A Baguette filled with capers, hard boiled eggs and tuna; or a salad of walnuts, rocket, crispy pear beetroot and goats curd.
Mains -  A grilled Barramundi graced by a salad of smoked veg; or a Moorish beef burger, that comes served with sweet potato chips, Harissa and smoked veg salad;
and
Dessert -  Pistachio Baklava or a Rosewater Pannacotta.

Highlights from dinner time are the Royal braised lamb, in a rather meaty platter that also serves a spicy lamb sausage (the Merguez) and chicken;  Tunisian Cous Cous accompanying Atlantic salmon, garnished by Harissa and preserved lemon; and best of all to me, a Mutton Backstrap, dressed by a spiced yoghurt and fried Okra and enhanced by an Aubergine stew (the Caponata).

The Harissa is a pounded paste that combines the spices of cumin with garlic cloves, ground coriander, fresh red chillies - and all seasoned with olive oil and salt. 

The Caponata is not just popular in Tunisia as a side dish and appetiser, but also in Sicily and Napoli.   It usually has chopped fried eggplants mixed with celery seasoned with vinegar and has capers added to enhance its overall taste.   Italian versions even add seafood like octopus, asparagus, grated dried tuna roe and shrimp - whilst vegetarian recipes may also add carrots, bell peppers, pine nuts, potatoes, raisins and olives.

The MB caters for functions like weddings, especially with pretty panoromic views from its two storey venue from a selection of different function rooms.

The Moorish Blue visited is located at 139 Blues Point Road, MacMahon's Point NSW, on the lower North Shore of Sydney beside Sydney Harbour.

Opening hours are from 12 noon to 10pm every day except Tuesdays and weekends; from 6pm to 10pm every Tuesday; and from 9am to 10pm on weekends.
Contact + 61 2 9929 8252




My impressions of the Moorish Blue at MacMahon's Point NSW:
Ambiance:  3.5 out of 5

Customer Engagement: 4 out of 5
Culinary Delight: 3.5 out of 5
X Factor:   3.5  out out of 5
Overall:     14.5 / 4  out of 5

My other recommended dishes from the menu are:

Salt cod Croquettes with a green chilli sauce called the Zhoug.

Moorish beef Burger.

Tunisian Brica - a runny egg turnover with salty flake tuna and potato.

Salt baked pumpkin with chives and Tahini yoghurt.

Persian Orange Syrup cake with blood orange fool and almonds.

Rosewater Pannacotta with chocolate fairy floss and strawberries.

Pistachio Baklava

 

Hong Kong Delight Barbecued Meats Hurstville NSW

Haha, I do not mean to frighten any one at all with a close up shot of well marinated chicken feet, prepared ala Cantonese style.   Most of the Australian population would associate this with a yumcha offering on a trolley at lunch time, although they are often now covered up under bamboo basket covers.  

Well I did get my bright looking and savoury cooked chicken feet as in a snack box for take away.    Ah, the delights of the food court after you get out of your railway platforms from the train.  The place is often lively, even after working hours and on weekends, as a kind of Asian diaspora gather for no cooking time and so much choice in East Asian culinary - often with their Aussie mates and partners.   Hurstville, I am told,  has the highest concentration of people with a China background for suburbs in Australia.   

Back to my chicken feet - it lived up to my expectations.   Preparation is a three step journey, first they are marinated after clipping the claws. (ahem....)  The second stage is to deep fry the feet, plain.  If one likes a puffed up look of the feet when served, after deep frying, immediately place them in a bowl of ice cubes.

Shaoxing wine,  Char siew sauce and star anise are used to flavour, massage and marinade the feet, for at least over night.    The thus prepared feet are then stir fried with shallots, black bean sauce, abalone sauce, garlic cloves and chillies.  Season with pepper and sugar at your own discretion.

The chicken feet from Hong Kong Delight are not rubbery.  They exude yummy flavour, good texture and are not over powering.   If one cannot go for chicken feet, the same recipe can be used for chicken fillets or pork cubes.   It brought me back to what retro Hong Kong food tasted like.

With bad cholesterol fears thrown out the window by the medical community and the media, after decades of frightening us about its dangers to human health,  I reckon we are back in safe territory to hark back and consume some of the so called old fashioned comfort foods.  In southern Chinese culture and tradition, that means anything tasty to do with the pig.   Okay, at least do just eat in moderation and never in excess.


The range of barbecued meats hanging in front of the glass casing at the Hong Kong Delight caught my eye.    Their colours - Char siew, roast duck, soy sauced chicken, spare ribs and roast pork -  were not over the top.   The texture spoke of technique and skills.  There was no extra oiliness.   The meat under the crisp was juicy tender, just as in my Siew Yoke or roast pork serve in the photo above.   You can have a whole meal with steamed rice or noodles at communal seating around Hong Kong Delight.


My fraternity in Chatswood may want to faint at the amount of fat content in the photo.   This has always been an on gong debate.   The significant move to more lean meat and reduced fat share has resulted in a rather new cut of such Chinese barbecued meats for more than two decades now.   However it all shows in the taste.   I reckon the choice of more fat or less fat as you ask the Uncle to chop up your purchase depends on what you intend to use the meat for - eat them by themselves,  stir fry with noodles or braise them in stew or cook further. 


My serve of roast pork as shown above had this rewarding bite of crunchiness for its top, followed by a mellow agreeable swallow of yummy meat underneath.   It was perfect for a snack, freshly consumed or even with a salad.





Hong Kong Delight is located above the railway station at Hurstville NSW.

Opening hours are from 9am to 530pm from Mondays to Wednesdays; from 9am to 9pm on Thursdays; from 9am to 6pm on Fridays; and from 10am to 4pm on weekends.



My impressions of Hong Kong Delight at Hurstville NSW:
Ambiance:  2.5 out of 5

Customer Engagement:  3.5 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3.5 out of 5
X Factor:  3 out of 5
Overall:   12.5 / 4 out of 5

 

Lamb & Cumin Hurstville NSW

Ambient, aromatic and appetising?    Meat skewers over the charcoal grill.




It is fast food, it is grilled and it relies on turnover.    Its customers like it as snacks, they do  not really have a place to sit down to savour the skewered sticks but perhaps most of them are stopping by quickly in between going from and to somewhere else.


Lamb & Cumin's location can be ideal as such, and I appreciate the rather wide walking space in front of it.   It is under cover, so no problems with wet pavements and perhaps waiting in the rain.    It has a potential rival nearby - the Taiwanese inspired Star fried chicken with its blue facade around the corner, but this is different street food.


Shaanxi, Beijing and central Asia share the love for this street food.   It can be smokey and captivating to watch, even indoors in this stall sited  above a railway station.
It is not just chicken meat , you can have crocodile, Wagyu beef, Tofu, beef tendons or parts of chicken you may not normally eat.   Usually the marinade in the meat is sufficient - but we do not want over the top oily servings as well, so do watch the griller and his or her cooking style.  If you have been backpacking the streets of Asia, especially in northern China, Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand,  you may appreciate there is an unspoken art in such skewer grilling.


You know the person at the stall is experienced when they pack the meats alternatively between fat and lean.  Such an arrangement helps to infuse more flavour as the fatty neighbour can share its excess oils with the other, resulting in a more even spread.   I have seen baking soda used overseas to tenderise meats, especially the tendons and tougher cuts, but I am not sure what is used in Australian outlets these days.


In China, garlic chives is a popular ingredient used for such grilled meats but I did not see this at LAC at Hurstville.    The marinade utilised must have the compulsory cumin, pepper seasoning, garlic paste, chilli flakes and salt sprinkle.


Grilling over charcoal can have its challenges - one needs to balance between flavour, aroma and texture, without making an oily mess and over burning parts of what is being cooked over flame.   The meat cubes must be even bite-sized.   The marinade is to be applied evenly.   The cooking skewers must be watched and flipped over once in a while to ensure evenness in cooking.


As with my experienced working for fun and pro bono at satay stalls during charity food fairs in the past, waiting time can be a subjective factor for both customers and the business.   If not prepared properly , the mood and character of the charcoal grills can be odd and not reliable.   Like the performance of a well seasoned and utilised wok,n the charcoal grill can produce better and more reliable results within an expected time frame after it gets sufficiently heated up.

Lamb & Cumin is located at Shop 7C,  225H Forest Road, Hurstville NSW, above the rail station.

Opening hours are from 9am to 530pm from Mondays to Wednesdays; from 9am to 9pm on Thursdays; from 9am to 6pm on Fridays; and from 10am to 4pm on weekends.
Contact    + 61 2 9701 2374



My impressions of Lamb & Cumin at Hurstville NSW:
Ambiance: 2 out of 5

Customer Engagement: 3 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3 out of 5
X Factor: 3 out of 5
Overall:   11 /4  out of 5

 

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe Hurstville NSW

There are several outlets of this bakery cafe for several years now in Australia.  Did they coem from the USA?

Each franchised outlet is in a busy area, often in suburbs so-called by a diverse Asian demographic.   The one in Hurstville is rather roomy and lots of baked stuff on its shelves.   The base of Sydney operations is in Chester Hill, a suburb south-west of the Sydney city centre.


Some of the cake creations would be viewed as rather leaning on the East Asian dimension  - Strawberry Angel (with chocolate base and top) and Mango Cheese ( with yoghurt).   However, to counter this perspective, there are also Death by Chocolate, US Cheesecake, Coffee Brulee and Blueberry Marble options.    


The pastries are definitely filled with ingredients more suited to perhaps Anime loving fans and non-mainstream cultures - for example, garlic, pork, tuna, green tea, red bean, shallots, pork floss, coconut, Hokkaido butter cream and Boroh or pineapple buns.   Sung seems to be a variation emphasised by 85 Degrees -  you can have them in calamari and pork or or just in pork and refer to the original Rou Sung Bao or pork floss buns (with a milk bread base).


I am not a fan of milk based pastries but here we have the Milk Pudding, Creamy Bread, Cream Brulee, Japanese Cream Boroh, Snow Milky and Double Premium Milk pastries.   The coffee list is rather standard.   


Consistency in the outcomes of baked products can be so important and with a number of outlets, 85 Degrees also has a wide menu list.   Such a business thrives on turnover and I am sure they are keeping a constant eye on their output.




  

Toast		European		Japanese
Toast Von Red Bean		Baguette		Coconut Chicken Tail Bun
White Toast		Toast pizza		French Donut
Mini Butter		French Soft Garlic		Japanese Cream Boroh Bun
Chocolate Chips Bun		French Cheese Sticks		Red Bean Bread
Walnut Honey Rolls		French pizza		Snow milky
Rose Cheesy Bun		Linseed & Cranberry		Shredded Cheese
Green Tea & Red Bean Rolls		Swiss Chocolate		Coconut Twist
Milk Toast		Turandot Cranberry		Multi layer taro
Creamy Bread		Honey Citrus Walnut		Hokkaido Butter Cream
		Charlotte Green		OZ Sandwich
		Walnut Raisin Multigrain		Calamari pork sung
		Multigrain		Double Cheese Pizza
		Cream Brulee		Brioche
				Double Premium Milk
				Prime Cheddar Cheese

Taiwanese		Danish		Other
Mini Boroh Bun		Boroh Danish		Garlic Bread
Garlic Hot Dog		Boroh Cream Danish		Maple Brick Toast
Taiwanese Donut		Apple Danish		Brown Sugar Square
Butter boroh bun		Tuna Danish		Italian Spice Crunch
Milk Pudding		Danish Cream		Caesar the Great
85 Sandwich		Danish Ham
Shallots Bread		Danish Hot Dog
Neapolitan
Italian Pizza
3 Sisters
Pork Sung Bun
Bread Stick
BBQ Chicken
Shallot Pork Floss
Cheese Dog
Sultana Cookies
Sweet Toast
Gibralta

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe visited is located at 246 Forest Road, Hurstville NSW, not far walking from the rail station.

Opening hours are from 730am to 930pm every week day; from 8am to 930pm on Saturdays; and from 8am to 9pm on Sundays.
Contact    + 61 2 9580 8889



My impressions of  the 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe at Hurstville NSW:
Ambiance: 3 out of 5

Customer Engagement: 3 out of 5
Culinary Delight:  3 out of 5
X Factor: 2.5 out of 5
Overall:   11 /4  out of 5