Stellarossa Edward Street Brisbane

I was searching for takeaway coffee and croissants.   We looked at the glass shelf display and could find more sweet stuff.

The young female staff offered to check with the kitchen if fresh croissants could be made.   I thought this was a nice gesture.  It reminded me of another person in Brisbane a few days earlier who thoughtfully suggested I could take the complimentary bus coach from the Domestic Terminal to the International one.  I had aimed to jump on to the Air train, but she said to me. "You would save five dollars."

And I did not have to wait for this bus coach either, it came in as if on cue, as I approached the related stop area.

The Stellarossa cafe here at Santos House has an open preparation counter, with a very focused guy concentrating on his stuff.   I collected my ham and cheese croissants fresh and direct from him, a refreshing encounter as opposed to other cafes where we do not know how our orders have been made.  

Coffee here utilises Arabica and its five and six star blends are popular.  We did not have time to savour the food, with an extensive menu.

That morning, there was a movie location shooting at the corner of Mary and Albert Streets, no that far away -  but we enjoyed walking along Edward Street this particular day....



The Stella Rossa cafe visited is located at 60 Edward Street, Brisbane, Queensland. 
It is run by Adriana and Daniel Jasiecki.

Stellarossa has franchising opportunities and has several outlets in the Brisbane area and other parts of Queensland.already 

Opening hours are from 6am to 4pm every week day - this cafe is closed on weekends.
Contact +61 7 3211 2250 or +61418 763 389 or +61439 215 541

 

Doppio's Espresso Sydney NSW

I have often walked past the Doppio cafe, always bustling in the rush hours, but never stepped in.   I had taken note its catch cry - "the local taste of Europe".    Doppio has been around sixteen years in Sydney CBD.

So on a nippy winter's late morning, after having completed my business applying for a travel visa,  I did need a pick me up and so did not hesitate to try the coffee blend.   There are teas available as well.

The female wait staff was helpful and smiling on approach.   Several people were patiently waiting for their orders, which were being made by the barista carefully even with all this potential pressure. 

There is something of a continental after taste in my coffee, different from the Aussie blends.  I still find this wholesome, flavourful and comfortable.  The cold weather outside does help to make me appreciate my cuppa more.  I have to remind myself that the Doppio coffee is locally roasted. 

I did not have time for food on this occasion.  


Doppio's Espresso visited is located at 284 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW.

Opening hours are from 530am to 5pm every week day and from 7am to noon on Saturdays. 
Contact +61 2 9286 3367


My impressions of Doppio's Espresso, Sydney NSW:

Good coffee, a buzz about the place.  Seems to draw in regulars, office workers and visitors to the Big Smoke.   You can order online.   Located at not exactly the business heart of town.  

Internet - Convenient for You or the Provider of Your Services?

Feeling the creeps from being snooped upon.

Facing the consequences of being a victim of intentional stealing of our data.

Realising that we can have disadvantages suffering a personal invasion of our privacy.

Knowing that hacking has occurred of our financial and health records.

Being tracked of our private movements, and then being taken advantage of with such unauthorised tracking.

Having our unique human identity stolen and then misused by fraudulent behaving people.

These are just some of the rising nature of ways in which we can be potentially robbed, invaded and have our inner selves gutted.

WE are now advised to:

Clear the cookies we incur when ever we use any electronic equipment that has been connected to the cyberspace.   If you do this regularly, it is like regularly changing the locks to your physical property  - it takes patience and determination, but cna be ingrained as part of the routine of life.

Purchase and download authentication apps  - these are available or utilised from software developed by Google and Duo Security.  To me, that sounds like further depending on software companies....

Place a security code on our mobile phones. 

Physically tape off our webcam hole in our desktops and other related equipment.   This old fashioned measure perhaps is the cheapest move an individual can make to fight back.

Avoid publicly accessible Wi-Fi, like in hotels, shopping centres and institutions.  This means you only connect to the Big Universe of Cyberspace through your own known and hopefully secure arrangements.

Be disciplined to use health, financial and property related transactions through only one specified piece of equipment that you have secured well in this big and bad world.

Give up the convenience of connecting your household equipment to the internet - like home security, refrigerators, audio and visual entertainment pieces, solar panel operations and vehicle enablers.

Go shopping and invest in a bug scanner - another gadget to buy!!!   Fun, exciting and mysterious to use, especially in a hotel room, or whenever you have this irritating intuitive feel that you are being monitored, measured and watched.

Never reveal our eyes in digital transmission or social media - always wear shades in photographs, you never know how your eye retinas are going to be digitally measured and stolen.

Always use cash and never a digital means of payment - that means no pay wave on your mob phone or credit card, spend what you already have and have a coin pocket....until the day governments ban the use of currency and cash.

It is now easier for others to rob us behind the scenes in the digital world than for them to confront us face to face or in the physical perspective.

It used to be that fraudsters had to interact with their intended victims face to face, utilising all the tricks of a snake oil salesperson.  These days, in line with the rising impersonal nature of commercial transactions, delivery of services and mindset of human interaction, frauds, corruption and misdemeanours occur through the click of a button, a touch of an LED screen and an electronic exchange across the world.

The experience of being taken advantage of can be a remote and soul destroying experience.

And yet with every month passing into the 21st century, millions of individuals are willingly or forcibly made to adapt to faceless transactions, heartless exchanges and robotic encounters.   It may start as simply innocent as having your utility company make you get only on-line bills.  It can be as big as having the necessary information in life only made accessible through a screen.

Do look around your abode.  How many things do you observe that enable this digital, faceless and cyberspace intruder have access to your privacy?  Do you reflect how much you had to dish up of your hard earned post tax money to get them?   Do you have a terrifying smile then, when you realise that you and your family members are pressured often on an average of every two years to change to a better model of such equipment?  

Providers of services and goods inevitably move us to be more vulnerable to these heightened risks, for various reasons.  One big reason is their containment of costs for the business and the corresponding increase in profitability for their owners, shareholders or management rewards.   for users and consumers, it may be increased convenience....but at what cost?

Adithya Kerala Restaurant Wollongong

Goat curry ala Kerala.

What is Uttapam, I asked the friendly guy attending to us at Adithya, a rather unique restaurant in Wollongong serving traditional food from Kerala.   I see onion, cheese and mixed fillings for the Uttapam here.   He smilingly tells me that Uttapams are pancakes which are thicker than the rather thin batter of Dosas (which I am more familiar with).   The fillings are also mixed into the batter before being cooked, in contrast to Dosas, which have fillings separately placed inside the thinner pancakes.   Initially I get the impression that Uttapams look like an Indian version of pizzas.

What are Vadas?   They look to me like doughnuts, but dunked in coconut chutney or hot Sambar!

The Dosas, Uttapam and Vadas are available as sides at the Adithya.

Kerala is well known for its cuisine, especially with its rather special culinary ways with seafood.  Here at Adithya, there are not only fish cutlets, curry fish and fish fry, but also prawn and fish delights from the adjoining Malabar coast.   In addition, Adithya also makes available the Keralan twists on beef and chicken curries.

The Kerala coast lies in a strategic corner of south-west India, not far from Sri Lanka, with a historical experience of interacting with the Middle East and European powers, harnessing both the benefits and challenges of the monsoon winds, seafaring traders, colonisers and adventurers.   It has been a multi-cultural place even before the term was coined.   Culinary traditions have branched off for Christian converts, especially up further north in Goa, colonised by the Portuguese a few centuries ago and now a  significant holiday destination.

Lamb Korma with a touch of yoghurt.

Perhaps the coconut, poultry, curry leaves, mustard seeds,  fish, tamarind and banana leaves  have defined the underlying base for Keralan cuisine, which can be noticeably different from other  parts of sub-continental India.   The rustic countryside with canals and serendipity also factor in with religion and culture to produce the primary Sadhya vegetarian tradition.

The authentic and traditional banquet of Sadhya mainly is made up of rice served on banana leaves with a seelction of sdie dishes, each gauranteed to be appetising and yummy  - for example like Sambar, Rasam and buttermilk.   No meats. 

Sambar can be made with a combination of vegetables - Daikon, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, shallots, carrots, tomatoes, tamarind and Brinjal or eggplants - or just with one of them.  Its taste is uplifted by a powder made from coriander seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, Fenugreek seeds, cumin, mustard seeds, black pepper, cinnamon, grated coconut, Asafoetida and other spices.   Asafoetida is a spice from the giant Fennel family of plants.

Rasam is a soup, usually served with cooked rice,  that has a primary tamarind juice flavour but have seasonings of cumin, pepper, tomato and chillies.

In my childhood, I was fortunate to get to enjoy snacks like Appam, Puttu and Dosa.   I had neighbours and family friends who hailed from southern India in heritage and there were also street vendors those days in George Town, Penang, making such delicacies.

Appam is made with coconut milk and back then , with a kind of moon shine called Toddy (or Tadi in Hindi), to help as a substitute for fermented yeast.   It is usually served as a popular breakfast favourite with vegetable Korma, chickpea curry or coconut chutney.

Puttu is a ground rice plus grated coconut steamed cake, also taken at breakfast time, and is served with black chickpea curry - the Kadala.

Dosas at the Adithya come in various fillings -  ghee, masala, egg, onions, plain, cheese and Nadan (with Urad Dhal, cooked rice and Fenugreek).

Interesting enough, you can also try fried rice Kerala style but I am happy they also have Briyani. 

Prawn curry Malabar style.

Alas, there was no serving of the Thali on banana leaf the evening the three of us dined.   I reckon I do miss using banana leaves as a natural and organic plate - and then to practice using my hands to eat, instead of forks and knives!     The Thali echoes the importance food offerings play in religious customs, festivals and ceremony.

The menu at Adithya does cater for mainstream Australian tastes.   There is the whole host of curries, breads, vegetables, desserts and snacks.   I spot a duck curry but it is so different from the Thai version.   Kerala cuisine back home does place importance on vegetarian cuisine but here in the Adithya we get a wider spectrum in the menu.

The restaurant is not big, in just one shop front, so dining tables are packed rather tightly to each other.   We saw many take aways whilst we were eating there.   I waved to the young guy working in the kitchen, he seemed to be in a good mood but I reckon quintessentially he retained the engaging spirit like back in the Motherland.

Dosa -  light and easy with a potato filling and four choices of condiments.   Dosa comes with several options - Ghee, plain, Masala, onions, egg, cheese and Nadan.   

Adithya Kerala  Restaurant visited is located at  Shop 4, 166 Keira Street, Wollongong NSW, beside another Indian restaurant near the corner with Market Street. 

Opening hours are from 5pm to 10pm on Mondays and from 12 noon to 10pm every other day.

Contact +61 2 4244 1537


$7 lunch specials are available on inquiry.


My impressions of the Adithya Kerala Restaurant in Wollongong NSW:
Ambiance:  3 out of 5

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

T's Kopitiam Wollongong NSW

Pork mince stir noodles accompanied by prawns and Char Siew.  I rather found this enjoyable, good fro kids and yummy.

Roti with an egg based filling and dipping sauce.   This is not what I remember form my back packer days.

T's Kopitiam's rendition of Mee Goreng - I preferred it to be more spicy with a more tomato based gravy.

Highly recommended by me - I just love it!   It is the gravy, full of luscious tasting peanut crush, but more than that, it is the marinade of the chunky chicken skewers - with hints of lemon grass flavours over a charcoal grill.

The Nasi Lemak, but without curry, served with deep fried chicken, cucumber slices, sprinkling of peanuts and anchovies, hard boiled eggs and the Sambal condiment.    I must say the Sambal at this restaurant is worth going for  - it has  flavour, a kick on the palate and a smooth texture.

To me, this is the crowing glory of the menu - Sarawak version of the Laksa, here laden with prawns, bean sprouts, egg omelette and the all important gravy.   The gravy here is so different from the Curry Laksa you find in peninsular Malaysia   - there is more spice and less chilli.   This dish is tops in the realm of street food heaven as decided by New York food celebrity Anthony Bourdain.

T's Kopitiam visited is located at  Shop 2, 166 Keira Street, Wollongong NSW, near the corner with Market Street and on the way for vehicles to enter for parking inside the GPT Shopping Centre.

Opening hours for lunch are from 1130am to 230pm every day except Mondays.
Opening hours for dinner are from 530pm every day except Mondays.

Contact +61 2 4226 6663


My impressions of T's Kopi Tiam in Wollongong NSW:
Ambiance:  3 out of 5

Customer Engagement:  3.5 out of 5
Culinary Delight: 3.5 out of 5
X Factor:   2.5  out of 5
Overall:     12.5 / 4  out of 5