Burnt Orange (Chatswood)

Burn My Mouth BlogJanuary 12, 2016January 12, 2016 Leave a comment

Building on their success in Mosman, Burnt Orange has recently opened its second cafe inside Chastwood Chase.

Even though the cafe is in the open area of the walkway, the use of vines and arches actually makes this cafe feel like an oasis within the business of the shopping centre. The inclusion of a dark wooden counter with a marble top in the middle of the cafe gives this cafe an atmosphere of gracefulness.

We arrived in the afternoon, and was only able to try the desserts.

Yuzu and Lemon Meringue Pie ($12)

This was an elegant dessert. Visually it looked amazing with a vast array of colours. Taste-wise, the citrus flavours from the yuzu and lemon penetrated through the sweetness of the meringue, which made this dessert not overly sweet, and it was perfect for our palates. The use of different meringues in this dish, including those that were more set than others, allowed for an interesting contrast of textures from crunchiness to soft. This is a must try dessert for anyone visiting this cafe.

Banoffee Pie with Maple-Roasted Pecans and Belgian Chocolate Ribbons ($12)

For those who are not familiar with what a banoffee pie is, it is a dessert pie that is made bananas, cream and toffee from boiled condensed milk. This was the first time we tasted a banoffee pie, and it did not disappoint. The odd combination of banana and toffee produced a surprising harmonious flavour. The sweet nutty flavour from the maple-roasted pecans, as well as the use of chocolate as the base for the pie, further enhanced the positive experience from this dish.

Pomegranate Cake with Mascarpone (Special of the Day, price unknown)

We would like to thank the staff of the cafe for giving us a complimentary piece of this cake after they saw us taking photos of the food with our cameras.

The cake itself was quite dense, but the softness and sweetness of the mascarpone provided the perfect compliment for the cake, making it feel less dense in our mouths. The use of pomegranate seeds and nuts provided an interesting texture to the dish.

This is a place that is suitable for everyone who may want a break from their shopping in Chatswood. The staff here is very friendly and helpful, and their desserts are great. We will definitely come back again and try the other items on their menu.

Burnt Orange (Chastwood)

Website: http://www.burntorange.com.au/

Address: Level 1, Chatswood Chase, 345 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood

Phone: (02) 9411 7200

Opening Hours: Mon to Sun 9:30am to 5:30pm

Accepts all major credit cards

Sydney, Sydney - CBD

Kansas City Shuffle

Burn My Mouth BlogNovember 29, 2015 Leave a comment

The phrase “Kansas City Shuffle”, made popular by the movie “Lucky Number Slevin”, is used to describe a deception move characterised by causing the victim to look one way as you attack the other way. What kind of deception should we expect in a cafe that takes on this phrase as its name?

The cafe is located near The Rocks area. You may expect the area to be full of tourists or workers, but if you think this is the case, you have been deceived. The cafe is actually located in a quiet street, with the closest office buildings being a block or two away. It is housed in the former Cadbury Chocolate factory, where the space is divided into two, with the cafe and an open kitchen to the left, and a function area to the right (which is close to completion). There are also two open windows in the front to allow people to order take away food or coffee.

The interior incorporates some of the old items from the factory, including the door from the factory. This pairs well with the simple furnishing in the cafe. However, the interior is actually quite stuffy as there seems to be a lack of air flow inside. It was more comfortable for us to sit on the smaller tables outside on the street.

The menu is also deceptive at first. We came to the cafe for breakfast, and was presented with a menu that included items such as Fried Chicken Sandwich and KCS Cuban Sandwich, items which we would expect to see in a lunch menu. It turns out that the menu is correct, and that they offer their full range of item menus for breakfast and lunch. This is a great initiative, as on some mornings, especially after a big night out, people would actually want a heavier breakfast than most cafes would offer.

Cold Drip ($5)

The cold drip came in a small bottle, and we expected it to be subtle in flavour. However, this was again a deception, as the sweetness of the coffee was quite pronounced, and not as subtle or clean as we would expect.

Pancake, Lemon Curd, Blueberries, Cream Cheese Parfait & Smoked Almonds ($17.50)

The use of the word “Pancake” for this dish in the menu is a deception. To us, pancake is either a English style pancake, which resembles more like a “crepe”, or an American style pancake, which resembles more like a “hot cake”. However the pancake in this dish is very dense and thick, and resembles more like a large donut without the hole in the middle.

We did not enjoy the pancake. Although it was crispy on the outside, the inside was dry and crumbly. There was too much lemon curd on the pancake, and the flavour from the lemon curd overpowered the other more delicate elements of the dish, and we were not able to taste the freshness of the berries. The addition of the cheese parfait (which deceptively looked like ice-cream) and the smoked almonds was thoughtful though, and they gave a level of depth and complexity to the dish.

Toasted Pumpkin Bread, Avo, Whipped Feta, Heirloom Tomato and Toasted Seeds ($18.50)

This dish screamed “freshness”. The flavours of this dish were well integrated and each element was complimentary to each other. The sweetness of the bread contrasted well with the sourness from the tomato and the saltiness from the feta, while the addition of the avocado and the seeds provided some contrast in texture. However, the big drawback of this dish was the pumpkin bread – it was way too dry for our liking.

The dishes were all presented very beautifully, and looked very delicious and mouth-watering. However, the presentation may be the ultimate deception of this cafe as the dishes still needed more improvement. Overall, this place has potential, and if minor tweaks are made to the dishes, our experience here would have been vastly different.

Kansas City Shuffle

Website: https://www.facebook.com/kansascityshufflesyd/

Address: 195 Gloucester Street, Sydney

Phone: 0415 362 038

Opening hours: Mon to Sat 7am to 4pm

Accepts all major credit cards

Sydney, Sydney - Inner City, Sydney - Inner West

Jack’s Newtown

Burn My Mouth BlogNovember 19, 2015 1 Comment

This new burger joint has just been opened in Newtown, and each day, a long line of people awaits to try one of their infamous burgers. Social media has hyped up this place, with a recent article in Good Food suggesting that this may be the best burger place in Sydney, comparing it with the legendary American fast-food chain, Shake Shack. However, reviews have since been mixed about this place, so we decided to brave the queues and try it out for ourselves.

Walking into the store at 5.15pm on a rainy Saturday night, there was already a long queue inside the store. The store is very small, and can accommodate around 25 people. It has a simple layout, with lots of small tables, and an open kitchen where you can see the workers at work. The first impression we have of this place was the aroma coming from the open kitchen, with the smell of beef cooking on the open grill making us hungry as we waited in anticipation for our food.

The menu here is very simple, with a choice of Cheeseburger ($10), Bacon Cheeseburger ($12), Double Cheeseburger ($15) and a Vege Burger ($11). Fries were also available for $5. Unlike some other reviews we have read, there was no choice for us to add onions, so we presume their menu has changed.

Drinks offered at this place were termed “Sodas” and is $3 for a small cup and $4 for a large cup. When asked further what sodas were available, we were told that the sodas were basically standard soft drinks, so we did not order any. This was different to what we have read in other reviews, which suggested that they were offering their own sodas with 30% to 50% less sugar than standard soft drinks. We also could not see any shakes on the menu, which we understood was offered on the menu previously.

We ordered a Double Cheeseburger, Bacon CheeseBurger and a serving of Fries. They were ready for collection, in a small metal tray, after around 15 minutes wait.

The Fries were crinkle cut, which gave them some nice texture. They were well seasoned, and were crispy and crunchy.

The appearance of the burgers was quite rustic, and no attempt has been made to make them look more glamourous. The size of the burgers were quite small. The buns of the burgers were soft, yet firm enough to absorb all the sauces and juices from the filling. This may be due to the addition of a special ingredient in creating buns, which we understood to be mashed potatoes.

The patties were made with beef mince from Vic’s Meat, with a meat to fat ratio of about 80:20. The result was a very flavoursome beef patty, with the beef being cooked to perfection. The cheese just melted in our mouths, and the special sauce that was used in the burger had a tangy savoury flavour which lifted the burgers to another level.

The soft buns, combined with the rich beef patties and gooey cheese, literally melted in our mouths. The burgers were really well made.

The Double Cheeseburger, with its double beef patties, had a much more richer beef flavour, compared to the other burger we tried.

The Bacon Cheeseburger included an additional piece of bacon, and the smokey flavour of the bacon complimented well with the flavours of the beef patty.

Overall, as a fast food burger joint, Jack’s Newtown really satisfies. The burgers, although a bit small, are rich in flavour, and is a place to be if you are in the area and want a quick no-fuss burger fix.

Jack’s Newtown

Website: https://instagram.com/jacksnewtown/

Address: 170 Missenden Road, Newtown

Phone Number: Not available

Opening hours: Tues to Fri: 5pm until sold out, Sat and Sun: 12pm until sold out

Accepts all major credit cards

Australia, Sydney, Sydney - CBD, Sydney - Inner City

Pork’d

Burn My Mouth BlogNovember 11, 2015 Leave a comment

Do you liked to get porked? Well, if you enjoy pork in all your dishes, then Pork’d is the place for you. Located on Crown Street in Surry Hills, in the same venue as where Red Lantern used to be, Pork’d is a casual dining restaurant, set up like a New York style cafeteria with small tables in narrow spaces, along with an open bar and an open kitchen. On the walls are pictures with pig related themes, and this theme is carried through in all the dishes on the menu.

Pork’d is run by Pauline Nguyen and Mark Jensen, who has been inspired by similar concepts in the US, where a restaurant may specialise in one ingredient or only a few dishes. Mark then transformed his love for pork into this restaurant.

Apart from the abundance of pork on the menu, the dishes also make use of special sauces from independent suppliers, which makes the flavours of the dishes more unique. There is also a wide selection of craft beers to choose from so customers can wash down their pork dishes with a pint or two.

We visited Pork’d as part of the Instafoodie gathering of around 40 people, and for a special price of $35, we were able to sample a number of dishes from Pork’d. We have included the normal price for each item in our description below.

We Rub You Burger ($12, or $15 with fries)

This burger consisted of pork pattie, roasted red pepper, jack cheese, McClure’s spicy relish, tomato, cos and We Rub You Korean hot sauce. We were given a slider version of this burger to try. Having pork pattie in the burger is quite rare, and immediately upon tasting this, we understood why this is not common, as the pork lacked the strong natural flavours of beef. Therefore, most the flavours in this dish were from the sauce and the accompaniments, with the final result being a spicy and sour flavour with a nice kick from the hot sauce. The addition of lemongrass to the buns provided an element of surprise to this dish, making this an Asian fusion American style burger.

Saucy Sugar and Spiced Belly Kebab ($12, or $15 with fries)

Char grilled cider belly, cabbage dressed in Lillie Q’s sauce, beer braised onions and sriracha mayo served in a charred pita, this was a lighter and more refreshing version of the kebab that we were familiar with. The sauce gave this kebab a depth of flavour, however, the pita wrap was too dry for our liking.

Pigsy Plate ($25), and Ribs served with Sauce and Salad ($27.50)

The Pigsy Plate usually contains a selection of pork cuts cooked low and slow, including Willie Smith Cider Belly, Smoked Porter Ham Hock, Hot Chilli Bacon, Cheese Stuffed Kransky, Pulled Pork Butt, Pickles, Beans and a Bread Roll. However, we were also given a small serving of the Hoisin Hog Baby Back Ribs with it.

The ribs were the highlight – the ribs just melted in our mouths and the hoisin sauce really brought them to life. The rest of the plate was also nice – the belly was soft and tender, the bacon was crunchy and cooked to perfection with a kick of chilli, the crackling was crispy but lacked salt, the other pork pieces were also tender and juicy, and the beans were tasty and well made (unlike the canned ones). The inclusion of a choice of apple sauce and smoked BBQ sauce was very thoughtful.

Maple Ice Cream with Bacon Jelly and Pandan Waffles (not on menu)

Who would ever imagine having dessert with bacon in it? The combination of flavours worked well surprisingly, with the sweetness of the maple ice cream balanced by the saltiness from the bacon jelly, while the pandan flavours in the waffles provided a refreshing backdrop to this dessert.

We really liked the innovative and unique concept from Pork’d. We especially like how they are supporting small independent suppliers, through use of their sauces. We are also encouraged by their attempt at promoting sustainable eating, by using most parts of a pig in all their dishes, so there is minimum wastage. This is the place to try out if you are interested in trying something different from your average burgers, kebabs and roasts.

Pork’d

Website: http://www.porkd.com.au

Address: 545 Crown Street, Surry Hills

Phone: (02) 9690 2298

Opening hours: Tues to Thurs 5pm til late, Fri and Sat 12pm til late

Accepts all major credit cards

Note: Special thanks to Pauline Nguyen for allowing us to take photos with you. Also a great shout-out for two new up-and-coming bloggers, who are in the above photos with us, Michiellaneous Foods and Delicious Sydney.

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