Food Frenzy Team ISYS 100 21 Macq Uni Sem 1, 2016

We’ve had a great time filming our food adventures! Make sure you tune in to the show every Thursday at 7.30pm on the new and inspiring FoodTV. 

Our sneak peak has now been released to show aspects of the 8 episode series as the Food Frenzy Team travel across Sydney and the world in the search for the best food, recipes and restaurants. In this extended sneak peak we give viewers a full understanding of what the show would comprise of; cooking demonstrations, restaurant visits, recipes and a lot of adventure!

The four team members split up to document and record their journey as they visited different restaurants and tried different cuisines. The group also attempted five star recipes and homemade recipes close to the heart adding their own twist. All members went out on adventures and attempting recipes at home, each contributing equally;

Jay Ahn	Videos at Restaurants and Home - focusing on Japanese and Asian Cuisines
Mariella Valle	Videos out at Vivid and Home - focusing on sweets and the night life that comes with the joy of eating out.
Navdeep Jaswal	Youtube Video as her demonstration recipe which she attempted and the introductory sneak peak to one of our episodes. - focusing on pancakes and future episodes and how YouTube is a great tool.
Simran Kaur	Videos at Papa Rich and Home - focusing on Malaysian cuisine, marination of meat and breakfast meals (also compiled and edited the video)

Credits: 

Videography - Jay Ahn, Mariella Valle, Navdeep Jaswal & Simran Kaur 

Background Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbA8me8Z3Qo

External Video - Pancakes 4 Way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbA8me8Z3Qo

Editing and Video - Simran Kaur

Restaurants:

PapaRich, Broadway

Umi, Sydney CBD

The team is very excited for the show to start and make sure you tune in on FoodTV!!

📍 A Kitchen on Gerrale Street

What a way to end the night! I know I’ve said that all the restaurants have amazing food but its true! Although the pizza wasn't as great as i had hoped it was still delicious and the company and atmosphere made up for what was lacked in the food. The restaurant is quite up market although it has that cafe feel, the owners have created a certain type of sophistication that makes the customers feel classy. It’s just got a different vibe I guess 😌

 

What we ate: 🍴

• Margharita Pizza

• Wood Roasted Pumpkin

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

The service was great aswell!

SNAG STAND | Hot dogs! Gluten free and vegan available

Now here's a place I've been frequenting both at Macquarie and the city.

Snag Stand is definitely a top pick for hot dog fans, with more variety than you would think. You have Australian, American, and German styles, and they even serve delicious brioche bun burgers.

What other reasons are there to eat at Snag Stand? Well to quote the organization itself:

"Small batch production, artisanal hand crafted sausages, lean low fat meats, all natural casings, gluten free, no artificial colours or flavours."

They even serve vegetarian sausages, so the place caters to pretty much any diet.

The interior has a very American vibe to it, perhaps Chicago being a underpinned inspiration, which wouldn't be a surprise, as the baseball fans there get the best hotdogs in the world (in my opinion anyway).

Having already tried the classic Chicago and Chili dogs, I decided to go for something more German. Above shows my order of the "Bratwurst" described to be "grilled German Bratwurst, sauteed onions, sauerkraut & mild German mustard on a toasted rustic roll". The dog itself comes at $8.90 but a small chips and drink combo will set you back an extra $5.50

I've never tried German mustard before, but it did have a unique spicy flavour. They were very generous with the onions, which are a dream match with the tender Bratwurst sausage. I did find the lack of ketchup quite disturbing, but there is always the option of grabbing the bottle by the counter and adding however much you desire. The chips were fried and salted perfectly, nothing to complain about.

Overall, these aren't exactly the cheapest hot dogs around, but you probably won't find another place that makes them to this quality and to these generous portions.

Level 4, Cnr of Waterloo and Herring Rds, North Ryde
http://snagstand.com.au/

The Vogue Cafe Mq

The atmosphere and the enjoyment of being in such a small cafe is delightful, exciting and momentous! The sophistication along with the casual feel is something only a few cafes have. Its amazing to be served with so much passion and a joy and the presentation is so unique. The cafe is particularly known for their unusual and innovative way of serving milkshakes and smoothies. Being the main attraction at the cafe, many individuals and bloggers visit just for Instagram worthy milkshakes. 

Image from Instagram: @thevoguecafemq

What we ate: 🍴

• Poule Pesto Pasta

• Avocado Open Grill

• Raspberry Quencher

• Nutella Milkshake 

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

The food was slightly bland and lacked some flavour but the presentation was on point!! The milkshakes as you can see are amazing and they are so filling 😋  😋  😋  This was perfect for my late lunch 🍔 🍼

Late Night Pizza Run

On the weekend, my brother and I had a pizza craving but not just for dominoes pizza, something a little better (still love you dominoes). So we decided to go to Crust pizza at Terrigal. Rushing there, hoping it wasn't closed, we drove past Crust pizza and saw it lit with lights and full of customers, my brother and I cheered that our pizza craving could be satisfied. With the variety of delicious choices of pizza and after a solid 5 minutes of tossing up between the options, I decided to get the Vietnamese Chilli Chicken because I'm a sucker for spicy foods. With their great customer service and efficiency, we only waited about 10 minutes for our delicious pizza. We set ourselves up by the ocean and dug into our pizza that we were craving. It lived up to its standards and was thoroughly enjoyed.

If you haven't already been to Crust, make sure you do because you will not regret it. 

Guzman vs Mad Mex

Today for lunch I was craving something easy, delicious and satisfying so I went to Guzman Y Gomez because I knew Mexican would never let me down. Although there's something about Guzman that is a little better than Mad Mex (sorry to those who love Mad Mex), I guess it comes down to the seasoning used. So I paid a visit to my local Guzman and got a burrito bowl with spicy chicken and spicy salsa and guac of course. The spiciness of the chicken and the generous serving of each component is what makes me like Guzman more than Mad Mex. The crunchy taco chips and the thick guac are more reasons why I won't be going back to Mad Mex despite my love for Mexican.

It did not disappoint and it really satisfied my craving. What do you order when you go to Guzman?

Masterchef

With the new season of Masterchef beginning, I've tuned into the series despite its ability to make me starving. The creativity the amateur chefs bring to the table continues to impress me dish by dish. Last nights episode the contestants had to get creative with popcorn to try and win the immunity pin and Nicolette managed to beat the professional chef with her salmon dish, gaining immunity. Check out the creativity she had with popcorn being the core to the dish.

The best part about watching Masterchef and seeing these delicious dishes is that you can hop onto http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/latest-recipes to easily get the recipes and try to recreate the dishes (try being a key word).

A feed to Remember 😋

What a nigh it was last night!! Had the best time out with the best company too. They say the unplanned times become he best of memories 😏 . It was a great way to end the hot day yesterday and the food was absolutely amazing.

What we ate: 🍴

Mains:
• Haloumi Tower
• Braxton's Grilled Chicken Mushroom
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chicken Pesto Pasta

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

Desserts:
• Chocloate Fondue with Banana, Vanilla Ice-cream and Strawberries
• Sir Braxton's Waffles

Right Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

Drinks:
• Salted Caramel Crunch
• Strawberry Sensation
• Hot Chocolate
• Mango Tango Smoothie

The service was amazing and so was he food! The servings were huge and definitely called for some take away. It was such a good environment and the staff were so friendly.

Overall: I'll rate this a 10/10 😎 😋

Pablo and Rusty's

Pablo & Rusty's is one of those cafes you'll see mentioned every year by Sydney Morning Herald's "Good Food" division.

They have expanded into five shops across Sydney, including one in Lane Cove, but I decided to visit the main Castlereagh St branch located in the heart of the city.

Pablo & Rusty's lies adjacent to the ANZ Tower as well as other office buildings, so no surprise, the place is packed at all times of the day. Fortunately, they have divided their dine-in and takeaway reception, so if you're just after a takeaway coffee, the wait shouldn't be long.

Pablo & Rusty's is not only known for their specialty coffee and teas, but their creative menus are hard to ignore, as they also pander to vegan and gluten free diets, and menu items change from time to time.

Upon my seating, a waitress immediately greeted me with a smile, and placed a bottle of water with an empty glass. Good service so far. Along with a Long Black coffee, I ordered the "grilled halloumi w/ black quinoa, kale & pistachio tabouli, artichoke hummus and preserved lemon chickpeas".

I didn't even know what the hell a tabouli was, but the grilled halloumi part caught my eye. I also suspect the staff have a much easier way of labeling these orders.

First off, the coffee was great. Fruity and floral, with no signs of bitterness. Second, the food was delicious, the freshness of ingredients was evident in the aroma, and the texture was very soft and unique for a salad. The halloumi was chewy and did not have an overwhelming saltiness.

The experience was pleasant. Coffee was top notch, and the food was clean and refined, providing a high level of satisfaction. Definitely would recommend!

161 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, pabloandrustys.com.au
 

Brunch Meeting!

It has been a great day so far! Had a few things to get done from my checklist; shopping, uni notes and a quick meeting 😎

Everyone has heard of Grill'd Burgers. The store originally from Hawthorn, Melbourne was founded by Simon Crowe in 2004. The store has grown significantly and shown great success with approximately 114 stores nation wide. 

What we ate: 🍴
• Sweet Chilli Chicken
• Sweet Potato Chips
• Grill'd Famous Chips
• Chicken Caesar Salad




Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

The food was great! The service was a bit poor and the potato chips were burnt and cold. Otherwise it was great 😋

Poached egg goodness

What do i love more than a day off? Some amazing breakfast to start off the day! This morning i woke up excited more than anything as I had been planning on making some poached eggs for breakfast (i mean who wouldn't excited at the thought of that?) As i made my way out of my warm bed, I headed straight for the kitchen. I knew I had a large stock of new fresh eggs, avocados and tomato's and had the perfect recipe in mind.

 I started by simmering my water, ready to drop in my eggs. While that was heating up, I toasted some rye bread. For my avocado spread, I mashed it up in a bowl, and added in some lemon juice, ready to spread away on my bread. I then popped 2 eggs into my simmering water for 3 minutes. For my tomato's, I lightly tossed them in a pan drizzling them with some olive oil and finishing off with some herbs such as garlic and thyme.

To assemble, I spread my avocado on my toasted bread, I then followed with my eggs, one of each piece. I placed my herbed tomato's on the side. Finished off with some cracked pepper and watercress and there you have it. An amazing poached egg and avocado breakfast!

I can assure you, my day was amazing after this start.

Breakfast With a View

Waking up realising it was Monday kind of killed my vibe knowing that the weekend is so far away so to lighten my mood I treated myself to an all you can eat buffet breakfast at Terrigal. Breakfast being the most important meal of the day, I put myself in a food coma with the endless choices at Seasalt in Terrigal. I started off with a fruit salad and a fresh juice then moving on to having the classic bacon and eggs and a few muffins. The sun was shining and the food was delicious. I managed to make my Monday morning bearable. Make sure to pay this place a visit if you find yourself on the Central Coast. With the endless amounts of choices of cafes on the coast, this one is one of my favourites due to its view. Now is the best time to go as well because they have a 2 for 1 deal.

Good food and a good view, what more could you want?

Breakfast Inspo!!

So I woke up this morning and had a bit of a social media search on the best go to breaky cafes. I couldn't help to notice a lot of my friends posted delicious photos from the Flower Child Cafe!



What would I eat: 🍴
• Flower Child Fruit Salad
• Acai Bowl
• Flower Child Tabbouleh
• Smoked Chicken Breast Salad

Image from Instagram: @flowerchildcafe

The amazing plating and presentation brings out the colours and textures of ingredients as well as the combination of understanding their customer base.

And they serve The Grounds of Alexandria Coffee!!!

Image from Instagram: @flowerchildcafe

This is definitely on my next got to go to list! Would you try something like this?

Chocolate by the Bald Man! – A late night craving

After a busy day finishing off house work and some Uni assessments.. Not to forget my feast out 😏  I thought we’d take a throwback! My latest trip to Melbourne was not only fun and exciting because of a family wedding but I had my fair share of food! Todays cold weather definitely called for some warm chocolaty deserts and beverages. Max Brenner Chocolate Bar- Maribyrnong!  😋

What we ate: 🍴 

•  Tutti-Frutti Waffle

•  Classic Chocolate Hug Mug

•  Chocolate Fondue for Two

•  CookieShake 

•  Chocolate Latte

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

🍫  🍫 Pretty Much Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate 🍫  🍫

The service was amazing! The food was quick, warm and delicious. Although there was three of us the two dishes were more than enough as the servings were quite generous. If only i could go back   💭

Atlantis on the Bay

Todays Mexican was amazing! But I think the Lebanese chefs at Atlantis on the Bay might just have taken it up a notch. The view and the ocean breeze makes me wish i came here on a summers night or even for lunch. 

What we ate: 🍴

Entrees

• Cheese Rakakat 

• Shanklish Salad

• Labneh

Mains

• Atlantis Mix Plate 

• Chicken Chilli Lemon Garlic

• Moujadara 

Dessert

• Golden Gaytime Cake with Strawberries and Vanilla Ice-cream

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

The service was amazing and surprisingly it wasn't very busy so we got a great seat where we could see the whole restaurant. The food was absolutely spot on and it was definitely something that went with my taste palette. The presentation was sophisticated and clean and brought out the professionalism of the restaurant. 

Lets rate it a 9.7/10 😻

Mejico Mexican

A great start to the evening with Mexican food! Our Food Frenzy Team are trying their best to be adventurous and try new dishes that they usually wouldn’t. Although I personally love Mexican nachos and the basic dishes so it was extremely difficult to try the complex dishes that had flavours that i hadn't seen on a menu before. 

What we ate: 🍴

Entrees

•  Guacamole; smashed table side with plantain chips (Banana Chips)

• Jalapeño Poppers

• Epazote Mushrooms

Mains

• Chicken Tacos

• Achiote Chicken

• Vegetable Paella

• Patatas Bravas

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

The food was amazing and had lots of flavour. The ambiance and overall feel of the restaurant was sophisticated and fun. The overall restaurant would be rated as a 9/10. 

Nandos Lunch

Our Food Frenzy Team members Nav and Simran went for a small feast at Nando's Macquarie Centre on Thursday (12/05)! The Food was absolutely amazing and definitely satisfied our cravings. 😋 Navdeep had heaps of difficulty choosing between a burger and tenderloins, so she headed to social media to get everyones view. 

What we ate: 🍴 🍔 🍟

• Chicken Burger & Peri Chips, with Mild dressing (Navdeep)

• Chicken Tenderloin Wrap & Chips, with Lemon and Herb Dressing (Simran) 

Image from Instagram: @simrankaurswan (Food Frenzy Team Member)

#MacquarieUniRepresent 

The service was average as they were very busy and seemed to be understaffed. It was difficult finding a seat and the tables that were available still had the dishes and left overs of previous customers on them. The atmosphere of the store was delightful and it was easy to enjoy the companies of others cause the music wasn't loud and the area was spread out. 

Macq Coffee

No better way to start the morning than with a freshly ground skim latte... I'm definitely awake now :)

Pablo & Rusty's use only the most organic coffee beans straight from Costa Rica. The service at the coffee stall was sweet and friendly although they were quite rushed and busy and the wait was a bit long!  Had to dash back to class to get there on time. 

But overall i’d rate the coffee and service 7.5/10. It not only wakes me up but makes me feel energised and calm too! 

I take my coffee without sugar, how do you take yours? 

The Greatest Cooking Show of all Time.

This week on Facebook I stumbled across a familiar face, Tyler, the Creator. Him and Bonnie put together an episode of making ordinary food for ordinary people. Him and his wry humour make it entertaining for viewers to watch him make a super basic dish, toaster waffles. But making it his way he used a pan instead of a toaster and despite it being a basic af dish, it was entertaining to watch.

Watch the video for yourself.

Who knew making waffles could be so stupidly funny. 

Making them myself, I can honestly say that if you're hungry for a snack, you should actually give this a go. The show gives you easy ways to snack and make food you actually have laying around the house.

Intro

Our group decision was to do our assignment on food because of the huge variety of food and plus its a good excuse to keep eating. The blog will contain all things food, reviews and videos. Group members Simran, Navdeep, Jay and Mariella are all contributing to this blog discussing news with food and new foods we try.

$6 Doughnuts

Upon my recent visits to the Sydney CBD, I noticed an influx of office workers and shoppers carrying around these mint coloured boxes.

Starting as a modest hole-in-a-wall shop in Brisbane, Doughnut Time received critical acclaim for its iconic doughnuts and milkshakes. It has expanded to numerous locations in the Gold Coast, Melbourne, and Sydney. They have just recently opened up their QVB store, and its reputation brings in all the enthusiasts and the curious.

Image from: http://www.doughnuttime.com.au/

So I decided to see what the big fuss was all about. Each doughnut is $6, not exactly the most economic snack for a student, but hell, I bought two. First was "The OG", a classic sugar glazed doughnut, and the Creme De La Creme, a plain doughnut striped with syrup and filled with a rich custard filling.

And the taste? Well it wasn't as GREAT as I expected, in fact I think Krispy Kreme's softer texture is more to my preference. However the doughnuts themselves are relatively large and rich, and they were generous with the custard filling in the second doughnut.

Doughnut Time has a large variety of crazy flavours that I didn't dare venture, but if you're visiting the Sydney CBD, give them a try at least.