Brewtown Newtown

Brewtown has been on my to visit list for a while, so with an afternoon to while away in Newtown, I made a beeline for their store. It occupies the former home of Berkelouw Books on O’Connell Street, and is well-known for their take on the cronut – the Brewnut. I was seated right away at a share table near the window, and ordered a soy hot chocolate and a fruit and nut Brewnut. While I waited, I admired the tasteful decor – from the white tiled tabletop, to the fresh flowers and old-fashioned Newtown fire department sign on the wall. My hot chocolate arrived first and was a real delight – Sydney’s inner suburbs really know how to steam soy. There was just the right amount of sweetness, given the sugar hit that was about to follow. The Brewnut was a towering cavalcade of fruit and nuts – pistachios, almonds, pecans, crystalised ginger, raisins and dried apricots all vyed for space on the layers of luscious, deep-fried pastry. Yes, it was sugar overload, but oh man, these guys know how to bring the flavour. Without a doubt it was the most creative, well-executed cronut interpretation I’ve tried to date. Yum.

Brewtown Newtown, 6-8 O’Connell Street, Newtown, NSW               http://www.brewtownnewtown.com/

Patissez

I was super excited to try Patissez’s raspberry and pomegranate galettes after drooling over them on their Instagram feed, but alas, they had sold out when I arrived. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and when I asked for another fruity cake to try, the pointed me at this one – a raspberry and lychee dacquois. As you can see, it’s pretty, and yep, it tastes amazing. Let me walk you through it. The garnish on top is a fresh raspberry and a cluster of caramel popcorn -the popcorn doesn’t relate to any other flavours in the cake, but it’s really tasty! The red outer layer is a raspberry gel of some kind, and it’s really thick and stretchy – quite an unusual texture. The raspberry flavour is excellent though, and it matches the lychee cream filling perfectly. The lychee cream is really authentic and I couldn’t believe how light and fluffy it was – but hidden inside is a layer of more raspberry and pistachio cake – as if it could get any better! The flavours and textures all worked together really well and the dacquois was just the right size for an afternoon treat.

Patissez, Shop 2/21 “The Lawns” Bougainville Street, Manuka ACT, no website

Kagetsudo

I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo for Sanja-matsuri, one of the city’s largest festivals, held in Asakusa. Unfortunately, this meant that many of the district’s traditional stores had queues out onto the street for blocks to pick up their specialties. Kagetsudo’s specialty is melon-pan (melon bread), which they make in jumbo-size, but as the queue was a bit silly, we decided just to try their soft serve icecream. There are about thirty odd flavours to choose from, including only-in-Japan flavours like matcha and red bean paste. I picked sakura, which also falls into that category, and was surprised at how large the portion was. It was piled up in a perfect soft serve spiral and we hung around near the store to enjoy it. The icecream was really creamy and, as expected, had a beautiful floral flavour. The sakura tasted so familiar, and we decided that it was a bit like rose, but not quite. There were also little crispy bits inside the serve, which we decided was crystalised petals, but we couldn’t be sure. I’d love to come back to try both the melon-pan and more of the soft serve flavours.

Kagetsudo, 1-18-11 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo                             http://www.asakusa-kagetsudo.com

Guzman y Gomez

Before heading out for drinks, my friend and I stopped in for a quick meal at Guzman y Gomez in town. I first tried Guzman’s in Newtown many years ago and was struck by how different the authentic Mexican flavours were to standard Mexican fare available at the time. The menu has all of the standard options – nachos, tacos, burriots, quesadillas, etc. – but somehow they always taste better here. On this visit I went for the burrito bowl, which is the equivalent of getting icecream in a cup not a cone (i.e. less messy). I chose the mild chicken filling and added guacamole. Our food came out very quickly, and the portion size was good value for money – there was a lot in that bowl! I particularly liked the fresh salsa mix (tomato, corriander, and onion), which complemented the black beans well. The chicken had a good flavour to it and there was a fair amount included in between the rice. It was mild, though, as promised. The guacamole lifted the whole meal – I would definitely recommend adding it, despite the extra charge. The service was friendly and we got the filling, tasty and affordable meal we’d gone in for.

Guzman y Gomez, Bunda Street, Canberra ACT                                 https://www.guzmanygomez.com/

The Butcher’s Apprentice

Sometimes a meal just blows you away, and that’s exactly what happened at our shared dinner at the Butcher’s Apprentice. I started with the Butcher’s Mistress cocktail – gin, lychee, basil, citrus – it was well-balanced and very refreshing. We were offered the ‘dry chips’ as a snack while deciding on the rest of the menu (very classy upselling!) and enjoyed every bite of the crisp potato, sweet potato and taro, salted delightfully with paprika. Next was the ‘crackle and pop’ – pork and chicken crackling with popcorn and more paprika. The skins were served cold and crispy, in perfect bite-sized pieces. The chacuterie plate had a very generous serve of cured meat, with a creative tomato jam and slightly charred, oiled bread. Next came the main – pork cheek served with rainbow chard, pickle, watermelon rind and a mound of orange blossom floss. The sweetness of the floss went so perfectly with the melt-in-your-mouth pork cheek! The star dish had to be the ‘chocolate’ dessert – a chocolate panna cotta lined the base of the bowl, topped with dark chocolate pearls, white chocolate flakes, chocolate floss and marmalade. Heaven! The Butcher’s Apprentice offers just the right pitch of fine dining with friendly, welcoming staff and truly exciting, creative food.

The Butcher’s Apprentice, 17 Redleaf Avenue, Wahroonga, NSW, no website

Elemental

This was my second visit to Elemental in Braddon, and I was even more impressed on this visit than last time, not least because… the bone broth was available! Yay! I think they must use chicken bones, as the flavour was far lighter and less rich than I was expecting – in fact, it tasted much like my first (and only) homemade attempt at making ramen from scratch. Whilst it wasn’t quite what I was expecting/hoping for, it was still hearty and warming on a chilly day. I picked the quesadillas for something a bit different – they were delicious! There were two of them served with a fried eggs, fresh guacamole and harissa. The flavour inside the quesadillas was more what I would expect from a curry – the ‘spicy chicken’ lived up to its name, and I didn’t end up using much harissa as it was spicy enough for me. The flavour was fantastic though – the chicken combined with a lime leaf jam and coconut cheese was heavenly, and the fried egg oozed perfectly over the top. I was particularly taken with the guacamole (cubed not mushed) and was really impressed with the friendly service. Elemental is going from strength to strength.

Elemental, Ori building, 30 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT elementalcafe.wix.com/elementalcafe

Gumshara Ramen

My first visit to Gumshara was simply fantastic – I was amazed at how authentic the flavour of their tonkotsu ramen was, so on this visit I was keen to try one of their other broths. I picked the shoyu ramen, which is made with a light fish broth, with added soy sauce. Gumshara’s bowls are huge, but somehow always seem to be the right amount of food for dinner. Unlike many ramen places, here the noodles always have just the right amount of bite, and they’ve recently started offering thin noodles as an option. I picked the thick noodles and after a short wait sat down with my big bowl of happiness. The pork slices were lovely and thin and melted in your mouth, and the fresh spring onion added flavour and texture. There were plenty of noodles and the broth itself was light as promised, although that certainly didn’t mean watery – it just wasn’t as rich or fatty as the tonkotsu, which suited me fine. There’s no post-ramen-drink-three-litres-of-water saltiness, just incredible flavour. Whilst not the cheapest bowl of ramen in town (expect to pay around $13), I would have to say that this remains my favourite ramen in Australia.

Gumshara Ramen, Shop 211, 25-29 Dixon Street, Haymarket NSW, no website.