Agatha’s

I went to Agatha’s to catch up with a friend from high school, and to be honest my expectations weren’t high – it wasn’t really on my ‘foodie radar’, so to speak, but I was quite delighted to discover the excellent breakfasts on offer. I ordered the ‘Hey Pesto’ ($16), with smoked bacon, tomato, avocado, rocket and pesto hollandaise on ciabatta. Pesto hollandaise? Yep. That stuff is good. Rich, creamy and still stronger on the hollandaise than the pesto flavour, there was a huge amount on top of my bread, and I was totally ok with that – it’s delicious. Combined with the serving of avocado, there was a lot of creaminess going on, but the fresh tomato and rocket cut through, along with the saltiness of the bacon. I couldn’t really tell that the bacon was smoked, but it was very crispy and particularly tasty. As a bonus, there was some sort of pomegranate molasses drizzle on the plate too, which was beautifully sweet. I love ciabatta, and this one was lightly toasted, perfect to add some crisp but still be easy to cut into. The whole thing was very filling, delicious and great value – definitely worth a visit.

Agatha’s, 1 Gawler Street, Port Noarlunga SA, http://www.agathascafe.com.au/

Jamface

So, I was pretty excited to head back to Jamface after my last visit, again for cakes, but this time takeaway. We picked three to share – the peach crumble ($6.50), lemon curd & raspberry coulis tart ($5.50) and the apricot custard tart ($6.50). Each had its own distinctive highlights, but if hard-pressed, I would say the apricot tart was my favourite, just for sheer strength of flavour. The texture of this tart was spectacular, with a spongy soft custard layer that heightened the intense apricot flavour – these were high perfoming apricots, let me tell you. Next was probably the peach crumble. I’m a huge crumble fan, and I love it when the crumble mix is just right. Jamface gets it 100% right, with no dryness and plenty of luscious peach packed under the dusted crumble topping. The pastry shell is also quite lovely and adds to the whole dessert. It’s probably unfair putting the lemon and raspberry tart last, as I really enjoyed it – again, the textures were spot on, with a really rich, smooth creaminess from the curd and tonnes of flavour from the raspberry – it’s a tart tart, but definitely has enough sweetness for balance. All winners, for sure.

Jamface, Stall 28-29, Adelaide Central Markets, Adelaide SA, http://www.jamface.com.au

Himeji Ramen & Izakaya

I was super pumped for ramen at Himeji, but when Mum and I saw the Funamori (sushi and sashimi boat, $62) on the menu, we couldn’t resist. Dad ordered the Oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl) and a couple of bao to try. We sampled it while waiting for our boat – the oyakodon was beautiful, with lovely, tasty rice, perfectly tender chicken and sweet onion. Then our boat arrived! Oh my! So full of sushi and sashimi and beautiful seafood! We didn’t know where to start! All of the fish was fresh and flavoursome, and the sashimi cuts were all excellent, except for a couple of slightly too-thick and chewy lower-grade tuna pieces. The natural oysters were lovely, and the aburi salmon rolls were a highlight with perfectly seared outers. My favourite was actually the ceviche, served with a yam (?) crisp and deep-fried prawn head. It had a wicked amount of spice and excellent texture, especially when paired with the chips. Our favourite nigiri sushi was the unagi (eel), with the thick sweet sauce on top, but the salmon was excellent all around. We were so full by the end – such an indulgent feast and excellent service! Highly recommended.

Himeji Ramen & Izakaya, 22-24 Grote Street, Adelaide SA, http://www.ramenizakaya-himeji.com

The Latvian Lunchroom

I jumped at the chance to eat at The Latvian Lunchroom in the Adelaide Central Markets for something completely different. Dad and I shared two meals, starting with the Latvian Snack Plate ($12), which included three pirags (soft pastry filled with bacon, onion and pepper) and our choice of three Smalk maizītes, or open sandwiches. My favourite by far was the deviled egg with anchovy – topped with tiny bubbles of fish roe, the anchovy added a pop of salt to the creamy egg and the dense, flavoursome bread. The smoked salmon with horesradish cream was equally rich and luscious, but in comparison the sausage with mustard was a bit bland. I ordered the Beef Kotlete and Mushrooms ($14) which was incredible value – my plate was piled with sauerkraut, beetroot vinagrette, potato salad, a large beef kotlete (rissole) and some of the tastiest mushrooms I’ve had in a long time, not to mention gherkins. The kotlete was tender and wasn’t dry, and went perfectly with the tang of the sauerkraut. I honed in on the beetroot vinagrette, spiced up with dill and celery it was heavenly. There was so much food and all of it was amazing. I feel a trip to Riga coming on…

The Latvian Lunchroom, Adelaide Central Markets, Adelaide SA, thelatvianlunchroom.com.au/

Ding Hao

Ding Hao and I go way back. This is where I used to come for yum cha as a uni student, and thankfully it hasn’t changed a bit. It’s still overcrowded, packed to the brim, and dishing up fast, fresh Chinese food. I actually went to catch up with friends from uni – the six of us got stuck right in, with no shortage of dishes coming around to enjoy. I am a sucker for prawn dumplings, and the seafood ones that Ding Hao serve are huge, tasty and definitely not full of mush. You can feel the disparate textures of the filling – so good. We indulged in a plate of salt and pepper calamari, deep-fried and full of flavour, not rubbery at all. The crispy beef was another favourite, coated in a thick sauce and with a slight chilli kick, they vanished pretty quickly. No yum cha is complete without prawn-filled long rolls (not the technical name, but hopefully you know what I mean), and I devoured my share of those before munching on some oyster sauce-drenched greens. Finally, it was time for mango pudding (more, please!) and farewells. Yum.

Ding Hao, 26-28 Gouger Street, Adelaide SA, no website

Movenpick

Set up in Adelaide’s super trendy West End, Movenpick offers their top quality icecreams and sorbets as well as a range of other desserts. We decided to get the icecream tasting plate to share between 3, which comes with 6 scoops ($14.95). We picked: creme brulee, macadamia, rum & raisin, choc mint, strawberry and the lemon & lime sorbet. My pick of the bunch was the strawberry – it was like eating creamy, rich strawberry jam without being sickly. Give me a tub and leave me alone, I’ll be a happy woman. My next favourite was the lemon & lime sorbet – it was just so refreshing and the citrus flavour was perfection. Macadamia would probably come next, one of those great icecreams where the more you eat, the better it tastes, followed by the choc mint, which had awesome quality flakes of chocolate and was really quite minty. I’m not a huge rum & raisin fan, but the quality and richness of flavour was evident, even to me. We all felt the creme brulee seemed a bit bland, but only by comparison. Alone, it was subtle and rich. So basically there were no real duds – six for six Movenpick, well played.

Movenpick, 6 Leigh Street, Adelaide SA, http://www.moevenpick-icecream.com/au

Scroll

Oh, hello novelty #icecreamthurs! When someone is passionate about something, it can be infectious; Danny from Scroll is passionate about creating a fun, quality experience for customers visiting Australia’s first teppanyaki icecream parlour, Scroll. The experience is unique – you order one of six icecream and topping combinations, and watch your Scroll master create icecream right in front of you on a cold plate. I ordered the Perfect Matcha ($9, $8 if you check in on Facebook), made with Matcha Maiden tea and Fleurieu milk (yay for supporting local!), and topped with lychee, strawberry Pocky and blueberries. Wow. There is a huge amount of icecream in the cup, and I really liked the addition of fruit for balance. The icecream itself is incredibly creamy (Danny tells me there are no stabilisers or preservatives), and the green tea flavour is beautiful – not too sweet and very clearly full of high quality matcha powder. The Pocky (a Japanese snack) add a fun twist and a different flavour/texture combination that goes well with the matcha. Yum. Being social media savvy, Scroll is also encouraging customers to tag their photos with #scrollin on Instagram, for the chance of a repost and free icecream. Yes, please.

Scroll, 35 York Street, Adelaide SA, http://www.scrollicecream.com.au/