T Bar

I have been going to T Bar for tea since I was a uni student (and they were in the David Jones food court), and one afternoon exploring in town I stopped by their store in Rundle Place for a snack. I love that you can both have their teas in store/takeaway and buy packets of their tea to brew yourself – T Bar was here before T2 and is still my favourite. On this occassion, I ordered an iced peach green tea and a lemon melting moment to dine in. The iced tea came out in a huge glass with lots of ice and fresh lemon slices inside – yum. The tea has a really lovely peach flavour without being too sweet; it’s well balanced with the sencha green tea flavour and doesn’t have an strong bitterness that some green teas have. The melting moment was buttery perfection – yes, it was small, but the luscious filling with a lemony tang and the crumbly, well-cooked biscuit were calories I won’t regret. The back of the store has a really nice seating area to enjoy your tea, and I’d love to come back for more substantial food and to relive my uni years again soon.

T Bar, Rundle Place, Rundle Mall, Adelaide SA, https://www.tbar.com.au/

Movenpick

So when I imagine mango icecream, sorbet, or anything really, I somehow come back to the utterly divine flavour of the mango pudding served at yum cha restaurants. I have no idea whether that’s an authentic dessert or not, but for me, it’s the benchmark of mango flavour – second only to fresh, ripe mango in authenticity. Movenpick’s mango sorbet just knocked mango pudding out of the ballpark. I have enjoyed Movenpick’s flavours in a couple of cities now, but the mango I tried at the Melbourne Central kiosk is probably up there with my beloved Strawberry flavour. The serve is smaller than other stores, but when the flavour is this great, I don’t really mind. There are strands of mango woven into the sorbet, showing how genuine the flavour is – this is the kind of sorbet that would be a perfect palate cleanser, it’s so fresh and refreshing. Each mouthful coats your tastebuds in mango-y goodness, with a beautifully creamy texture that made me question its status as a sorbet. Movenpick, you’ve done it again. I will be back for sure.

Movenpick, Melbourne Central (Level 2), Corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets, Melbourne VIC, http://www.moevenpick-icecream.com/au

The Rabbit Hole

#sweetweek continues in Sydney! The Rabbit Hole is such a delightful place – offering a huge range of organic teas, plus a cabinet full of sweets and a brunch menu, there’s something here for everyone. I started out with a cup of choc orange fudge tea (with soy milk), which was served in the cutest little cup, with a white rabbit etched into it – the handle was the rabbit’s fluffy tail! Adorable. Given the scent was so sweet, I added sugar to the tea so that the flavour matched my nose’s expectations – with this tweak, I enjoyed the quite large cup. The first sweet was a piece of lavender shortbread, iced and topped with edible flowers. The shortbread was so thin and crumbly that you could almost imagine all of the butter within. The icing added another level of sweetness, although I didn’t really pick up any lavender flavour. To match with the tea, I also had a chocolate orange whoopie pie (kind of like a soft Butterbing), which was the perfect pairing. The chocolate cake-bit was so soft and spongy, and the orange-flavoured cream inside had a great citrus flavour. Certainly not your traditional desserts, but lovely nonetheless.

The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar, 146 Abercrombie Street, Redfern, NSW, http://www.therabbithole.com.au/

Space Kitchen

My quest to try all of the Ricardo’s/Space cakes continued at a friend’s baby shower held at Space. Everyone else ordered lunch – I ordered cake. I’ve had my eye on the Cookie Monster ($9.90) for a while now, and this was clearly the moment. Now, I must advise you of two exciting facts about this cake (apart from the fact that it is both blue and named after the Sesame Street character, which you will have gathered already). One, it is large. Like, you may doubt your ability to eat it yourself, large. But wait… Two, it is light! Hooray, you can enjoy it all to yourself. The giant macaron top cracks open to reveal a half-mousse half-sponge filling, dotted with Oreos. Mmm. Oreos. The texture is quite unusual, but definitely in a good way – everything is surprisingly smooth and even though it looks blue, chocolate biscuit is the dominant flavour. I did largely eat this myself, and didn’t feel bloated or overly smashed by sugar afterwards, so there’s a good balance in terms of density and sweetness. Given the size I also rate this highly on value (especially when you don’t have to share!).

Space Kitchen, Skypark, corner of Furzer and Worgan Streets, Phillip ACT, http://space-kitchen.com.au/

7 Apples Gelato

Ok, if you’ve seen it, you know that the 7 Apples Gelato store in Emporium isn’t just cute, it’s the most freaking adorable icecreamery ever. A little icecream cart with a bicycle attached, this tiny stall sucked me in with free samples and sorbet options. Who could resist? Offering a limited range (around 8 flavours – their main store is in St Kilda) on their cute menu board, I opted for a single scoop of the mango sorbet ($5.50), which was served in a reasonably sized up and had a creamy, pale colour. The mango flavour was nice – authentic, but not as strong as other mango sorbets I’ve tried in Melbourne – and there was a good amount of sweetness to it. The texture was again around the mid-range of quality – not the creamiest I’ve ever tried, but not overly icy either, so definitely in the solidly ‘good’ category. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to order this flavour again (nice was it was), given the range of flavours they offer, but I would recommend stopping by, if only to marvel at the set up, uniform and, of course, to enjoy the free samples!

7 Apples Gelato, Emporium Melbourne (Level 3), 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC, http://www.7applesgelato.com/

Rice Paper Scissors

I must say, I did judge the book by its cover with this one – I was enchanted by the décor at RPS, so we stopped in for a very late lunch-snack, grabbing a seat at the bar before the kitchen closed. The menu is an exciting exploration of South East Asia, and I couldn’t go past the temptation of soft shell crab mini banh mi ($13 for 2), plus a house made lemon iced tea ($4.50). Served in a fashionable jar, the iced tea had both lemon and lemongrass, but both were well balanced and not overpowering. The staff here are friendly and chatty, creating a welcoming atmosphere that we enjoyed. The food came out fairly quickly, and it definitely confirmed our order choice. Served on soft brioche buns, the banh mi were utterly delightful – the generous portion of crab was just the right blend of crisp and soft, bringing great flavour and texture to the dish. The house made pate added a creaminess to each mouthful, and I particularly liked the addition of pickled vegetables, which, with the fresh coriander, lifted this to a whole other level. I will definitely be back!

Rice Paper Scissors, 19 Liverpool Street, Melbourne VIC, http://www.ricepaperscissors.com.au/

Tokyo Bird

My dream has come true. There is an authentic Japanese izakaya in Australia. Tokyo Bird sits in a little Surry Hills laneway and fulfills all my izakaya needs – an extensive drinks menu, lots of ‘little bites’ to eat and a vibe that’s buzzing. We started with cocktails – I chose the Breakfast Martini, with gin, curacao, lemon and yuzu marmalade. There is so much citrus happening there that my cheeks puckered, definitely in a good way. Dinner started with the Assorted Pickles ($6) and Katsu Chicken Nuggets ($9). The pickles were lightly done and dusted in  spicy togarashi seasoning – excellent for nibbling slowly. The katsu nuggets were the best thing ever – tender chicken bits deep fried in panko and served with kewpie mayo. Needless to say, they disappeared very quickly. We then picked four yakitori dishes. I loved the Negima (chicken thigh with shallot) – tender, charred nicely and basted in the magic yakitori sauce, it was probably my favourite of the four. The Tonton (pork belly) was lovely and fatty, and the Hatsu (chicken hearts) were tasty, although slightly tougher than the other meats. Finally, we both loved the Nasu (eggplant and miso) – beautifully salty with creamy eggplant, we were in izakaya heaven. I will be back as soon as I possibly can!

Tokyo Bird, 2/226-228 Commonwealth Street (entry on Belmore Lane), Surry Hills NSW, http://www.tokyobird.com.au/