Picky Piggies: April 2018

Situated in one of Sydney's touristy hot spots, La Renaissance makes no compromise to the quality of ingredients they use in creating fine French pastry. This is one of the places we always come back to when craving for sweets. Don't miss this one when you are taking a stroll through the weekend The Rocks Market.

Monet $9 (T/A) $9.5 (Dine In)

A cake that is simply divine - we were never enthusiasts of white chocolate, but this cake is one of the reasons why we always come back to La Renaissance. With a centre of creamy bavaroise, lychee jelly and soft sponge cake, each element brings a textural sensation to the tongue. Fresh raspberries embedded in the cake release a fruity note while keeping the richness of the white chocolate under control.

Tranche Au Chocolat $7 (T/A) $7.5 (Dine In)

Moving onto something richer, this Tranche Au Chocolat had a fuller body. The smooth chocolate mousse, and the nutty dacquoise made with walnuts and pistachios are sandwiched together to create a beautiful layered cake. It was soft and moist with a dark velvety tone to it, each bite had a lingering aftertaste.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 6/10

Highlight:

There's always a big selection of cakes available
The cakes are consistent in taste every time

Lowlight:

The dine in environment is not as polished as the cakes

Website: https://larenaissance.com.au/
Address: 47 Argyle St, The Rocks NSW 2000
Hours: Mon-Sun 8am-5pm
Phone: (02) 9241 4878

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There aren't many good Middle Eastern restaurants in Sydney's CBD. This changed when Cubby's Kitchen relocated from their Surry Hills venue. Cubby's showcases traditional Lebanese cuisine with a new twist. If you missed their pop-up restaurant on Crown Street, don't worry, they have kept some of the classics including miso baba ganoush, hummus with edamame and fatoush salad, whilst adding exciting new dishes to the menu.

Baba Gannoush $14

This baba gonnoush was bang on, the chunky eggplant and the sweet miso were such a wonderful pair - the dark caramel taste brought so much flavour and texture to the smooth smoky dip. The eggplant was so good I could eat it all day long.

Pita Bread - Plain & Fried (came with the baba gannoush)

Pita bread two ways - I prefer the plain pita with a beautiful soft texture, the fried pita was super crunchy, almost like chips. It was an interesting way to enjoy pita, but I probably wouldn't have it everyday.

Lady Fingers $14

Despite the name "lady fingers", this isn't the kind of lady fingers you find in a tiramisu. In fact it is a classic Lebanese's dish made from minced meat wrap in filo sheets. Middle Eastern lady fingers also come as a sweet dessert. This particular one was stuffed with minced lamb, with a taramasalata dip on the side.

Chicken Shish $17

Here comes the chicken kebabs on metal skewers, just from looking at them made us drool. The chicken was perfectly grilled leaving the meat juicy and tender.

Lamb Kafta $18

The lamb kebabs were equally good, with a Lebanese's touch of traditional spices, the meat was packed with flavours. A dollop of yogurt dressing on the side provided a refreshing lift.

Knafeh $12

Knafeh is a traditional Middle-Eastern dessert that comes in various forms. This version here was served on a hot metal plate with the base filled with gooey clotted cream, and topped with a layer of finely shredded filo that was soaked in rose scented syrup. The knafeh was buttery, creamy and sweet, and unlike most knafel we had in the past it wasn't as sweet, which we liked.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 7/10

Highlight:

Great food at an affordable price
Quiet & chilled atmosphere

Lowlight:

Protein heavy menu
The char on the spring onion with the chicken shish was taken a bit too far

Website: http://www.cubbyskitchen.com.au/
Address: Corner Young Street & Loftus Lane, off Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Hours: Mon-Thu 12-3pm, 5:30-10:30pm
Fri 12-3pm, 5:30-11pm
Sat 5:30-11pm

Phone: (02) 9252 9648

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Thai cuisine is well known for its love of celebrating big flavours, emphasising textures, colours and taste. Thai people are passionate users for fresh greens in the making of food. Muum Mamm exemplifies at its restaurants in Barangaroo and Surry Hills.

Prawn Chips (Complimentary)

It's prawny...the chips had a very strong prawn flavour, we found them really nice. It was crunchy and made a good snack before starting our meal.

Sen Jan Pad Thai noodles w Chicken, Dried Shrimp, Tofu & Crushed Peanuts $17

I don't think too much explanation is needed for this dish. There was the signature flavours of sweet, sour and savory. The raw chives, bean sprouts, fried cracker, chill flakes, lime and crushed peanuts were served on the side to help to add more punch and textures. Everything was good, except for the sauce was a little too sweet for us.

Shredded Banana Blossom Salad w Prawns, Cashews, Coriander Coconut Chili Jam $28

It is our first time trying banana blossom, and we found it very exotic (in a good way). There was a strong and pungent flavour from the sauce, the raw blossom had a distinctive aroma plus a nice crunch. I think the sauce did the trick of bringing a harmonious finish to the salad, the only downside was the sauce being a bit too salty - we had to reach out for water halfway through.

Monkey Balls – Coconut Pandan Gelato, Nut Toffee, Sesame, Honey Comb $15

Pandan (Left); Coconut (Right)

Ice cream proved a soothing way to conclude the meal and wash down the heat. The pandan had a natural sweetness and a soft unique aroma, the coconut was milky and creamy - and best of all both ice cream had a peanut and toffee centre.

It's hard to pick a favourite, because both flavours were really good. Toasted coconut and sesame were cleverly used as a coating for the ice cream, a generous amount of coconut milk was poured on top for more coconut goodness.

Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 5.5/10

Highlight:

We really enjoyed the banana blossom salad (apart from being too salty)
Good ice cream

Lowlight:

The dining space is co-shared with many other restaurants so you have to speak at the top of your lungs

Website: http://www.muummaam.com.au/barangaroo/
Address: 23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo NSW 2000
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30-10pm
Phone: (02) 8252 0121

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