Where To Go in Adelaide?

So, most of you who follow me on Instagram (seriously, I'm addicted to the thing) would know that I was in Adelaide over the long weekend for almost 5 days. Reason for my visit was so that I could attend my sister's uni expo for her final year exhibition. Mum even flew in from overseas for the occasion to show her support because we know how damn hard she's worked all year. She's doing Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering and it's not easy AT ALL. I did Civil and even I was struggling with that. For her final year project, she built a plasma gun... with a pen. 

We had a GREAT time in Adelaide. Even though it's my 3rd trip here, I always enjoy a short visit to Adelaide. Just spending lots and lots of quality time with one another while exploring some sights and sharing meals together. It's not easy for us to cook over there so we ate out a lot. Hope you don't mind that these photos were all taken with just my iPhone.

We realised that most of the places we went to were pretty nifty so I thought I'd do a recap of our meals in case people need recommendations for where to eat next time they're in Adelaide =)

United Latino Cocina

Housemade Poached Salmon Salad

Ropa Vieja - $17.50

Slow cooked, shredded flank steak with capsicum, onion, garlic and cumin served with black beans and rice

This place was AWESOME. Mum and I found this quaint little Latin American restaurant tucked away in one of the lanes along Rundle Mall in the CBD. So glad we came across this as we were struggling to find a place to have lunch and almost ended up at a food court.

The food was really fresh, vibrant and bursting with flavour. Very reflective of its colourful culture. Our beef with rice was SO good. Portions were massive and very value for money too. 

My impression of the cuisine has severely declined by all the fastfood Mexican type establishments that seem to be popping up everywhere. But this was nothing like that. The place was fun and casual. Great service by the South American staff with Latin music playing in the background. I really do love how one can experience so much of a culture through Food. And this is a prime example of one of those instances.

Rice

Hot and Sour Seafood Soup - $6

BBQ Honey Pork Fillet - $15.80

BBQ Bean and Pork - $14.80

Lotus Bean Curd with Seafood - $16.50

Crispy Young Chicken in Red Vinegar Sauce - $15.80

I friggin' LOVE Rice! Anytime someone asks me of where I like to eat in Adelaide, I always say Rice. It's a great little Chinese restaurant that serves exceptional food at an affordable price, first introduced to us by a family friend. Most of the dishes are rather creative and you don't find anywhere else too. I've loved this place ever since I first came here in 2010 and my sister still come here about twice a month (lol).

First of all, the BBQ honey pork fillets is a must. Tender, juicy and sweet. Sounds simple but tastes anything but. Everything else here is good so it just comes down to what you like to eat. The chicken we ordered was crispy yet juice amidst a sweet unctuous sauce. Lotus leaf tofu was quite special because it also had a smoky tea leaf flavour throughout the dish. Other dishes I've ordered here in the past which I enjoyed include the cold sliced pork, steamed black bean eel and spring rolls.

Sushi Train

You can't come to Adelaide and not visit any of the Sushi Train branches. You just can't. I cannot get enough of this place!! I know I've said this time and time again, but one thing that Melbourne SEVERELY lacks is a good Sushi Train restaurant. And please don't tell me to try Sushi Hotaru in the CBD because I have and my opinion still stands.

Favourite thing about Adelaide's Sushi Trains are the aburi salmons. I always need to order them. This time around they had the aburi salmon volcano ship (i.e. topped with mayo seafood and torched), which was my favourite item this time around. Sounds weird, but their vegetable tempura and avocado slice sushi is great as well. Everyone's got different things they enjoy here so it just depends on what looks good to your eyes (and stomach) that day.

Lickerish

Beach Pizza - $24

Selection of fresh South Australian seafood, anchovy, crispy capers and green olive tapenade

Mullaway 

with orange, fennel and goats curd

Crumbed Confit Chicken Wings

250g Grass Fed Scotch - $26

with cafe de paris butter, hand cut chips

Smoked Rainbow Trout - $16

with kipfler potato, asparagus salad, lemon caper dressing

Tommies

wrapped in zucchini, stuffed with quinoa and tomatoes

Rhubarb and Strawberry, Lemon Trifle with Chantilly Cream - $14

Decided to try this place after a quick search for places to eat on Urbanspoon. Located in the gorgeous beach town of Semaphore, I didn't realise how gorgeous the setting was gonna be until we arrived. The setting was so cool, casual and you can tell that everyone there was having a good time. It was an open air concept, which I liked. The staff was super friendly and funny, which is always great to exchange a few jokes with the staff. You'll also find that the staff have so much fun working there because I could hear them laughing all night, no kidding. 

Food was good overall. Mum enjoyed her steak very much and my favourites of the night were the awesome boneless chicken wings with aioli and also my fish stuffed with quinoa and tomatoes -- divine! The only flop of the night was the pizza because it became really soggy from all the seafood. Price was quite fair as well, I thought. Considering we pay so much more in Melbourne, it's shocking.

A view of the beach, great sea breeze coming in with awesome music playing and awesome service, this was definitely a place I would be happy to hangout every weekend. I need to find a place that's as fun and affordable as this place in Melbourne.

Red Door Bakery

Morrocan Lamb and Eggplant Sausage Roll with Housemade Chilli Jam

Beef Angus Pie

Creme Brulee Tart and Lemon Meringue Tart

Red Door Bakery was located just at the row of shops outside my sister's place in Hyde Park, a really lovely little neighbourhood. We stopped by for breakfast one morning.

I really enjoyed my sausage roll but favourite thing about it was the super delicious chilli jam. Onion sweet with deep flavour and the right amount of spiciness. Nice and sticky too. Delicious. Brulee Tart was a fail because the top layer was so burnt which made the whole tart bitter. Everything else was enjoyable. Nice little cafe to enjoy a pleasant Saturday morning breakfast.

Argo

Selection of Green Juices

Sweet Potato Fries with Aioli - $7.90

The Love Burger - $11

Sweet Chick Wrap - $10

Argo Deli Piadina - $10.50

Portobello Mushroom Piadina - $10.50

Sis took us here because it was a place she recently discovered and enjoyed. They do a wide array of lunch items and there seems to be something for everyone. To me, one of Argo's specialties also include the large selection of green juices, something that's become more and more popular these days. They were clean, healthy and refreshing, perfect for a hot day.

Food was tasty and price is also very affordable here IMO. And sweet potato fries is always a good idea, no matter where you are. A good fuss free lunch option.

Vietnam Restaurant

A very modest restaurant

Iced Vietnamese Coffee

Combination Soup

Seafood Salad with Prawns, Scallops and Calamari

Grilled Quails

Rice Paper Rolls with Pork Skewers

Vietnam Restaurant is a place that I can almost guarantee that Adelaide locals will take visitors. At least, that's where my friends and I get taken to all the time when we visit. It's so popular.

Why? Because of the signature dishes here. But please be warned that not all the dishes here are good! We've tried a number of the items from the regular menu that's not part of the specials or chef's recommendation and they were quite bad. But, the ones from that specials menu page is great.

The DIY rice paper rolls is a must. Fun to make, delicious to eat. Grilled quails is famous here but I prefer the one from Mabrown in Melbourne. A new thing we tried was the seafood salad, which was awesome! Fresh zesty flavours with a spicy kick. I enjoy the slippery noodles and abundant seafood it had in it. Oh, and do try the Iced Coffee too.

Sabai Cafe

Iced Coffee and Iced Chocolate

Beef Massaman Curry

Open Beef Pie with Mashed Potato

Chicken Pad Thai

Fish and Chips

This was also a place I found on Urbanspoon and wanted to try on our last day in Adelaide. I found it interesting because it was a typical brunch place that also served Thai dishes as well. I realised later it was because the chef there was Thai as well.

First, I really loved my iced drinks here! Tall, refreshing and not too sweet or rich. The pie and pad thai were okay, just average. But the Massaman curry had great flavour. My favourite that day has got to be that Fish and Chips! 

I really liked their take on it by using lots of fresh barra slices (with skin on), instead of one big fillet. Higher surface area of crunch and more enjoyable to eat. Also, the potatoes were AMAZING. One of the best yet, definitely. I actually prefer handcut chips to be soft and mashy in the middle, instead of fluffy, which it was. But best part was that it had so damn much of the crunchy fried bits on the outside. Addictive. They gave a nice serving of pickled red onions as well, which brought balance to the entire dish. I definitely enjoyed every bite of this and look forward to eating this again next time I'm back in Adelaide. Hopefully it will be just as good.

Last but not least, I could NEVER leave Adelaide without buying takeaway from Sushi Train to eat at the airport. So delicious. A tradition that must not be broken =)

If you like, you can check out my previous posts on Adelaide (here and here) when I was there for the Eat Drink Blog Conference last here. Cheers!

The New-ish Korean/Japanese Joints in Town

I was intrigued when my friend Melissa suggested that we organised a catchup dinner at this new place called Gangnam Pocha on Bourke Street a few months ago. "Gangnam… Now, why does that word sound so familiar? Heh". The place looked quite interesting when we walked in. 

Although, I couldn't help but notice that there was an interesting looking Gyoza restaurant next to it while White Tomato had just renovated across the road. I later found myself back at all 3 restaurants on separate occasions with different groups of friends. 

Gangnam Pocha

Tofu and Kimchi - $10

Korean Style Pork Terrine - $10

Crisp Tofu - $11

Deep fried tofu with stir fried kimchi

Pork Ssam - $25

Boiled pork with homemade kimchi

Warm Sake

Crisp Calamari and Prawn - $11

Gangnam Chicken - $18

Fried chicken with sweet chilli sauce, peanuts

Braised Beef Spare Ribs - $20

Braised beef spare ribs with honey, root vegetables in hot stone pot

US Army Stew - $28

Assorted ham stew with beef, kimchi, noodle and cheese

Rich Hazelnut Chocolate Semi Freddo - $13

Mixed Berry Heaven - $13

Coconut, Lemon and Strawberry Cake for the Birthday Boy!

Every single feature of the figurine (from the hair, to the camera, shoes, hoodie) is exactly like my friend Julian this cake is too cute!

Must say that I'm definitely a fan of Gangnam Pocha. The restaurant is spacious and service really friendly. They were more than accommodating both times that I went (when we had more than 10 ppl on both occasions). Not to mention giving my friend Julian a flaming shoju on the house when they realised it was his birthday.

As for the food, my highlights include the fried tofu with kimchi. I like that they've reduced the kimchi till it's sticky and full of flavour and placed on top of incredibly crunchy tofu. The fried calamari and prawns tastes more exciting than it sounds. Of course, we couldn't come to Gangnam Pocha and not order the Gangnam Chicken, which I really enjoyed. Even though the chicken was not as crunchy as Gami's, but the sauce was definitely better as it was well balanced and highly addictive. Finally, I also recommend you order the beef stew because it was top notch! My friend Ian liked it so much that the sounds that he was making was starting to become borderline awkward to be heard in public, but in a good way =)

Generally, all the other dishes were good and I've got no complaints about them. What I find interesting about this place is also how they serve desserts too, which is quite rare for Korean restaurants. Happy to report that they were pretty good too!

Gyoza Douraku

Sake - $9.90

Sake Harami Yaki - $11.90

Grilled salmon belly (most fatty part of salmon) with sea salt

Make your own gyoza dipping sauce! Awesome concept

Mixture of white vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli oil, minced garlic

Pan Fried Gyoza with Wagyu Beef & Red Onion Filling - $9.50

Cheese Gyoza with Miso Eggplant and Duck Filling - $12

Prawn Gyoza in Spicy Miso Soup - $12

Popcorn Chicken - $8.50

Deep fried crumbed chicken mince and sweet corn

Soft Shell Crab Fried Rice - 19.90

Japanese fried rice topped with soft shell crab, shallot, garlic, dried scallop XO sauce

This place really caught my attention too when I was on my way to Gangnam Pocha as it was right next to the restaurant. Why? It had Gyoza in the name. And I like Gyoza.

I later realised it was more of an Izakaya kind of Jap restaurant, which I thought was fitting as I was catching up with two good friends that Friday night after work. Overall, I thought the menu is quite vast and unique. There were lots of great sounding dishes to choose from and I liked the concept they presented for the Gyozas. There was a page each of steamed, fried, cheese or soup gyozas; each with a variety very interesting fillings. Just read what we ordered and you'll see what I mean. They were quite tasty too. Also, it's great how we could make our own gyoza dipping sauces as well. Another good and unique concept to the Melbourne food scene.

Besides the gyozas, our highlights also include that seriously delicious grilled salmon belly. It was so fragrant and unctuous, definitely a delicious entree to order here and anywhere. Also, the soft shell crab fried rice was, again, interesting! I enjoyed how it came in a hot stone bowl, with the raw beaten egg poured straight into it before being mixed up altogether. A little bit too peppery but still pretty tasty and just a stunning looking dish to begin with.

Although I enjoyed the food here, must say that we weren't full as the portions weren't very big. But that's Izakaya anyway. Still, interesting concepts and worth a try. But only if you're not famished when you arrive and expecting to eat till you drop. There's a time and place for that, and it's not at Gyoza Douraku.

White Tomato

Individual portion banchan for everyone -- no sharing, how nice!

Beef Jabchai - $12.50

Pan fried potato noodle with seasoned vegetable

Stone Bibimbap - $15.90

Choice of beef, pork, chicken or tofu with seasoned vegetable and steamed rice

Bulgogi - $16.50

Beef marinated in soy sauce with vegetable

Grilled Pork Belly with Salad - $14.90

Kimchi Cheese Pancake - $13.90

Dak Hanmari (Ginseng Chicken Hotpot) - $38.50

Ginseng, onion, mushroom, potato noodle in chicken hotpot

My first encounter with Korean food in Melbourne was actually at White Tomato, back in 2008. I believe it was my third day of arriving in Australia and I had the Hot Stone Bibimbap for the first time. Ever since that encounter, I had been back many, many times to White Tomato that year. However, I did stop after almost a year because I was getting a little fed up that every time I ordered the exact same dish, it would turn out completely different from my previous visit and even worse for the matter. I don't think I had been back since 2009.

However, I did notice that they had completely renovated the restaurant a few months ago. Mum and Sis had gone to try the food after this renovation and mentioned that they actually enjoyed the food. Good.

After coming here for a farewell dinner with some good friends about 2 weeks ago, I was noticed that the menu, food, setting and even the staff were completely different. And the food turned out pretty delicious. Don't think there were any particularly "bad" dishes, per se, but it's not like I was looking for things to criticise anyway. I generally enjoyed the new atmosphere and every dish that they served.

Highlights include the kimchi pancake with cheese -- yum! Crispy on the outside and full of kimchi and cheese. I also thought the ginseng chicken hotpot to be pretty hearty, warming and satisfying. The broth was flavourful and had plenty of chicken to go around. But I also liked the little rice bits inside as well. Oh, oh and they give every diner their own individual serve of banchan -- yay for no sharing!

Anyway, I'm happy to see that White Tomato is now back on track after being derailed for a while. Glad to know that there's another option for Korean restaurant to host group dinners in the CBD. A knowledge that's always handy to have, me thinks =)