KIN by us., Macquarie Park

Kin means family. At newly opened cafe KIN by us, Uel and Shannelle aim to welcome you into their family by cooking Asian-inspired food with love, just like they did on My Kitchen Rules.

The cafe is tucked away on the ground floor of a new apartment complex in Macquarie Park. The area is so new the street barely registers on Google Maps, but when we arrived one rainy morning it was clear that half of Sydney knew about it, since there was a mass of people waiting outside for a table.

Menu

After a 45 minute wait, during which Uel was super hospitable, even offering those waiting some Easter eggs (it was Good Friday), we finally got a table and placed our order. We'd had ample time to look at the menu during the wait, so we ordered our food straight away and it all came out quite quickly.

Nana Fufu smoothie - $7

One of the most interesting menu items was the Nana Fufu smoothie, a banana, tofu and honey smoothie. At first sip, the banana flavour hits you, but then later on you get the slight creamy tofu flavour mixed in with the sweetness of the banana and honey.

Latte - $3.50

Coffee is sourced from Reuben Hills and each order comes with a cute little biscuity thing placed carefully on the teaspoon.

Milo mocha - $4

I tried the Milo mocha which was pretty much like a regular mocha but with the added malty goodness of Milo. You couldn't definitely smell the Milo but it wasn't so pronounced in the taste.

Snap, crackle, plop - $10

Salvage Specialty Coffee, Artarmon

Even though there are plenty of cafes around my area, I still get a little excited when a new one pops up. Word on the street was that there was a new cafe in Artarmon that had awesome coffee and food to boot.

Latte - $3.50

You'd never think that there was a hipster cafe down the little pedestrian walkway leading out from Artarmon train station, but in amongst the Japanese restaurants, convenience stores and bookshops is Salvage Specialty Coffee.

Mecca Coffee

They take their coffee seriously here with the Mecca Dark Horse blend and single origin coffees on offer, and a rather amusing sign saying that any coffee "extras" cost 50c - extras that may or may not include "soy, extra shot, mocha, honey, vampire blood, unicorn tears, kisses from Zooey Deschanel".

Cold brew - $5

Apart from the normal espresso-based coffees, Salvage also do filter coffees including Aeropress and cold brews. The cold brew comes in a cute Salvage bottle and is served with a sphere of ice in a glass to keep it chilled.

Croque madame - $14.50

The Choc Pot, Burwood

Calling all chocaholics! By now you've probably been to Max Brenner, Lindt cafe, Oliver Brown and the like, so it's time to put The Choc Pot on the top of your chocolate cafe list and get there stat! Mainly because of this....

Molten choc pot - $12

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Molten choc pot - $12

This is The Choc Pot's signature dessert, the molten choc pot. It's like a chocolate fondant, complete with a gooey, molten centre and in case there wasn't enough chocolate, some extra molten milk and dark chocolate has been drizzled on top.

Sexy chocolate innards

The Butcher's Block, Wahroonga

Back in the day when I still lived at home, Wahroonga was my hood. There wasn't much around there at the time - a few takeaway food stores, a book store, a florist and a chicken shop (which was also good for post-school munchies) but nothing to shout about.

A lot has changed since those days. The chicken shop is still there, as are some of the takeaway food stores, but some new cafes have popped up and word on the street is that there's good coffee, the food is delicious and Instagram-worthy, even.

So of course, I had to go and check it out. The Butcher's Block was one cafe that I'd heard lots of good things about, so it wasn't a surprise to me when we arrived on a Saturday lunchtime that there was a full house and a 15-minute wait for a table.

Raspberry and rose soda - $4

We ordered some drinks once we were seated, and apart from the usual coffees, juices and shakes offered at cafes, The Butcher's Block also has some sodas like raspberry and rose, and blackberry flavoured sodas. The raspberry and rose soda proved to be quite the refreshing drink and not too sweet either.

Iced coffee - $5

Coffees were also on the money with the iced coffee being a simple espresso shot mixed with milk on ice.

Pulled pork and cheese quesadilla - $18

The menu was very enticing and it took us quite a while to decide what to get. The pulled pork and cheese quesadilla came with a generous serve of sour cream on the side. The quesadilla wedges were topped with an onion and tomato salsa while inside the toasted quesadilla housed some juicy pulled pork and melty cheese.

Wagyu beef burger - $20

The Grounds of Alexandria

It's taken me a while to get to the Grounds of Alexandria. I'd heard about the animals and the pretty surroundings as well as the food, but I'd also heard about hour-long queues for a weekend lunch which kind of put me off. We decided to wait until the hype died down to pay them a visit.

The (very pretty) Grounds of Alexandria

Well, it turns out that the hype never really did die down, and on the Friday lunch we visited it was as busy as ever. There was still a waiting list for a table, but luckily there are plenty of things around the Grounds to keep us occupied while we wait.

Kevin Bacon! And Bradley the sheep!

We visit Kevin Bacon the pig and Bradley the sheep in their pen at the back, which they share with some chickens. It's a hot day when we visit so Kevin Bacon cools down by chilling out in the water bowl.

Kevin Bacon's house

Kevin Bacon cooling down on a hot day

There's also plenty of outdoor food carts with breads, sweet and savoury pastries, juices and coffee for those who want to grab a bite on the go. On a separate visit we even saw a cart selling jam or nutella filled doughnuts which were freshly fried and tasted amazing!

Bread and pastry cart

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills

Here crabby crabby crabby...

Paramount Coffee Project has been on my go-to list for some time now, so when a public holiday conveniently rolled around, I made the most of my day off and took the opportunity to pay them a visit.

The cafe space is airy and bright, with a few small tables, some larger, family-style tables in the centre of the cafe and counter seating at the coffee bar. We're lucky to get a table quickly at the big shared table, but the place is quite popular around lunchtime and we notice some people having to wait until a table becomes available until they are seated.

Latte - $4

Coffee is serious business here with coffee beans displayed on the bar and a few coffee blends on offer from Reuben Hills and Seven Seeds. There's the option of filter coffee or espresso based drinks, but for today we stick with our stock-standard lattes.

Coca Cola ox cheek waffle - $19

The Armchair Collective, Mona Vale

I had full intentions of writing this post while summer was still going strong and the weather was still beach-worthy, but it seems like I've blinked my eyes and February has gone and Autumn has arrived.

Don't let that stop you from visiting the Armchair Collective though. Even though it's conveniently located next to Mona Vale beach, the food, atmosphere and beautiful homewares available for purchase in the store will keep you coming back for more, as we certainly did when we visited them two weekends in a row!

Traditional iced coffee - $7

We started with a couple of drinks and I couldn't go past getting this traditional iced coffee. I'm a bit of a sucker for DIY things so this was right up my alley with each iced coffee component separated so you can mix your own. There's a shot of coffee, milk, sugar and ice cream and it's up to you to balance out the flavours as you please.

Iced chocolate - $6.50

The iced chocolate is also pretty mammoth sized and is generous on the chocolate syrup.

Armchair Big Breakfast - $19.50

Fouratefive, Surry Hills

Latte - $4

On one sunny morning, a group of us decide to meet in Surry Hills for a lazy weekend brunch. A rookie mistake, because by 11am, it seems as though half of Sydney has had the same idea, and there is a steady queue of people on Crown St waiting for a table. We wait outside FourAteFive for an hour until we're finally seated and by that time, a coffee is definitely in order.

Homemade creamed corn - $17

We're able to order from either the breakfast or lunch menus. I've only ever had creamed corn out of a can, so the homemade creamed corn intrigues me. It's not as sweet as its canned counterpart, but it's definitely more creamy. It's delicious on the organic sourdough toast with the gooey yolk of two poached eggs, and a side of crispy bacon.

Croissant eggs benedict - $18

Dose Espresso, Willoughby

There's nothing like a good coffee to kick-start the morning! And with the number of people that come to Dose Espresso for their daily dose of caffeine, you can be sure that they serve a good cup.

The cafe is constantly full with streams of people getting takeaway or sitting down and enjoying a long brekkie. The exposed brick, mismatched furniture and bare lightbulbs give an industrial hipster vibe to the cafe - but there's barely a hipster in sight with most of the customers being families, groups of middle-aged friends and young and old couples.

Bacon and egg roll - $10

Orto Trading Co, Surry Hills

Catching up with friends is always done best over delicious food. It doesn’t hurt to have a nice ambience and pretty decor either, and thankfully Orto Trading Co delivers on all three. I’m one of the first in our group to arrive, but feel quite at home on the large wooden table in amongst all the fresh flowers and breakfasty aromas wafting from the kitchen.

Freshly squeezed juices - $6.50

It’s a little early for alcohol so we forego the breakfast cocktails and stick to the freshly squeezed juices. My pineapple, passionfruit, apple and lime juice is a tangy concoction with passionfruit seeds lurking at the bottom. The mixed berry juice is a little sweeter, with plenty of pulpy berry bits.

MCA Cafe, The Rocks

Sydney has been showing off it's beautiful summer weather lately with blue skies and the sun shining down. It makes me want to come out of hibernation and head outside to enjoy the sun. Charm and I did exactly that when we headed out one weekend to check out the Little Black Jacket exhibition, and we grabbed a bite to eat beforehand at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Cafe.

Cafe interior

We arrived quite late in the day and many of the menu items had already sold out. There were still some tempting dishes though, like the carb-on-carb Oven-baked mac & cheese with bread and the Pea & fontina arancini (which we immediately regretted not ordering when we saw it come out in an egg carton!). In the end, we decided to get two dishes to share which was the perfect amount for a light lunch.

Crispy salt and pepper cuttlefish with garlic aioli - $16

Burnt Orange, Mosman

Cafe area

Burnt Orange is the perfect place for a girly day out. Not only does it boast harbour views, a quaint setting in a Federation-style mansion, and delicious food, but it has two levels of retail rooms with cute-as-a-button homewares, womenswear, jewellery and accessories which you can literally spend hours wandering around in (and we did).

A spontaneous trip to Burnt Orange one weekend meant that we didn't have time to make a booking, and the place was absolutely packed. We were given an approximate 30-45 minute wait for a table, but we spent the time poring over the retail rooms which made the time pass much more quickly.

Soup of the day served with homemade Avoca bread - $10

We're eventually seated in the cafe area in amongst families enjoying their Sunday lunch and girlfriends catching up over the latest goss. We choose our meals from the extensive menu and Charm opts for the soup of the day. Today's soup is roasted capsicum which arrives with a swirl of sour cream, a sprinkling of chives and a side of homemade Avoca bread.

Hot smoked trout salad - $25

Salon de Thé de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

Salmon de Thé at Joel Robuchon

After a long day of shopping in Hong Kong, there's nothing I want more than to sit down and rest my feet because they're usually absolutely killing me! I knew that there was a Joel Robuchon restaurant in the Landmark building so we made that our shopping rest point for some afternoon tea one day. Though the actual restaurant is up one level, there is a Salon de Thé (or tea room) on the third level which is a more casual dining area.

Teas

We shared a high tea set for two, which was HKD$315 (approx AUD$40 at the time). This included two pots of tea of our choice, which came in delightful coloured cast iron teapots. One pot was filled with a fragrant peach tea, while the other was classic English Breakfast. Charm was also won over by a special iced tea which included fresh berries, cubes of mango and a scoop of strawberry sorbet.

Sandwiches and scones

We start with the savouries and the scones with a wooden plank of assorted sandwiches and scones arriving on the table.

Sandwiches: Tuna and poached egg; Lobster sandwich with tarragon; Premium ham with mustard seed; Norwegian smoked salmon with caviar

Sandwiches: Tuna and poached egg; Lobster sandwich with tarragon; Premium ham with mustard seed; Norwegian smoked salmon with caviar[/caption]

Random Eats

New Lindt Excellence chocolate flavours amongst some of my "light bedtime reading" of psychology journal articles

Hello! Yes I'm still alive and well but been super busy with work and uni lately. Luckily I was sent some snacks from Lindt Australia to power me through! Those of you who follow me on twitter and instagram (jacq_in_a_box) know that I've still been getting out and about as usual but I just haven't found time to blog until now. Regular broadcasting will resume shortly but here's a quick post about some of the things I've been cooking and eating recently.

Ox tongue udon from Ju-Rin, Crows Nest - $9.50 (lunch)

Tonkotsu ramen from Ramen Genki, Artarmon - $12

The cold and rainy Sydney weather that we've been experiencing just makes me want to sit down with a bowl of piping hot noodles to warm my soul. Two of my favourites are the ox tongue udon from Ju-Rin, Crows Nest; and the tonkotsu ramen from Ramen Genki, Artarmon. The ox tongue udon has changed recently, becoming cheaper and with different toppings on the noodles. The ox tongue is just as tender and juicy, and the broth is still just as delicious.