Mad Spuds Cafe - Surry Hills

Learned of this place when someone linked me to NQN's post on spuds for brunch (I also liked Jeroxie's post). From memory, we were both supposed to be doing assignments, but were too busy making plans to eat here!  Who doesn't like potayters?! (insert interrobang)  So, we ended up coming here that weekend and did not regret it one bit!

Like many other places in Surry (I've been coming here a lot in the past month- full time uni has its perks), this cafe has it's quirks. There are really cute potato-related figurines, posters and decor in every single corner of the room. I remember they also played music that I really liked, but I didn't Shazam anything that day D: Totally regretting it too.  Click here for the menu.

Ordered a coffee even though it was lunch and I had already been up and about for 4 hours. I liked it!

nothing more fulfilling than a weekend latte

Now, feast your eyes on brunch!

Boxty (Traditional Irish potato pancake) $16

 Ok, so it isn't the prettiest thing, but what did you expect from a potato pancake?  The blobs you see are mustard and apple puree - both which LOVE. It had spiced white sausage, crispy bacon and sage. Lots of flavour! To be honest though, it's been too long, I can't exactly remember what it tasted like D:

Mad Pan Brekkie $16

This was exciting. I think this was only added to our bill because we saw someone sitting on the opposite table eating from a pan.  Very rustic. Eating straight from the pan - such a novelty!  We so bought it!  I think C had a bit of trouble finishing it though. The poached egg, giant boston beans, pork sausage and hash browns were probably too much to consume in one sitting.

Irish Breakfast $18

When C ordered this, the thing I wanted to try the most, was the blood sausage. I don't know why, but I was imagining the blood sausage to look something like Chinese pig blood jelly, but alas, it was nothing like that. It just tasted very pepper-y and had a mushy rice texture. The next most exciting thing was the potato bread - which was just more dense and felt more starchy than normal toast. :)

Salmon & feta - twice cooked spud skins $14

In life, my one true love is salmon. I love smoked salmon anything. So when I saw potatoes + salmon together on the menu, I knew I had to get that. (A half lie actually, I was a bit torn between the mad pan brekkie because ... because I wanted to eat out of a pan!!)  This was actually really yummy. There was the smoky flavour from the salmon and the soft crunch from the sprouts - I think it was just a really nice combo of flavours, esp with the Apricot sauce/jam and sourness of the feta cheese. YUM. Needless to say, I didn't regret not ordering the mad pan brekkie.  Almost forgot to talk about the spuds!  They were super crunchy - and a bit like boat shaped chips.  Ahaha, if I ever go back, I might even order this again!

It was a very starchy brunch - good thing Surry is a bit of a trek.  It was a nice walk back :)  Overall thoughts, YES I RECOMMEND THIS PLACE.  Would I go back again? Yes, but not until I try out some other places in Surry.

On the way back into the city, we stopped by El Loco for a midday drink. I then headed back to uni and managed to finish an assignment. 

I joked about the tequila without realising my food buds were actually game.

I don't think ageing has made us any wiser.

But we weren't the only ones. The place was pretty full on a Sat arvo ;)

Sculptures by the Sea @ Bondi, 2012

When one of my workmates said he hadn't EVER been to Bondi, our work group was shocked. How can you call yourself a Sydney-sider if you haven't traveled to Bondi?  So we thought we'd venture out on the weekend. It was perfect, especially since Sculptures by the Sea was on :)

We got off the 333 bus as soon as we started seeing cafes/shops because we wanted to stop by for lunch :D  Ended up walking for quite a while because a billion other people were trying to find a place to have lunch too.  We ended up at Gusto Cafe - they make a mean grilled chicken salad, let me tell you. 

menu

 I did not order a coffee (got a mango smoothie instead), but lots of people/locals dropped by to get a t/a coffee, so I presume they're good!

grilled chicken salad with grilled corn, celery, apple and sundried tomatoes - YUM

Corn fritters

beef burger

I thought the food was great. The only problem was the wait for the food. Beef, which usually takes the least time to cook, actually took the longest to come - almost half an hour after we ordered. The chicken salads came out about 15-20 minutes after ordering. Corn fritters took ages too D:  

But I guess they were tasty...

Moving along!  It was a short and lovely stroll to the beach :)

I swear half my photos are of water/sand/sky and not really of the sculptures. It's just too scenic at Bondi. The view is far too distracting!

Does this remind you of a woolies trolley?

And then from below, we saw these:

I was going to report back to M, telling her what I saw, and I couldn't quite figure out how I'd say it in words - so I recorded a bit of it. 

This photo reminds me of K. She has a stress ball (which is really a stress-slug) make of soft rubber, which looks EXACTLY like one of these.  We call it "Gertrude" and I was just really amused to find a few of them wedged in the rocks :D

a whole gang of Gertrudes!

There's also an indoors exhibit showing the smaller sculptures and the mini-versions of the sculptures displayed from Bondi to Taramara in years past and present.

Took 198 photos on my iPhone 4 that day. Still waiting for my camera to come in the mail *-*  I want it to come before the next weekend so I can hit up Bondi again :)

This was probably my favourite. It's like a dome shaped enclosure which is covered in rainbow scarves.  Inside,  you can see it's a metal wire dome, and attached are little buttons with messages that people have written.

On the plateau place with the bamboo poles, there was also a tent FULL of stuffed animals. Tbh, it was a terrifying sight - the animals were displayed in a real in-you-face way, but I guess that was the effect the co-ordinators wanted it to have.

I had to weave my way though other stuffed animals to get this photo. What I didn't realise at the time, was the hyena to my left. My yelp was more than just audible - that was embarrassing. I think I was a bit spooked out by the amount of dead-ness there was in the room. (The amount of dead-ness does not compare to the stuffed animal exhibit at the Melbourne museum, although their animals are not arranged in such a scary manner).

There were more, but I'd rather you all go see it in person - the exhibit sent a pretty powerful message about poaching/environmental sustainability. Besides, I think I have enough dead stuff in one post. D:

Standing at the wrong busstop at Taramara Beach.

Overall, it was a nice day. We ended up taking 3 hours from Bondi to Taramara and back (ceebsed waiting 45mins for the bus). It was an easy walk- though I have to say, we went on a Sunday.  I went twice last year, once on a Saturday and there was SO MUCH congestion. I'm waiting for my camera to come in the mail so I can go again.

Screw study. That's what stuvac is for.

I think this finishes next weekend. To those who have never been, GO!  There is never much happening in Sydney, so you should totally take advantage of this :)

PS. The iPhone photos turned out okay, eh?

Fish Markets & bagel baking!

Saturday mornings are usually a major rush - but on the weekend, I managed to make my way into the city without too much hassle. Took a stroll through the park and realised that Camperdown is actually a really lovely place.  There are always people walking their dogs - it's tranquil, but also a very close to the city. 

Park where the dogs are PLENTIFUL!

Chinese school was fun. It feels like high school again, mucking around with everyone else. (minus the professor dude). Everyone is generally around the same age and so we don't have a problem mingling and I have some kind of link (6 degrees of separation) to everyone in that class. I was so destined to be in that class!

After we disbanded, I met up with an army of hungry people and ventured to the Fish Markets.

look at these badboys

I love going to the fish market.  It's a bit smelly and its a bit crowded, yes, but it also has THE BEST FOOD EVER. Seafood, cheese, fruits... yum!

We bought some fruit and ventured back to C's abode to chill down and bake bagels :)

my definition of "chilling down"

DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD TO BOIL BAGELS? I did not. I also have no idea why our bagels turned out looking so uneven and rough looking ;D  Each one had so much character.

boiling a bagel!

the finished product - TADA!

 The process definitely took longer than expected.  I'm thinking about trying this at home, but I'm not sure how keen the fambam are on bagels.

N2 are doing a halloween special for those who are interested.  They've got some pretty creepy decor up.  I follow the boss on instagram so I've been keeping up with the decorations development. It's pretty nasty... but somewhat intriguing?

dolls are creepy enough as themselves :/

But speaking of creepy, I seem to run into creepy men a lot, now that buses are my main mode of transport.  Two creepy incidence in two weeks. :| A bit paranoid now, especially when I'm traveling after peak hour.

Digressing, LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL I JET OFF. I am kinda sad to leave the country so soon, but also friggin' excited to be going some place I've never been before.  Time to chase the New York food trucks. yay :)

Hope everyone had a happy Monday and good luck to all those doing exams!  With our exams nearing, I expect my blog posting frequency to go up. xP sad times.

Proud

Is it weird that I feel really proud of my friends when I see them fend for themselves (I.e. making a healthy dinner). This was the highlight of my morning so far - ugh it's been such a horrible morning already.

The Winery and Ken & Julia Yonetani's What the Birds Knew

Starting with the food - just cos I always do :)

Tonight, I went to The Winery in Surry for the first time.  We ventured into Surry Hills on a whim - sort of.. well not really. Initially we intended to go to Bamboo Dumpling Bar, but they were fully booked. Then we tried to get a table at The Forresters*, remembering the great post by Chocolatesuze, but had just missed out. But speaking of The Forresters, there's a new restaurant upstairs called Queenie's.  After taking a quick glance at their menu, I can conclude that they serve Jamaican cuisine with a mishmash of foods from other cultures (e.g. Japanese teriyaki and Lebanese tabouli, etc. It sounds interesting... but I'm not that daring yet). 

ANYWAY, in the end, W suggested The Winery.  I have heard so much about the Winery from my foodie friends at work so I was really glad to be reminded of this place. 

If you walk past the place, you definitely WILL NOT miss it. It's very plant-y, and resembles a nursery than a restaurant/bar. It's pretty during the day, and pretty funky/groovy at night.  The atmosphere is buzzing around happy hour and it is a pretty fantastic place to be on a Friday night. 

the entrance

If you swing by at 7 without a reservation on a Friday night, be prepared to wait an hour or so (note to self, make Friday night plans on Thursday night - and book!).  

a grainy photo of the menu

 ALRIGHT - FOOD PICTURES.  I put them through filters - they look even prettier now (will I ever get sick of instagram? Probably not).

Firstly, the roasted mushrooms:

Roasted mushrooms - pounded pesto, pine nuts and ricotta

 I love mushrooms and I love ricotta, so this dish was a clear winner for me. The mushrooms stuffed to perfection, and juicy.  The pesto gave it that extra kick of fresh herby flavour and every mouthful of this was so such a joyful experience. I especially enjoyed the little sprouty leaves sprinkled on the top. I have no idea what herbs they are - but they are yummeh.

Next item - we had to wiki before ordering:

Kingfish carpaccio - edamame, caper salt and pickled veggie aioli

TBH, when I layed eyes on this, I thought it was the ugliest thing ever. However, upon further inspection, I discovered that I loved everything (damn those pickles were yum).  When kingfish is done right, it's my favourite sashimi. I'm not used to eating kingfish that's splayed out this like - but I found it interesting.  The combination of flavours was also very interesting. It was a bit salty in places (from the caper salt I guess), fishy in the tail areas, and aioli-ish in most of the other parts. LOL. I think they did the aioli well. I would happily order this dish again.

Last one:

Chicken, champagne and grape pie with a side of buttered spinach

I thought this was the ultimate comfort dish. It was jampacked full of chicken-y goodness, and you could see the individual grapes inside.  I'm not too sure what I thought about this, except that I had higher expectations because it's such a quirky combination of main ingredients and somehow, I thought it would be super special. But alas, it was just a chicken pie. The sauce at the bottom of the bowl tasted a bit like red wine though - it was pretty nice. Grapey. Would not order again. Should have got the paper bag steamed bara instead.

FOOD BIT IS FINISHED. I just wanted to write about it while it is still very fresh in my memory. So, earlier in the day, while we were at Harry's cafe de wheels, I spied a glowing chandelier in a shop across the road.

I spy with my little eye...

 And after the hotdog...


What the Birds Knew - a collection of pieces by Ken & Julia Yonetani.

so cool

 I was unaware that UV lightbulbs could give me cancer.

But apparently they can.

For the next photo, I think you'll get a better view if you click on it.

GIANT ANT

 EEEEEK! Super creepy, but super cool.

There were other neon/UV signs too (Electric dreams, radioactive and meltdown). Also tres cool. And I read about the artworks online - deep and meaningful.

I'm not very good at interpreting art, but I love it. I love expression!

Name plaques of sponsors

I LIKE RED. SO VIBRANT.

I am so pooped from today's studying/eating/walking around.  Overall, another chill-but-funtastic day. Too bad exams are coming up, I would have enjoyed doing this sort of stuff for so much longer :)

Anyway, I hope I'll get a chance to blog about my visit to Mad Spuds Cafe (unless I already have. LOL. Losing track...).  Hope you all have a loverly weekend and that we all squeeze all the sunshine we can get out of it!!