Monday 20 January 2014

TGI Friday's [2]

My friend Sophie and I were in Marion to catch a movie and we decided to have lunch at TGI Friday's because she had never been there!




Booth style seating. Very American!


The bar is located in the area with the word 'KITCHEN'


I love the decor here!



Jack Daniel's Sampler  $29.95
Cajun battered shrimp, sesame chicken strips and baby back pork ribs + Jack Daniel's glaze

SO. GOOD. The size of this was intimidating at first but as we made our way through it, it didn't seem that bad. Goodness knows what's in that Jack Daniel's glaze but it's so delicious! The ribs were probably the stand out part of the dish. The meat had this really pleasant charred taste and was not overly dry, making it a real treat!

Caesar salad $26.75

I ordered this thinking both of us would be able to get a decent serve of veggies for lunch. Horrible choice though… Anything with any amount of nutritional value was drenched in the overly creamy and slightly sickly caesar dressing! Never again.

Cosmopolitan $13.50

Definitely not worth the price when compared to other places which serve this. Not very tasty, either!

San Francisco $6.25

Only order this if you like that medicine-y cherry taste! I personally hate it, yet somehow managed to endure through the entire glass, probably because it was icy cold and really refreshing.

I always love a visit to TGI Friday's. I don't find the food overly spectacular but for some reason I do enjoy eating it, especially when I'm in good company because it's such a fun place to eat at!

TGI Friday's on Urbanspoon

Grill'd (Highpoint Shopping Centre)

Before leaving for Melbourne, one of good friends Dimi (hello if you're reading!) told me that I simply HAD to visit Grill'd just for their amazing chips. 

And so I did! 
We stopped by for lunch just before leaving Highpoint Shopping Centre. 




 Moroccan Lamb $12.90
Grilled 100% grass fed lean lamb, roasted peppers, tzatziki, salad and relish
+ Snack chips $3.50 + Sweet chilli mayo $0.70

I always jump at the opportunity to have lamb in a burger and ended up ordering this. Looking back, I have no idea how I managed to finish that burger. It was huge! Well, I left part of the burger bun because there was simply too much of it. Lots of delicious flavours from the lamb accompanied by the tzatziki, and I didn't feel tremendously guilty eating it due to the presence of those veggies! 
Also, the chips really are to die for. The herbed salt makes it absolutely delicious.

 Mighty Melbourne $13.50
Grilled grass fed lean beef, tasty cheese, crispy trim bacon, free range egg, a couple slices of beetroot with salad, relish and herbed mayo
Snack chips $3.50 + Herbed mayo $0.70

'Simon Says' $12.50
Grilled chicken breast, avocado, crispy trim bacon, salad, relish and herbed mayo
Snack chips $3.50 + Sweet chilli mayo $0.70

This fantastic lunch left us extremely full but very happy! I highly recommend visiting Grill'd if you're from interstate and ever in Melbourne. It is a chain so I'm sure there are a decent number of them scattered throughout Victoria. I know it is definitely better than some of the burgers you can get in Adelaide and the chips are probably some of the best I've ever had!

Customer service was pretty decent here, with food coming out quickly although it was absolutely packed for lunch and the waiters and waitresses were also very friendly.  

Open up a store in Adelaide please, Grill'd?!

Grill'd Highpoint on Urbanspoon

Thursday 16 January 2014

Pho Hung Vuong Saigon

A weekend in December saw Mum, my sister and myself making a weekend trip to Melbourne for a wedding, which was absolutely beautiful! 

The morning after the wedding, we were absolutely exhausted but still, Mum was determined to visit Footscray. We were craving pho as comfort food and to soothe our headaches and a quick search on Urbanspoon told me that a popular Pho eatery was literally just a few doors down from where we were standing! We took it as a sign and visited Pho Hung Vuong Saigon.


I feel as though Adelaide doesn't really have many, if any, places open in the morning to have pho as a breakfast option. It is the norm in Vietnam where there are a plethora of soup options alone for breakfast! However, I guess pho would be a really heavy meal in the morning...




 Special beef combination rice noodle soup (small) $8.50

SO delicious! I like how the stock wasn't overly sweet and had a really rich meaty flavour. I also really liked the rice noodles themselves (scroll down 2 images to see them). They were different to the ones you'd find in Adelaide.

Grilled chicken rice noodle soup (small) $8.50

Feeling a little adventurous that morning, I ordered this. I've never seen anything like this on a menu before so I wasn't too sure what to expect. The chicken had a great flavour and tasted like it would have been perfect in a Vietnamese rice dish. However, I didn't really enjoy it sitting in the soup! Definitely an interesting menu item, but I don't think I'll order this if I visit again.

 The rice noodles

They were much thinner and softer than those I've had in Adelaide, and tasted a lot better, too!

 Fresh coconut juice $3

Definitely not fresh. And definitely overpriced. But oh so good! My tip would be to buy these at your local asian grocers - they cost less than a dollar.

 Hot soya bean milk $3

 Cold fresh lemon drink $3.50

I think this is a great place to enjoy a good bowl of pho and I'll definitely be back if I'm ever in Melbourne again! I highly recommend the beef rice noodles. 

 Pho Hung Vuong Saigon on Urbanspoon


While wandering around after breakfast, I stumbled across people setting up for a fair of some sort, and had a glimpse of some Melbourne food trucks! There was no way I could have eaten anymore after breakfast so unfortunately I couldn't try any of their offerings. Cute trucks, though!



Tuesday 14 January 2014

Toptai [2]

A visit to Toptai was planned for dinner in celebration of Mum's birthday! This was our second time visiting as a family (first visit here) and because we really enjoyed our meal last time, we had rather high expectations.


Choo Chee Prawns $21

Definitely one of our favourites! I just love the flavour of it and how great it tastes with steamed rice. 

Thai BBQ ribs $17.50

Well cooked ribs coated in a thick, rich sauce. A bit salty on its own, and partially neutralised with a bit of steamed rice. I don't think I'll be ordering this again any time soon, though. We were sick of it rather quickly because of how rich is was.

Pad Thai Prawns $16.90

We all really enjoyed this! I liked the slight tanginess in the flavour of the noodles and how well it was texturally well-complimented by the raw bean sprouts. 

Thai Duck Salad $25

Another one of our favourites! The crispy duck layer with a crunchy veggies and a delicious fish sauce based dressing is a refreshing hit amongst the other richer dishes. I definitely recommend eating this as soon as it arrives to avoid the duck becoming soggy.

Seasonal vegetables in black bean sauce $14.50

Nothing too special here. I ordered this specifically in an attempt to fulfil the rest of my 2 & 5 requirements for the day! However, I did like how they had a huge range of vegetables in the dish.

Fried Ice-cream $6

My sister's fried ice-cream. Unfortunately just as disappointing as last time. If you have a place which you believe does the best fried ice-cream in Adelaide, please leave it in a comment below!

Fried pineapple fritters $7

I ordered this in order to avoid the fried ice-cream! Essentially pieces of pineapple (from a can, I'm sure) battered and deep fried, served with vanilla ice cream. It looks just as it tastes; quite simple and I'm sure I'd be able to replicate it at home.

This was a lovely dining experience yet again. The staff were very friendly and attentive, even though they were fully booked that night, and the food came out very soon after ordering. I have seen people question the authenticity of this restaurant and I, too, also question it. I think there must be elements of general Asian cuisine mixed in as well. Nonetheless, a great dinner enjoyed by all of us!


Toptai on Urbanspoon

Hahndorf Day Trip Part 4: Everything else!

A very belatedly posted Part 4 to conclude my mini series! I took a few snaps of other places I visited and thought were super cute!

Coco Marie

Lots of beautiful bath products here and the entire store smelt divine. 





The Fruchoc Shop

Because why not? ;)






Farmhouse Providence (?)



Check out Parts 1, 2 & 3 if you haven't already!