Coffee Culture, Bowral

The first pit stop of a road trip is essential and usually very necessarily. Firstly, it's where you "revive" (that's right Dr Karl, I listen) but secondly you feel like you've stepped into a wonderland where there's a bathroom, food and seats that don't make you feel nauseated. It doesn't even entirely matter if the quality is even that good, because the moment you step in, it is a sanctuary. 

After a good two hours of driving, we had finally arrived at Bowral, a lovely town filled with fresh icy air. Whenever we go somewhere to eat, we're usually quite on top of things like we've done our research on Urbanspoon. But after driving with no breakfast in our stomachs, we weren't fussed with what we had. 

Coffee Culture is hidden away, only having those in the know venturing down a little alley. It's quite a spacious cafe and we're so grateful to see something opened! 

They made a bit of a mistake writing the menu which my partner and I were laughing at for a good few minutes. If you can read it, it says "Scrambled eggs w/ feta & baby". 

Soy latte, $4.00 

My partner's coffee wasn't bad, but just a tad burnt. I'm still on the fence about being given the chocolate Tiny Teddy. It's kind of cute and it triggers nostalgic conversations but no one under the age of 5 eat Tiny Teddies!

Fresh OJ, $3.00

It is fresh! Not bad! I prefer having a non-dairy drink in case I still feel nauseated from the drive. 

Free range scrambled eggs with New York toast, $8.50

As great as it is to have buttery scrambled eggs, these eggs only taste of butter and nothing else unfortunately. But they're alright because they're very creamy! It could have done with a few more slices of bread considering he got the end pieces. 

BLT, aioli, lettuce, tomato, bacon on Turkish, $11.50

I was happy with my BLT! You can never go wrong with bacon so I was a happy camper. Although the lettuce has been replaced by rocket. The Turkish bread is nicely toasted, buttered and also covered with aioli. A little bit expensive for just a sandwich but it was everything that I wanted so I not too many complaints.

When I'm on holidays or going away for a weekend, for some reason the price of things don't matter as much. I always say "Oh it's okay, I'm on holidays!" I wonder if this is just me. Coffee Culture isn't a bad pitstop for some breakfast and drinks. But I know there are plenty of other cute cafes around the town that we could've tried if we weren't so damn hungry and in a rush to Kangaroo Valley!

Coffee Culture
Shop 6
Empire Cinema Complex
Bong Bong St
Bowral

4862 2400

Ladurée, Sydney

A little gift of Ladurée macarons is something that puts a smile on your face and makes that ordinary weekday a little special. The little double-decker macaron was invented in 1930 by the grandson of the original pattisier Louis-Ernest Ladurée, and they are still popular 83 years later. But somehow this trend has not quite stuck with me. 

For those who don't know what macarons are (though it is highly unusual nowadays), they are essentially a meringue cookie sandwich. But I guess if you want me to elaborate more, a filling of flavoured ganache or buttercream is sandwiched between two meringue based cookies. The meringue shells are incredibly sweet and it's the filling that determines what flavour it is. 

I have visited the Ladurée store in Sydney before and people go mental for these things! Before you're even close to the kiosk you know you're close by the sight of the outrageously long queue. Each of the macarons cost extra if you dine in.  

The exuberant packaging

There is extravagant packaging for the macarons. The boutique carry-bag, the ribbon and the box make the macarons more than just sweets but a gift of luxury and decadence. At $3.20 for one petite macaron, I question whether customers are paying for the actual sweet or the gift wrap. 

Photogenic food

There isn't any indication of what the flavours were so it is a tasting game. The green macaron is not pleasant, awful actually and I had no idea what flavour it is. The two chocolate macarons (I'm not sure if there was any distinction between the two) were good! I'm not sure what the pink one was, but it was quite sweet. The vanilla is fine and reminds me of marshmallow. But my favourite is the salted caramel, it's the best and you can't go wrong! 

Ridiculous photogenic confectionary

For those who have not tried a macaron before, whether it's from Ladurée, the Lindt cafe or Adriano Zumbo, give it a go. Macarons are gorgeous and delicate, but it comes at a very luxurious price. 

Ladurée

Level 3 Westfield Sydney
100 Market St 

Sydney 

9231 0491

Mamak, Chatswood

The story goes that Mamak was created by a bunch of uni students who were craving food from home and ended up making a business out of it. Regardless if this is accurate, whatever they were inspired by, the Mamak team has created great success! With huge queues snaking around corners, Mamak has expanded beyond Sydney and has set up shop in Melbourne as well. There's no doubt we'll be seeing Mamak invading the other states soon!

Like all South-East Asian cuisines Mamak is no exception to having spicy food. The spicier it is, the more addictive the food becomes! Every time I leave Mamak after a very satisfying dinner, I am so bloated because every spicy bite is followed by a giant mouthful of water to numb it all. "If it's that spicy, why do you eat it?" Because no one can say 'no' to Mamak. 

Since it's only just after 5.30pm (their dinner opening time), I figure there's bound to be no queue and I can take my sweet time getting there. And voila! This may be the only time where I can take a picture with no queues outside the door! But when I'm inside I see 90% of the tables are occupied with diners and the waiter shows me to a table in the corner of the restaurant which I happily accept. 

I am incredibly impressed (but also slightly scared) of the couple next to us because every 5 minutes a dish is brought to them and they always to manage to successfully gobble it down. I'm pretty sure they got 3 times more things than us (a table of three)! I think they ordered plain roti, curry, rice, fried rice, roti stuffed with meat, a dozen satay sticks and two desserts. The tables at Mamak are quite snug so I wasn't deliberately looking at their feast. It was hard not to notice! 

Rice, $2.50 per person

We order two servings of rice and the serving was massive! Nice and fluffy. Very necessary to have with curry!

Kari kambing, $16.00

Dad specifically requests for their slow-cooked lamb curry and it's as good as he remembers it as he keeps on spooning rice and ladles the curry! The lamb is very tender, soft and juicy. The curry sauce is great, slightly spicy and needs to be eaten with rice!  

Mee goreng, $11.50

The mee goreng is much spicier than I thought it was. There are specks of chilli throughout the noodles but the flavours are so great that you just can't help having another serving. There are prawns, egg, fish cakes, tofu, bean sprouts and choy sum embedded in the noodles. It's a great dish to order if you're eating by yourself as the price is very reasonable for a huge plate of delicious noodles! There's also an option for maggi moreng. 

A dozen of chicken satay sticks, $16.00

Mamak's chicken satay sticks are close competition to the ones I've had in Singapore's Lau Pa Sat hawker market. It's the last dish to arrive but they are certainly worth the wait. We often order a dozen of these to take-away but when it gets back home the chicken is slightly dried up already. But having these on the premises and still hot from the chargrill is a great experience because the chicken is moist and tender. The satay sauce is perfect as it has bits of peanut in it and you can taste all fresh ingredients that has been put in it. I love that it has texture to it because it gives it character and depth.

There are plenty more things at Mamak that I love dearly but unfortunately with just three people, we don't have enough stomach space to consume it all. I LOVE their fried chicken! The batter is light and thin which gives the pieces of chicken just a layer of crisp while the meat is very juicy and tender. Their rotis are amazing, sweet or savoury. And last but not least their ice milo is great. It's very simple but chilled condensed milk and milo make the perfect couple. Don't be discouraged by the queues, it's usually a quick turnover so be patient and stare at the roti chefs throwing the pastry around through the glass windows. 

Mamak

Shop P9, 1-5 Railway St
Chatswood

9411 4411

Ryo's, Crows Nest

Before I began writing this food blog, I had been to Ryo’s countless of times! After I started, we just never found the right time to go. But on this lucky Sunday evening, we had no plans, no prior engagements which mean I was finally able to write a blog post on my favourite ramen noodle house!

Ryo’s is located away from the main street where majority of the shops are. I was introduced to Ryo's a while back and haven't stopped going since. It's a cute little dainty place that is always busy and queuing is all part of the Ryo’s experience. I would suggest going before 6.30pm if you don't want to line up and remember they're closed on Wednesdays (I've accidentally gone twice by mistake)!

No queue outside Ryo's!? Unheard of!

Japanese menu on the wall

And on the other wall! 

For a mere $3.50, you can order a second serve of noodles, which is great for all those hungry eaters. The bowls may look small but the noodles and soup fill you up pretty quickly so make sure you take a couple of minutes to digest before ordering more! They also have a kid’s ramen size for $9.00, which I saw a woman order, as well as a plate of veg - a great idea if you're not after too much carbs! 

The menu

So, you've got your pork soup that can be salt or miso flavoured (both thick), chicken soup (a thin broth), cold noodles, rice dishes (it's accommodating to have that option, but no one should really go to Ryo's for anything but ramen), kids portions and sides (steamed veg, corn, butter, egg, roasted pork and kaarage chicken). 

If you're twirling your thumbs while you're waiting for your noodles (which usually isn't more than ten minutes) go pour yourself some water and get some pickled ginger, which I believe they pickle themselves because every time the intensity of the ginger differs! The water and pickled ginger are located on the bench, which everyone knows the customs of GIY (getting-it-yourself)!

Ramen in miso flavoured soup with roasted pork, shallots and bamboo shoots, $14.50

As usual, my partner goes for the pork soup because it has a more intense flavour and the consistency is thicker. I try some and it's quite salty and it is very rich. He comments on how good the egg is this time around, the yolk is soft and silky. Seeing as he enjoyed it so much, I give him mine! 

Ramen in Tokyo style soy sauce flavoured soup with roast pork, egg, bamboo shoots and nori $13.50

I almost always order ramen in chicken soup because it has a milder flavour that I love (and he hates). I take a spoonful and it's just as great as I remember. The noodles are nice and chewy, the perfect texture to slurp through. The roast pork has just the right amount of fat which makes is moist and soft. I don't really like the bamboo shoots that are in ramen but I still try it anyway and the odd flavours that I dislike come back to me. I like to eat the nori last, as half of it is soaked in the broth. It is the perfect finish to a meal that is always comforting and satisfying. 

If you're having trouble choosing a ramen, why not look at Ryo's top ranking ramens? 

I love Ryo's because it's cute, small, authentic and there's no fuss to it. It's not pretentious, it doesn’t try to live up to anything nor win any food critic's heart. It's fast food (minus the queuing time) because you go there for ramen, you eat and then you leave. It's not a place for diddy-daddling. You go there for Sydney's best ramen and that is exactly what you get. 

Ryo's

125 Falcon St

Crows Nest

9955 0225