Urban Jungle Cafe, Rhodes

 

Another hype cafe for Sydneysiders is this Urban Jungle Cafe.  They have a few branches around Sydney like in Rhodes, Parramatta and one shop in Southern Sydney, Hurstville.  This place is decorated with green leaves and flowers that kinda give the impression of you were in the jungle, a friendly jungle though. 

 

Hazelnut latte

Fresh orange juice $8

Southern chicken burger $19

This Southern fried chicken fillet was juicy and tender, came with maple chipotle BBQ glaze, homemade slaw, American cheddar, pickles, and served with fries too. 

Wagyu cheeseburger $21

A thick slab of grilled wagyu beef patty served with some kind of special sauce on a brioche bun.  It had some caramelised onions, pickles and cheese in the burger and also came with fries on the side.

This time of the year, they serve seasonal truffle menus in the house.  So, we gave it a go for 2 items on this special menu.  Truffle congee and truffle parmesan fries.  Although I really wanted to try their churros as well but we're too full after those main meals.  So, probably I'll give it a go next time. 

Truffle congee $25

This truffle congee, I didn't realise when I ordered, it is actually a vegetarian dish.  So, it comes with black fungus, spiced tofu, deep fried wonton sheet, fried egg and of course the hero of the dish, truffle.  You can add some extra meats from the options like chorizo, bacon, etc.  It was a good congee dish, though the truffle flavour was too subtle and light or it could also be the condiments just too strong in flavour.  Am I going to order this dish again next time? Hmmmm..... probably not. 

Truffle parmesan fries $13 with added fresh grated truffle for $12

Everyone loves these fries.  It was a pretty big portion of fries and they topped with truffle flavoured mayo and grated parmesan cheese and we also added extra grated truffle on top.  We definitely could not get enough of those truffles.  They all went well together.  Very happy with this dish.

Urban Jungle Cafe, Rhodes

Rhodes Waterside, 43/1 River Boulevard, Rhodes

Open: Monday - Friday from 7am - 4:30pm, 

           Weekend from 8am - 5pm

Ph: 0450 452 138

Cho Dumpling King, Haymarket

 

Lu rou fan or braised pork rice small (left) and large (right)

This Taiwanese shop has been here for ages.  Located in the Haymarket near UTS.  Back then they served a bento box of lu rou fan (braised pork rice) that comes with one side dish.  It costed less than $8 at that time for a rice set and $1 extra for a glass of cold black tea. Great for Uni students with a tight budget especially like me.   

I could just have a bowl of this rice and minced pork without condiments. They are already amazing on its own.  But don't quote me wrong their side dishes are very delectable as well.

We ordered the Taiwanese set meal which you will get one lu rou fan and one selection of side dishes.  The rice comes in a small or large size for $16 or $17 respectively.  With the set meal, you can get a choice of soup of the day or black/green tea or wintermelon tea for only $2 extra.  Of course, we never can get enough of their snack dishes, so we got more of them for $13 each. 

Deep fired pork chop

Deep fried chicken pieces

Taiwanese sausage

Soup of the day - Cho special sour soup

Braised pork knuckles

Chili sauce

They won't give you this chili sauce right away, you need to request for it.  I think the first one comes for free but if you want to get more, it will cost extra.  This chili is a must, it is not that spicy but all that black bean and taoco, they definitely lift up the flavour of your rice meal.  

 

Shaken ice black tea

Don't mistakenly take the name of restaurant which is Cho Dumpling King, you actually won't find any dumpling dishes here.  They serve authentic Taiwanese dishes instead.  Their price is pretty reasonable as well.  Also, their service is absolutely quick and spot on.  Totally recommend this place. 

Cho Dumpling King

Shop TG6, 8 Quay Street, Haymarket

Ph: 02 9281 2760

Opens: daily from 10am - 8pm

Little Spoon Fusion Cafe, Chippendale

Chippendale has turned themself into one of the trendiest and hottest suburbs compared to a few years back.  Nowadays, some are even calling it "Hippendale".  There are numbers of funky and creative cafes in the area.  And we definitely needed to go there to try them.  So, one fine weekend morning, we visited Little Spoon fusion cafe, located right behind Central Park.  This cafe serves Japanese fusion food and drinks.  I did check on the internet before coming here and I saw this grilled Angus beef with some sort of green soba and it looks absolutely gorgeous.  I was so sure that I have to try this dish.

 

The place was already packed when we arrived and luckily, we just got their last spot without even have to wait at all.  Good sign..

Turmeric latte

They did a really nice milk froth but for me, the turmeric here was way too strong.  Anyway, it still was a good drink.

I can't really remember the name of this juice but it was super refreshing and delicious too.  I'm sure that it has some mixture of berry juice in there.

Ham cheese burger for my kiddos

Soft shell crab tempura udon

At first from reading their menu, we thought this dish would be a soupy udon dish, udon with a clear soup base like we normally get in any Japanese restaurants.  When it arrived in front of us, we were pretty surprised with the look.  I mean in a good way though.  Although to be honest, before we tasted it, we presumed that it would be a boring dish.  However, after I took my first bite, it completely blew my mind.  I can taste slightly tanginess in it and those furikake and shrimp roes lifted up the whole flavour.  It was surprisingly enjoyable and delicious. 

Angus beef soba

This dish looks exactly like what I imagined.  The beef was perfectly cooked, medium-rare.  There was some kind of spices around the edges of those beef slices and texture wise, it was crispy on the outside and tender inside.  They gave plenty of meat there, it could be for 2 persons, but I can definitely have it for myself too.  For the noodle itself, to be honest, I like the taste from udon dish much better.

Well spent weekend morning with these delicious foods.  My tummy was surely happy.  And we will certainly come back here again.  Octie Appetie.. 

Little Spoon Fusion Cafe

81 O'Connor Street, Chippendale

Ph: 0426 571 179

Open: 7 days a week, 8am-3pm and until 3:30pm on the weekends

Cherry Blossom Festival at Auburn Botanic Garden

 

Sakura could be blooming around April in Japan.  But luckily for Sydneysiders, you can enjoy those beautiful cherry blossom not so far away from our backyard, in Auburn Botanic Garden to be exact.  In these 9 days, they are also holding a special event where you can experience strolling under those lovely pink sakura trees, located in the 'cherry trail' within the traditional Japanese Garden while participating in their activities and workshops as well as trying some delicious Japanese and other food at the Japanese Food Village.  It will definitely make a great day trip with friends and family.  

However, this festival is held across 9 days only and it will end this 27 August 2023.  Better be hurry and grab your ticket.  There are 3 sessions for entering the cherry trail, 9:15-11:45, 11:45-14:15 and 14:15-16:45.  The garden itself opens from 9am-5pm.  So, while waiting for your session to begin, you can visit other sites like fauna reserve, aviary or grab some food and drinks from food trucks.  

The good news is for whoever lives within Cumberland City Council area, you can enter the festival for free also for kid age 4 and below.  Otherwise, it costs $15.30 for an adult and $6.65 for senior and kid.  Click here to book for a ticket.

Japanese Food Village

Ube calamansi and pineapple tea

Sakura matcha tiramisu

Mini golf