Cowbell 808, Surry Hills

I got to hang with some of my oldest and closest pals yesterday, and we found the perfect lunching spot at Cowbell 808, a cafe located on Bourke Street in Surry Hills. And when I say "perfect lunching spot", I mean that it was perfect in every sense of the word. Not only was the food and service excellent, the table we chose was situated right next to a ginormous open window, and we were caressed by gentle gusts of cool air the whole time we were there. I don't think you can appreciate how welcome a phenomenon that is unless you've experienced summer (or the lead-up to it) in Sydney. 

Despite the warm weather, I ordered a long black. Having just spent the past few weeks subsisting on watery instant coffee, this freshly made long black sent my brain's pleasure centre into overdrive. I enjoyed the full-bodied smokiness of the black coffee with a few more sips before I asked for a small glass of milk to add to my beverage. 

The window we were seated next too. Natural air-conditioning.

For lunch, I ordered the roasted beetroot salad with orange cous cous and mint. Whoever plated the dish did a totally awesome job. It came out on a wooden board, looking like an artwork and oh-so-fresh. The cous cous was generously drizzled with olive oil and was still warm, which went nicely with the cool, sweet beetroot and mandarin slices. 

 

Roasted beetroot salad with orange cous cous and mint ($10). Pretty as a picture!

My friend L. went straight for the Cowbell 808 burger, which came with a side of onion rings. L. was totally awed by the size and height of the burger, and we spent some time debating the best way to eat it (she eventually settled on using a knife and fork, the dainty creature she is). The patty looked so juicy, and when she cut into it, we saw that it was nicely pink (my favourite way to eat meat!) I tried some of the patty and it was very tender, though perhaps slightly under-seasoned. I didn't try the onion rings, but L. seemed to like it very much.

Cowbell 808 burger, with fried onion rings ($18)

My other friend H. chose the poached chicken sambo. A 'sambo', H. explained upon our quizzical looks, is simply the Aussie slang for 'sandwich'. L., who has always lacked the propensity to let things go (I love you dear, but you know it's true), asked why you would replace a two-syllable word with a two-syllable slang. Just...eat your burger, L. ;P

Poached chicken sambo (didn't note down the price)

H.'s sambo came piled high with alfalfa sprouts and chicken pieces mixed with mayonnaise. H. said she liked it a lot.

 

We enjoyed our meals at a leisurely pace, then spent some time chatting about nothing in particular, and admiring the deco. I thought the basketball hoop in the middle of the room was very cool, and H. wanted to shoot some goals with our used napkins (I talked her out of it). 

Graffiti!

I can see Cowbell becoming 'our special place'; somewhere to return to again and again for the ever-changing specials, the calming atmosphere, and the attentive and welcoming staff. 

Cowbell 808

616 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

(02) 9698 5044

Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills

Just as people have certain dishes they consider as "comfort food", I view Bourke Street Bakery as my very own security blanket, and a home away from home, if it isn't too presumptuous to say so.

At times, I would purposefully get off the bus a few stops earlier, just so I can walk past the bakery on my way to wherever it is I am going. Sometimes I would go in and grab a few things for lunch or a snack. On the rare occasions that I am actually not hungry, I am content to simply admire the window display of gigantic sourdough loaves, raisin snails, and (my personal favourite) the pain au chocolat.

The said pain au chocolat.

My friend Pumpkin Pie, a self-confessed Bourke Street Bakery aficionado, gave a somewhat embarrassed recount of the time she and her mother polished off half a loaf of sourdough, just the bread on its own, at lightning speed while sitting inside their car. I countered her story with one of my very own: myself and another friend, each clutching an armful of brown paper bags filled with baked goods sweet and savoury, stumbling over to the park across the street and wolfing down half of our purchases before our brain could even process what it was we were eating. And when it did start to process, the scent, sight and atmosphere of the moment only served to stimulate our appetites further, and we finished everything off at a more leisurely pace, agreeing at the end that this was one of the best eating experiences we have shared.

Toby the dog, who left the side of his master to watch us eat. This was his expression throughout the length of our meal, and would return to his face each time he was done devouring whatever we gave him from our bounty.

Amongst our purchases were two sausage rolls, a variety of sweet tarts and a pain au chocolat to have then and there, as well as a few loaves of various sourdough to take home (or just in case we were still hungry afterwards).

We started with the savoury: the sausage rolls.

Pork & fennel sausage roll

The pastry of the pork & fennel sausage roll was very, very buttery and flaky, as evidenced by the state of my shirt afterwards, but did not taste greasy at all - a true indication of the freshness of the ingredients used and the rapid turnover of goods at the bakery. The pork and fennel filling was juicy, aromatic and very well seasoned. I can say with certainty that this was the best sausage roll I've tasted up to that point in time.

Inside the pork & fennel sausage roll. Look at the beautiful colours of the pastry and filling.



The lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll was similarly fresh, flaky and delectable. A sprinkle of what looked to be poppyseeds on top gave this a distinctly gourmet look. It tasted gourmet too! ;D

Lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll.

The insides of the lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll.

The sausage rolls were quite substantial in size, but we had just completed a long run and still had more than sufficient stomach space to accommodate desserts. So, without the slightest reprieve, we moved onto the sweets!

Ginger brulee tart

There's certainly no skimping on the ginger in the ginger brulee tart. The caramelized top tasted of deeply burnt sugar and ginger (a good thing!) and the custard underneath was smooth, wonderfully chilled, and held echoes of the gingery flavour.

Chocolate tart

The chocolate tart reminded me of a Twix chocolate bar. I maintain that Bourke Street Bakery has the best sweet tart crust (the recipe for which, if I recall correctly, may be found in the bakery's cookbook). It's not crumbly like shortbread, but very brittle, like a freshly made cannoli shell or the casing of a brandy snap. And tastes best when chilled, I reckon.

 Passion fruit meringue tart

The passion fruit meringue tart was definitely the stunner out of all the tarts in appearance. Perfect balance between the acidity of the passion fruit curd, and fluffy sweetness of the meringue.

Chocolate mousse and raspberry tart

The mousse component of the chocolate mousse and raspberry tart was very chocolatey, but not too sweet. The raspberry part was quite sour. They paired very well together.

Lemon curd tart

On the brink of a sugar coma, it was a good thing this lemon curd tart lived up to its name. The curd is indeed very sour and lemon-y, and may not necessarily be everyone's cuppa tea, but if you like a bit of bite to your desserts, do try this!

Oho, if we haven't scared you off yet with our gluttony, you should know that somehow, we managed to fit in a chocolate croissant as well!

Surely I am not the only one who sees a cute little piggy snout in this?!

And that was the end of our feast, I promise :D

Bourke Street Bakery

633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills.

Phone: (02) 9699 1011

Website: http://www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au/

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 7am - 6pm

Saturday & Sunday: 8am - 5pm

Maya Sweets and Indian Restaurant, Surry Hills

Only a quick post here, mostly because there's not much to write :D I don't really know much about Indian cuisine and desserts in general, so the only kind of insight I can provide when it comes to Indian Sweets is that...they taste nice. Different to what I'm used to, but nice!

I got this box of goodies from Maya Sweets on Cleveland Street of Surry Hills. There was such a variety to choose from, and I honestly wanted to try one of everything. Which probably explains why I ended up buying close to a kilo of the stuff without knowing how I was going to finish it all :D

Let it be known amongst those of you who have never tried Indian sweets that they are sweet. Like, really, really sweet. Don't rush in and take a ginormous bite like I did, because you will find yourselves grabbing at your own throats as the sugar literally explodes in your mouth and down your oesophagus. Instead, try small nibbles paired with strong, black coffee. You'll enjoy it more, methinks :D

And, just because I'm opinionated like that, I'm going to nominate a favourite even though my palate's as unrefined as a newborn's when it comes to Indian flavours. My favourite one was the yellow, spherical one (without the specks) on the far bottom, right corner. It tasted like buttery, caramel sand!

Maya Sweets and Indian Restaurant

468-472 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010

Phone: (02) 9699 8663

Re-fuelling at Taste Cafe

Hello, hello! Not that it's of any consequence to anyone who may read this but...I am now the proud owner of GREEN P-PLATES!!! Yes, I passed my Hazard Perception Test yesterday :D And good thing too, since my P1 licence was due to expire in a mere two days @_@"

I got to the City South RTA an hour earlier than I was supposed to, so I decided to check out some of the neighbouring cafes. A display of mini macarons in Taste Bakery on Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, caught my eye. So in I went, looking for a sugar rush before I braved the HPT.

I got a baggie of four mini macarons, in the flavours of sesame (shown above), apple & cinnamon, coconut, and green tea.

And also a coffee. Campos!

I guess it's a lot harder to bake mini macaron shells compared to 'normal' sized ones. By which I mean keep the insides moist. The ones which I had were very crunchy. Still, the flavours delivered, and these made for a tasty snack. I wholeheartedly attribute my success to these little babies :D

Green tea

Coconut

Apple & Cinnamon

Taste Bakery & Restaurant

38-44 Foveaux St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Phone: (02) 9281 7228

Breakfast at Cafe Ish

A couple of weeks ago, I organised a breakfast in the city for myself and a group of friends. And being possessed of a domineering persona (according to others anyway; I've always seen myself as simply strong-willed), the decision of where to breakfast of course fell to me. As if the others had a choice...at all!

And - for me - if we're even going to think about having breakfast in the Sydney CBD, there is one place that we have to try out. Once, at the very least.

So we went to Cafe Ish. I insisted. No one dared to argue.

Having heard about the cafe owners' reservations about people taking pictures of their food, I made sure to ask our friendly waitress whether photography was allowed. She assured me that it was, to my immense relief. I have my own opinions regarding food photography at restaurants, but since everything that's worth saying about the issue has already been said, I'll simply state here that the reason I take pictures of food is because I like whatever it is that I am seeing and want to share it with others. And if the quality of the food and service is genuinely of a high standard, res ipsa loquitur - the thing speaks for itself.

That's enough self-righteous spiel from me. Onto the food!

I went for broke and immediately put my name down for the Big ish. Had I been anticipating a day of intense downhill skiing in the hours ahead, I wouldn't have thought twice about polishing off this whole sumptuous feast-on-a-plate by myself. As it was, since my friends and I had plans to make a trip to Bourke Street Bakery after breakfast for dessert (I know, I know), and also for the sake of variety, we agreed to do the 'order one dish each and periodically rotate plates' thing :D

The 'Big ish' - 2 eggs sunny-side up, bacon, tomato, crocodile(!) sausage, mushroom, beans, damper toast, and fried mochi, $20.50

I love me a full English breakfast, and this was a fantastic Australian (and maybe Japanese also?) rendition of the classic favourite. The fried mochi tasted like chewy hash browns. All of my friends remarked on how delicious the baked beans were.

I also ordered the iced version of barista and co-owner Ai's famous wattle maccacino. The macadamia ice cream used in this was made by Gundowring, and that for me elevates this drink to the level of a gourmet dessert. I loved it! I'm so looking forward to the days getting cooler again so I can try out the hot version.

Iced wattle maccacino

One of the friends, who has a major sweet tooth, ordered the dessert-y Emperor Don.

'Emperor Don' - toasted brioche, lemon myrtle ricotta, sake scented rosella and rasperries with passionfruit, $14.50



So beautiful! I wish my photos could do it more justice...

Another friend, who had never tried sourdough before, ordered this:

Sourdough toast with tomato and avocado salsa, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, $8.50

And both of them ordered this pretty, pink tea infusion, the name of which escapes me.

My third friend decided to venture beyond the breakfast menu and ordered chicken skewers with rice and miso. Rice for breakfast? That's authenticity for you!

I can't find this on the menu over at Cafe Ish's website, but it was tasty!

On our way out, we happened upon this little darling:

Looks like my chihuahua has competition for the title of cutest dog in Sydney.

We left Cafe Ish feeling extremely well-fed and delighted over the innovation inherent in each and every one of the dishes we tried. Since then, I've gone back there for a casual, afternoon coffee...and then dinner the very next day!

Cafe Ish, you've got yourself one, very happy return customer right here! :D

Cafe Ish

82 Campbell Street,

Surry Hills, NSW 2010

(02)9281 1688