Piccadilly Mount Lofty House Restaurant

Flipping through the Entertainment Book the other day and going through places we haven't tried, Picadilly Restaurant at Mount Lofty House caught our eye. We thought Mount Lofty House would be beautiful and to be seated at the restaurant overlooking such a wonderful landscape would make the whole experience much more beautiful. They boast fine quality organic produce that is local and sustainable. It sounded promising so we booked a table on a week night. 

Upon arriving we discovered that the Picadilly Restaurant downstairs (yes, where you get the breathtaking views) was closed for renovation so dining was to take place upstairs in Hardy's Private Dining room. The place looked cold and empty, with not a single soul in sight from the moment we entered the front door, while we walked around rather lost looking for this dining room until we actually got to the dining room. It's a beautiful heritage house with furniture from that era to suit but it did feel a little bit creepy with the silence and seeming absence of life!

We eventually found our way to the dining room through sounds of clanging pots, plates and cutlery. Service was good once we got there and consistent throughout the night.

We started with Braised pork belly with parsnip puree and apple salad $19. The pork belly had good flavour and went well with the apple salad but was the meat itself was a little bit dry.

  

Duck done two ways $20 - Shredded duck with a dark cherry sauce and house tea-smoked duck breast fillet. The tea smoked duck hardly had any smoked flavour and was rather bland. The shredded duck was okay but nothing to write home about.

After an average start we were hoping for fantastic main meals. I ordered the Crispy skin salmon with potato stack and broccolini $36. I don't often order salmon as I'm a huge meat person but I wasn't in the mood for steak so I went for salmon as I don't often cook it at home. The potato stack was like a German potato salad with seeded mustard and lovely flavours. It was however cold. I'm not sure if it was meant to be served that way. The salmon was a big disappointment. It was overcooked, definitely overcooked all the way through! The skin wasn't really crispy and the salmon was very fishy. I doubted the freshness of the salmon.

Mr. Foodie's main sounded promising. Venison Pie - slow cooked Hahndorf venison pie with Barossa smoked speck served on a bed of mash $36. You would think it impossible for a pie filling to be dry but they managed to do just that. It was dry, cold and bland. It was as though it had been reduced to no liquid and then left out with the lid off overnight. If the venison wasn't fresh, too bad, if it was, what a shame to ruin such beautiful gamey meat. At $36 for each main we were severely disappointed and I wasted my calories on it!!

Overall, it was an expensive disappointing experience with overpriced mains that do not deliver. I wouldn't even buy a pie like that from the pie shop let alone pay $36 for it. The menu sounded good but the food that came out didn't meet the mark.

Mount Lofty House 

74 Summit Road
Crafers 5152
08 8339 6777

Tony Roma's @ Cineleisure, PJ, Malaysia

I was sorting through my photos and trying to come up with some sort of organized "foldering" system on my drive on this very cold, grey and windy afternoon when I came across these photos taken on my phone a while back. It sure brought a chuckle and good memories. I went to the Malaysian franchise while I was there as it cannot be found here. What am I talking about? Tony Roma's. Originating from USA, Tony Roma's has now opened across 32 countries making their food truly, world famous. In Australia they have a restaurant in Perth and Sydney only.

So what's so special about Tony Roma's you ask. Well, to start with they have their world famous ribs which is arguably and believably one of the best in the world. I have not had better ribs since Tony Roma's famous beef ribs. They have even won recognition as "The Best Ribs in America". In certain countries they also serve pork ribs but in Malaysia, being a Muslim country, they have decided to keep as a halal franchise and therefore do not serve pork.

The restaurant is very much American diners style serving Tex Mex cuisine. If you are familiar with T.G.I. Friday's, it's similar but easily 5 times better. See my review on T.G.I. Friday's Adelaide here. The decor is casual, comfortable, memorabilia on the wall and a bar. The staff are friendly and service is ace. The sort of food you could get here was ribs, steak, chicken, burgers, seafood, shrimp cocktail, stuff like that.

One special item on the menu is the Onion Loaf. It is essentially onion rings arranged like a loaf served with a dipping sauce. Incredibly tasty but it really is to share because the grease gets to you if you're eating that all by yourself. Crunchy, delicious and amazing dipping sauce. Tick tick tick. Speaking of sauces, Tony Roma's have their own house sauces. When you go in to dine the waitress will introduce them to you. They are Tony Roma's Original™, Carolina Honeys™, Blue Ridge Smokies™, Maker's Mark Bourbon BBQ™and Tony Roma's Red Hots™. All their house sauces are trademarked. 

Onion loaf

These photos were taken well before I started blogging so without a blogger's mentality in mind, taking photos were more of an afterthought. Please excuse the mess. I really wanted to introduce this franchise to you guys.

On this occasion we ordered a full rack of Bountiful Beef Ribs glazed with TR Original sauce. It is hands down the best ribs I've ever eaten in my life. I've been back to the place 4 times now and each time it's just as good. The meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth, the sauce is so appetizing and flavoursome, the seasoning and marinade is clearly sufficient because every bite and every mouthful is just as good.

The ravenous pack was very fast

And done!

Pretty good effort and amazing appetite for a lunch but Tony Roma's ribs does that to you. We also ordered a couple of burgers because they sounded so gourmet and delicious.  

Big stack burger - grilled all beef burger piled with crisp beef bacon, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and Dijon mustard. 

I don't think I really need to explain this one. The ultimate burger. Very tasty and juicy. On a previous visit we also ordered a burger with blue cheese and it was divine. Currently on the menu online I saw that they have a Bistro burger which has an Italian touch with Asiago cheese, mozarella and sundried tomato pesto. Should be yum.

Cajun onion burger - grilled pure beef burger topped with Cheddar, Cajun-seasoned onion rings and spicy chipotle mustard sauce. 

It was delish. A huge burger to eat and frankly you have to break it down because it just doesn't fit in your mouth but my god it's packed of deliciousness and awesome flavour. Crispy, tasty, salty, spicy, sweet, crunchy and juicy.

Cajun Onion Burger

I really can't wait to go back to Malaysia again and visit Tony Roma's amongst other local food of course. It's the only thing that truly satisfies my ribs craving for now. Perhaps I will discover something even better in USA when I go on my honeymoon. Do check out their website to get an idea and see if they are available at your next holiday destination. I think it's definitely worth trying their ribs at least.

Tony Roma's 

Cineleisure G-32 Ground Floor

Mutiara Damansara

47800, PJ

Selangor, Malaysia

603-77287833

Lucky Lupitas @ Bedford Park

So here I am, finally made my way to this little eatery that has been the latest buzz since it opened, night in, night out packed with patrons often doing a stint of waiting outside first before getting a seat. I've easily driven past a hundred times going home and wondered what the food would be like. Lucky Lupitas is a humbly set up restaurant promising true Mexican street food. Stepping inside does transport you to a little town in Mexico with rustic style timber tables and bar, pipes on the ceiling branching out to hold light bulbs and irregular chairs. Flowers on the wall and wooden signs of drinks on offer, it had the look. 

Admittedly we went on a Friday night and expected to wait a little. Yes, wait. This place is so casual it doesn't take bookings. It's a first come, first serve. We were a group of 6 and there weren't many those big tables so we had to wait a bit longer. We arrived at 6.15pm and were told maybe 45 minutes but ended up waiting for 1 hour to get in. They had set up some benches outside for waiting and you could order drinks so we had some lime margaritas to kill some time. 

Patrons waiting for a seat

By now we were famished and really looking forward to the meal ahead. Out came these A3 paper menus in classic street style (well, technically you don't get a menu but anyway). Across the table a few orders were made. A variety of Mexican beers were also on offer and of course, margaritas.

Tostones $10.90 - twice cooked plantain chips with black bean mash, crema and habanero-tomato salsa. The salsa was delicious and the plantain chips had a nice crispiness to it.

Nachos $12.90 - totopos topped with salsa, guacamole, cilantro, cheese, black beans and sour cream on the side. Couldn't go to a Mexican and not order nachos. The serving was more than generous but it was unforunate that the nachos were cold and not fantastic. Ended leaving more than half of it.

Each table had four bottles of chilli sauces varying in their levels of spiciness. Mild Tabasco being the least spicy and the habanero one being the hottest. I must say however that it was the Salsa chipotle was the tastiest with medium heat but a nice smoky BBQ like flavour. I love spicy food so, my medium heat might be spicy to you. My advice, taste it before your drench your food in it.

Their hamburgers came with a variety of sauces and looked very promising. It's not the biggest of burgers but it was certainly fresh. The patty was juicy and flavoursome served on a soft burger bun. We chose Mole Verde sauce which was a blend of pickled jalapeno, pepita, cilantro, green onion and garlic. All hamburgers come with Peruvian salsa criolla, lettuce and tomato.

Hamburguesas $11.90

After all the hype we had to try the Lucky Ribs. At $23.90 you get two pieces of wood smoked and slow cooked beef short ribs in either Chipotle BBQ or Chimichurri which is a garlic and parsley based sauce commonly used for grilled meats in South America. The ribs had a nice smoky flavour and was cooked to perfection with the meat falling off the bone. Flavour however, was lacking a little bit for me. As my partner put it, we have been cursed by the taste of Tony Roma's ribs. It is indeed so far, the best we've ever tasted in the world....well, all the places we've been to. So much so we've given up ordering ribs until we locate Tony Roma's again.

Lucky Ribs $23.90

I decided to try something different. I saw a chicken dish with chocolate and was instantly intrigued.

Mole de cacahuate con pollo $18.90 - chicken maryland baked with a blended sauce of chiles, onion, garlic, peanuts and chocolate with white rice. It came in a claypot and looked very appetizing. The chicken was cooked well and the sauce was interesting. It was lacking a bit of a kick to it but enjoyable enough to eat nonetheless.

I'm glad I finally tried this place out, there are a few other things I'd like to try on the menu but I don't think I would return at dinner time and wait an hour for it. Perhaps a lunch affair on a fine afternoon would be nice. Takeaway is also available for those who prefer to dine at home.

Lucky Lupitas

1/4 Rupert Avenue

Bedford Park 

Near Flinders Medical Centre

08 8277 4004

The Barn Bistro @ McLaren Vale

This post has been a long time coming, perhaps because I wanted to do a really good job of it and it was going to be a longer post than usual that I had kept putting it aside in the past couple of busy weeks. Today, being rather immobile and sitting at home I decided to tackle this. It was a birthday celebration that brought us to this wonderful place The Barn Bistro situated on Main Road in McLaren Vale. The Barn Bistro had a casual feel to it with rustic country charm but the food is no where near old-fashioned. Entering this 1816 building, we were greeted by bright colours and lounges in the sitting room where you could mingle with a few drinks. On this night the fireplace wasn't in use but I can just imagine it being all warm and cosy.

You could sit inside or "outside" under the verandah which was rather magical with vines and fairy lights all around. We had a bigger party so we sat outside. I was really looking forward to the meal as I've heard good things.

The Barn Bistro has a Tapas and Main Menu so you could just go there for afternoon nibbles if you fancy or the full three course. We decided to try a bit from each menu as there were many of us. This was taken prior to me getting my new camera so the picture doesn't do it great justice. 

OMG Thai Beef Clusters - Tender marinated beef on a roasted cashew and crispy shallot salad. I really enjoyed this dish, the balance of flavours was perfect for me and the beef had a good tasty chew to it. The shallots and Chinese cabbage gave it a nice fresh crunch.

The Barn's Famous Chicken Liver Pate - This was indeed a nice pate. Very nice. Served with crispy toasted bread, it's a decent serving of pate we actually ran out of bread! 

Thai beef cluster $14, Chicken liver pate $12

This dinner was by no means calorie friendly but we did go for lean meat to start? Surely that counts for something. 

BBQ Moroccan Mutton Back Strap - rested on a roasted vegetable filo tartlet accompanied with a minted salsa verde, The mutton was cooked to perfection, tender, juicy and pink in the middle and you could taste the quality of the meat. The vegetable filo tartlet was divine and would probably make any child want to eat vegetables. My only niggle with the dish was that the moroccan spices didn't really show through.    

BBQ Moroccan Mutton Back Strap $29

400gm Grain Fed Fed Rib Eye on the bone with grilled potato cake and topped with BBQ’d Queensland banana prawns. The price was a little steep at $45 but a decent steak. Though slightly overcooked for our liking, the meat was still tender.

Grain Fed Rib Eye $45

We had Deep Fried Duck Fat Chat Potatoes as a side and it was very crispy and deliciously well seasoned. Why does tasty food always have to be unhealthy. 

Deep Fried Duck Fat Chats $8

It was a long night so we had a bit of a break in between for a couple of drinks before deciding on dessert. Thank goodness for that because we were getting quite full but the dessert menu was very tantalizing with the likes of Chocolate mousse, cheesecake and lemon tart. I had a Cham Wow cocktail in the meantime with Chambord and mint. It was rather refreshing.

Cham Wow cocktail

The time had come to order dessert and being full but curious, we decided to share one dessert. Eton Mess - fresh strawberries folded through crushed meringue nests, strawberry coulis and chantilly cream. Not what I would normally order because I'm not a huge fan of cream nor meringue but I thought I'd stray from my norm and give it a go. I actually rather enjoyed it, the cream balanced the sweetness and the strawberry coulis had a nice tang to it.

All in all we had a really good night with great food and great company. I would definitely come back here again in the future for the Thai Beef Clusters and more.

As the night falls, the fairy lights work their magic

Spot me in red?

The Barn Bistro

252 Main Road

McLaren Vale SA

08 8323 8618

Sloppy Joe

Well, well, well, it's been a very busy week and now I finally get to do a post. Speaking of busy, I thought I'd share a recipe that is easy, quick, child friendly and very yummy. It's Sloppy Joe. It's traditionally an American dish with mince beef, onions, tomato sauce and other seasoning served on a burger bun. Here's my version which has deviated a bit from the original.

Ingredients (Serves 4):

2 tbsp oil

500g beef mince

400g diced tin tomatoes

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp maple syrup or sugar

4 rashers of bacon cut into small pieces

4 red chillies chopped (optional)

2 cups of cooked navy beans (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

4 Burger buns

Method:

1. Heat oil in non stick pan and saute the onion and garlic until soften.
2. Add the bacon pieces and fry until fragrant and almost crispy.
3. Add beef mince and cook until browned making sure you break the mince up
4. Next, you can add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
5. Cover with lid and simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavours settle. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. If you used cooked navy beans, 20 minutes will be fine. If you used navy beans that have been soaked overnight but not cooked, you may need to cook for longer until it softens.
7. Half the burger buns and lightly toast and butter them. Serve the mince mix in a separate bowl or over the burger bun as desired.

And there you have the yummy Sloppy Joe. It is rather sloppy to eat. On this occasion I didn't have burger buns so I used English muffins instead with a bit of cheese on the side, life is no fun without cheese!

Hope you enjoy this as much as Mr. Foodie did. He had seconds!

Mediterranean Cafe @ Glenelg South

We hadn't been out to breakfast for a while now and one day Mr. Foodie was reminiscing about one of the best coffees he had. It was from Mediterranean Cafe on Broadway in Glenelg so I thought it'd be a perfect opportunity to have breakfast out. It was a beautiful morning and the sun soon came out. It was glorious. Mediterranean Cafe is situated in Glenelg South on Broadway just at the roundabout next to a dry cleaners and offers plenty of parking. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this place has their work cut out for them.

Despite Mr. Foodie raving on about their coffee, we started with a pot of Earl Grey tea and orange juice. The pot of tea came in this lovely tray and I rather liked the teapot/cup set I had to take a picture of it. 

French Toast $14.50 - Cinnamon caramelized apple and banana served with mascarpone vanilla cream. The French toast was done well, moist and flavoursome with lots of cinnamon to my liking. The apples were divine, soft and well caramelized. Just when you think it ends there, the mascarpone vanilla cream is beautiful, smooth and unique. The whole dish worked perfectly together. Definitely something I'd order again.

Mediterranean breakfast $15.90 - Poached, scrambled or fried eggs with bacon, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach served with toast. Every ingredient on this plate was quality produce. The chorizo sold this menu item for me but I thoroughly enjoyed everything. Freshly baked toasted sourdough bread, quality bacon that tasted so good and creamy scrambled eggs. I was very happy with the spinach as it was only slightly wilted contrary to most places that cook the life out of it.

It was such a beautiful morning we decided to sit a bit longer and have this coffee that Mr. Foodie has been raving on about. The coffees were indeed superb with very smooth and aromatic with good creme. It was a very enjoyable and delicious breakfast, we were ready for bed again having filled ourselves up to the neck. Wouldn't mind going for dinner to see if it is just as good.

Cafe Mediterranean

72 Broadway

Glenelg South SA 5045

08 8295 8333

Cafe Brunelli @ Rundle Street 2nd Visit

I've always fancied Cafe Brunelli as a dining place because of their variety on the menu and their late opening times. On this particular occasion we had just had burgers from Burger Theory, walked around Rundle Street and were ready for dessert. Cafe Brunelli has a huge dessert display all the long the left side with gelati as you walk in the door. They've always looked tempting so today I decided to try one. 

I went for the Chocolate Mint Mousse which looked very pretty in Green Lantern bright green. The Chocolate was also very minty. The mousse was yummy, not too sweet but rich as usual so it soon felt sickly. This evil that is chocolate gets me everytime!

Mr. Custard and Pizza Lover couldn't resist this item on their menu.

Apple Pie Calzone  $13.90 -  Folded pizza base filled with cinnamon apple and baked. Served with warm custard, vanilla ice-cream and chocolate shards.

It was too drenched in custard for my liking as I'm not a fan of cream, icing or custard. I've been told I'm weird. Anyway, it was a pretty sight and a huge dessert so I do recommend sharing. The cinnamon apple filling was well spiced and caramelized and the wood oven baked calzone   case added a nice aroma to it. 

Check out my previous post on their Lamb Yiros Pizza here.


Cafe Brunelli

187 Rundle Street

Adelaide SA 5000

08 8223 2221