All posts by OurWorldinReview

The Magic of Mikla Restaurant – Istanbul

September 17, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Sometimes when you are travelling, it involves some sort of life celebration. Perhaps a honeymoon, a wedding anniversary or a special birthday – there are times when you just want to create a moment to remember. When that travel bug strikes and it incorporates a special date, we try to organise something special for the night. Here’s our review of Mikla Restaurant.

In April 2016 our travel took us travelling through Dubai, Turkey and Greece. We were scheduled to be in Istanbul on our wedding anniversary and Josie was able to secure a table for two at world-renowned celebrity chef, Mehmet Gürs’s stunning Mikla Restaurant.

Mehmet Gürs is partner and owner of 19 restaurants and cafes around the world. Mikla Restaurant would be one of the jewels in his culinary crown. The restaurant is located at the top of the Marmara Pera Hotel at Meşrutiyet Caddesi 15 34430, Beyoğlu, İstanbul and features stunning views and incredible food. Mikla is currently ranked number 56 in this year’s annual “World’s Best Restaurants list” which is truly a remarkable achievement for Mehmet and Mikla.

Upon entry onto the top floor of the Marmara Peru Hotel, you are welcomed with a large display case of all the beautiful wines Mikla has on offer. At the reservation desk you will be met by the restaurant’s Maitre d’. Once inside you are shown to their casual bar area and offered refreshments. From the balcony you are greeted by the stunning views of Istanbul until you are ready to be seated at one of their comfortable tables.

Mikla's views of Istanbul — Mikla’s views of Istanbul

Mikla Restaurant offers its customers a fixed three course al la carte menu for TL185 per person or around AUD$80. The three fixed courses have five or six dish selections per course so you can mould your meal to your liking. The other menu option available to you is Mikla’s impressive seven course tasting plate for TL265pp (AUD$120). Adding in the six matching wines will bring it to TL430pp (AUD$190). As this was a special occasion and we knew we may never get the chance again we opted for the seven courses with six matching wines.

As expected in a quality fine dining establishment the waiting staff were excellent. They were very attentive to our needs and knowledgeable of the food and wines they were serving. Unbeknown to us the seven course, six wine tasting menu ended up being eleven courses and seven wines due to exceptional Turkish hospitality and an innocent fish bone remark.

During the superbly cooked fish dish below, I happened upon a small bone, put it to the side of the plate and continued enjoying the wonderful treat. When the waiter came back to clear our plates he asked if the meal was okay. I told him it was the best fish dish I had ever had, and with that Aussie joking spirit casually mentioned the small bone. The waiter immediately apologised, cleared the plates and returned to the kitchen. Not thinking much about it, we continued to enjoy ourselves. Suddenly the waiter was out to the table, he apologised again on behalf of the chef and proceeded to give us an extra course and glass of wine. All that because of a tiny little bone. We weren’t asking or expecting anything extra, so we were surprised. Of course we respectfully accepted the extra course and wine.

Although the meals weren’t large they were beautifully constructed and very filing. By the time we got to the last plate, we were feeling full, warm and a little tingly inside. Especially with all that wine being consumed. Surprisingly, if you happen to finish your glass of wine before the next course Mikla’s waiters will offer to once again fill your glass with the current wine you are drinking.

Overall Mikla is a stunning restaurant producing excellent quality food, which we can’t recommend any more highly. Value of money is excellent, even if the cost seems high. Mikla sets no time limit on how long you can take to consume your meals, so just settle in and take your time. Enjoy the experience, the food and wine and make sure you take some photos of the stunning view on offer of Istanbul. Learn and gain some knowledge of food and wine from your waiting staff, and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Make sure you plan your travel in Istanbul so that you get to Mikla Restaurant. We were staying just off of Istiklal Caddesi so we were able to walk to and from the restaurant. So visit their website, make a reservation today and don’t forget to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 10
Atmosphere = 10
Service = 10
Price = 10
Food =10

Overall = 10

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Australia, Restaurants

Whipped Bake Bar Cafe – Brunch at Semaphore, Adelaide

September 14, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Whipped Bake Bar Cafe has become a local institution since it opened on Semaphore Road in 2008. It is predominately a place to get breakfast, brunch or lunch, or to grab a coffee and a sweet treat.

We decided to grab a late brunch on a busy Sunday. Semaphore Road was crowded with people out enjoying the sunny spring weather. While we were able to be seated immediately, there was a continuous flow of new customers for the whole time during our visit. Whipped has three distinct seating areas – tables for two as you walk in the door, a middle section with larger group tables, and then an outside area – and all three were full. Its outdoor area is well protected from the weather and heated in winter, and is also dog friendly.

The menu contains many breakfast and brunch style items ranging from toast and muesli to a full breakfast of bacon, eggs with all the extras. There are also burgers, frittata and wedges if you are not after breakfast. They have a wide range of coffees, teas, smoothies, juices and other drinks also available. The kitchen at Whipped runs from 7am to 2:30pm, after that coffee and cakes are still available until 5pm.

Our order was for Smashed Avocado (avocado with lemon, rocket, poached eggs, goats cheese on toasted ciabatta and served with a haloumi cigar and a balsamic reduction) and the Grilled Haloumi Burger (grilled haloumi, roasted capsicum, roasted Swiss brown mushroom, caramelised onions, lettuce, tomato relish and herbed mayo + chips). We washed it down with Pinky juice (watermelon and apple) and English Breakfast Tea. The prices for each meal were reasonable at AUD$16.90.

Our meals were brought to our table in a reasonable time even though the cafe was quite busy. They were delicious and just the right size servings to fill us up without being too big. The cakes on display were tempting but we decided to leave them for next time.

Whipped Bake Bar Cafe caters well for customers with particular dietary requirements. There are many vegetarian meals on the menu, and also coffees are able to be made with milks including soy, lactose free, almond and coconut. The menu is seasonal, and therefore has just changed over to the new spring offerings.

Whipped Bake Bar Cafe is located at 35 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore, so do yourself a favour and give them a go and remember to mention Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you.

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 8
Atmosphere = 8
Service = 8
Price = 8
Food =8

Overall = 8

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Australia, Restaurants

Checking out the Checkside Tavern, Adelaide

September 7, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Not so long ago the Checkside Tavern was in a prime position to attract customers into its bars or dining areas. Unfortunately in 2014 football games moved away from AAMI stadium to the newly renovated Adelaide Oval. In doing so taking with it a majority of the Checkside Tavern’s match day customers.

For our international readers, Australia has its own brand of football. Australian rules football, or AFL is our national football competition consisting of 18 teams from around the country. A few years back AAMI stadium at West Lakes was the main football stadium. South Australia’s two national teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power shared the ground each week to play their games throughout the AFL season. Sadly, all the AFL games are gone, but AAMI stadium remains the training ground for the Adelaide Crows and the Checkside Tavern still operates.

Ourworldinreview decided to head off to the Checkside Tavern recently to see how they were coping since the halcyon days of football.

The Checkside Tavern is located at Turner Drive, West Lakes and is attached to the exterior of AAMI stadium. I can still remember during game days the tavern thriving with local supporters. Those days are gone and the tavern mainly relies on the support of its local residents and West Lakes Shopping Centre customers. When arriving at the tavern you can see that the loss of football has had an effect on its popularity. Although it still has that football feel to it, with large photos of the local SANFL (South Australian State football league) teams in action. Additionally they also have a few signed guernseys framed on the walls to maintain the local football theme.

The main dining area with SANFL print photo's — Main dining area with SANFL print photo’s

The tavern is a long thin building with function rooms, a gaming area including a horse racing outlet and of course the dining area. We noticed a steady stream of older patrons utilising the facility for a quiet evening meal and conversation. Checkside offers affordable pub fare with no frills, and all meals come with access to the all you can eat salad and vegetable bar. They also have special meal deals on certain days like;

Tuesday – AUD$18 Steak night
Wednesday – AUD$19 Burger and Beer
Thursday – AUD$15 Schnitzel night
Sunday – AUD$15 Sunday Roast

Checkside’s menu isn’t extensive but there is sufficient options for customers to select from. Vegetarian customers only have two dishes to select from, but have full access to the salad and vegetable bar.

Checkside has counter service, so once you have selected your meals you will need to line up and order. We decided to order four dishes to try. Our choices were the Grilled Barramundi, the basic chicken schnitzel with gravy, their Chicken Burger Old Fashion with the Lot and the Moroccan Encrusted Lamb Rack. Once the meals were ordered we sampled the salad and vegetable bar. It was well stocked with either fresh salad dishes or warm delicious vegetables.

The mains arrived quickly and weren’t fancy. No decorative flair here. That’s okay, because they’re just trying to be a normal pub, selling standard pub food. Quickly the chicken schnitzel with gravy was the first to arrive and the verdict was the chicken was cooked nicely and the smooth textured gravy was beautiful.

Next came the Chicken Burger Old Fashion with the Lot consisting of a seasoned chicken patty topped with bacon, egg, beetroot relish, mixed lettuce leaves, Edam cheese and tomato with a side of chips and aioli. It was a large burger, so it was awkward to attack at first. Our recommendation is to cut it into portions for easy handling.

Chicken Burger Old Fashion Style — Chicken Burger Old Fashion with the Lot!

The Moroccan Encrusted Lamb Rack was served on a bed of buttered mashed potato with mushroom scented jus. Again a basic presentation but the lamb was nicely cooked. My only fault was the buttered mashed potato was slightly lumpy.

Our final dish was the lightly seasoned grilled barramundi fillet served with chips and side salad. The fillet was nicely cooked, so no complaints all round.

Overall the Checkside Tavern is your standard pub offering no frills affordable meals. The meal presentation isn’t great, but that’s not what they are trying to be. They know they are a pub. This is probably why a lot of their customers are of the older generation, because they can get a good meal at a cheap price.

Although many people have forgotten about the Checkside Tavern, they haven’t forgotten about us. So if you are looking for a quick no fuss, no frills cheap meal, then visit the Checkside Tavern. Their friendly service with a smile is welcoming and honest.

If you are in the city the best way to get to West Lakes is by taxi or you can catch a public bus to West Lakes. Once you get there remember to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Checkside Tavern Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 6 Atmosphere = 6 Service = 7 Price = 9 Food = 6

Overall = 7

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Australia, Restaurants

Welcome to the Jungle Room, Kent Town Hotel, Adelaide

August 30, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Just east of the city at the far end of Rundle Street sits a hotel that offers its customers a unique dining experience. The Kent Town Hotel is unobtrusive from the outside but once you step through those doors, you enter a different landscape. Welcome to the Jungle!

The Kent Town Hotel has themed their establishment on living in the jungle. You can imagine Tarzan swinging through the canopy, calling to his animal friends. Then once he arrives back at the tree-house there is a huge feast awaiting him on a long wooden table.

The Kent Town Hotel has three different sections based mainly around the Jungle theme, the Crafty Monkey Bar, the Rooftop on Rundle and the Jungle Restaurant. All three sections offer their patrons an enjoyable experience, from playing 8 ball on the billiard table, to the night-time dunking machine on the roof.

Our experience at the Kent Town Hotel was to celebrate a 21st Birthday. The dinner was held in the jungle restaurant and upon entry you are greeted by a large sitting gorilla guarding the eating area from predators. As you walk around the room other animal statues like the elephant are in place to give the room that extra Jungle Book feeling.

Gorilla statue — Gorilla guarding the entrance

The long tables, chairs, model trees, slippery dips and canopy walkways all add to the atmosphere of the place and the food style enhances the theme. The Jungle restaurant serves Churrasco BBQ cuisine which is South America cowboy styled barbecued meat on large metal skewers, which their friendly staff glide around the room cutting off portions for everyone. The Jungle restaurant offers different dining packages for its customers, but our package for this special night was the AUD$45 pp Churrasco experience which was extremely delicious and extremely filling.

The Churrasco experience offers its diners a selection of 8 different BBQ meats and 7 different accompaniments. If you are like me, you want to try all. I encourage you to pace yourself. Don’t go out too hard eating heaps of the first meat. You can always have seconds afterwards once you’ve tried them all.

Another encouraging aspect is that being a BBQ meat restaurant they still look after their vegetarian customers. Our vegetarian had a sampling plate with 8 vegetarian options, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Vegetarian Plate — Vegetarian sampling plate with 8 different option

The Kent Town Hotel is located at 76 Rundle street Kent Town, across the road from a Bunnings Warehouse. The best way to get there from the city is to either jump into a taxi or try a local bus heading towards The Parade, Norwood. For a fun night and a lot of good food, head to the Kent Town Hotel and The Jungle restaurant. Remember once you get there tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 9
Atmosphere = 9
Service = 9
Price = 9
Food =9

Overall = 9

Inside seated area in the Rooftop on Rundle area

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

Living like a Rock Star at the Largs Pier Hotel, Adelaide

August 27, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

During the 70’s and 80’s Adelaide had a thriving live music scene. Rock bands would flock to Adelaide to prove themselves. Getting a gig at the Largs Pier Hotel was coveted and playing here was a stepping stone to making it in the industry. The Largs Pier Hotel embraced the Australian music culture and gave some of Australia’s best known bands a helping hand. AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Little River Band and the Angels to name a few all played the Largs Pier to a generation of music mad Australians.

Today the live music scene has dwindled in Adelaide, but the Largs Pier still remains as a historic monument of that era. This magnificent hotel is located at 198 Esplanade, Largs Bay, South Australia, on the stunning foreshore overlooking the Spencer Gulf. Well positioned on the corner of Jetty Road, the Largs Pier Hotel offers travellers a variety of accommodation options. You can stay in their modern hotel or apartments from AUD$140 per night, or alternatively choose their luxury heritage rooms ranging from AUD$164 – $360 to feel like a rock star.

Room 1 Largs Pier Hotel — Room 1 – Luxury Heritage Spa Room

We recently had the opportunity to stay in their enormous luxury heritage spa room. Also known within the hotel as Room One, this hotel room offers three huge rooms and a personal balcony overlooking the ocean. Upon entry into the room you are struck by the enormity of the living areas. The first room is a massive dining room with a 10 seater dining table for your entourage to gather around.

Room 1 Dining room — You can just imagine AC/DC sitting around a table like this sipping cups of tea

From here, there are two other rooms leading off, the first door is the entrance to the bathroom. This bathroom is the biggest bathroom I have ever seen. With stunning floor to ceiling tiles a shower, toilet and a large two person spa bath. You could easily hold a party in this room. That’s not encouragement by the way, I’m just saying, you “could”! The bathroom is in pristine condition and very clean. If you are staying in the winter time make sure you turn on the heat lamps to warm it up.

The other door leads into the sizable bedroom with a four-posted king size bed, a big screen television, a three-quarter size standing mirror, a day bed to lounge on, and double doors leading out to the balcony. The room is extravagant for the casual traveller. It is equipped with nearly everything you need in a room. Tea and coffee facilities, a bar fridge, guest robes, a selection of books and an ironing board are located throughout the rooms. The only changes I would suggest is perhaps the addition of a room safe. We didn’t feel the need to use one, but other visitors may like the added security.

Luxury Heritage Spa Room — Extravagant bedroom

Once you go out on the balcony, you instantly realise that this is probably the best view of the surrounding area. The balcony extends around the frontage of the hotel and your area is separated from the rest by a sofa. There is a little table there where we sat and drank some wine as the sun set over a magnificent beach. This view alone is worth every cent of this luxury heritage room experience.

The hotel consists of the Largs Bar, where the locals and tourists mingle for a few drinks some quiet conversation and some live entertainment. The Pier Restaurant offers a comfortable dining experience with a good selection of dining choices with a contemporary flair. If you like to have a flutter there is a gaming room with various poker machines which also provides free coffee and tea (Please Gamble Responsibly).

Largs Pier Gaming Room – Please Gamble Responsibly

We decided to eat at the Pier Restaurant, booking a table from our room as the restaurant can be popular. The restaurant area is spacious and well heated with small wooden table and wooden chairs, and you have a choice of either eating indoors or outside in their alfresco area. The menu on offer is impressive, they have a selection of common pub fare if that is your desire or a contemporary menu for those diners who want something more. We opted for the Seafood Plate and the Grilled Whiting for our mains and the Crème brûlée and Illusion of Watermelon for dessert.

The meals arrived fairly quickly and the first thing you notice is they don’t skimp on quantity. The Seafood Plate was covered with salt and pepper squid, a fillet of fish, two large prawns and two kilpatrick oysters on a bed of large cut fries. I must admit, I loved it, but it beat me, I couldn’t fit it all in, knowing that a had a Crème Brûlée coming to top it off.

The Grilled Whiting was served with potato bake, broccolini, roasted tomatoes and hollandaise sauce. Josie had no trouble with this one. The whiting was perfectly cooked and the vegetables rounded off an excellent dish.

After our main dishes were cleared, we waited a little while before our desserts arrived. With so many customers and counter ordering, it is a good idea to prompt the serving staff when you are ready for your dessert. The Crème Brûlée and Illusion of Watermelon arrived and they both looked a treat. The Crème Brûlée was good, it had a nice flavour, the custard was a little grainy in texture and the caramel top layer was more flaky than a hard crunchy layer. It was a little different from the usual Crème Brûlée but quite edible.

The aptly named dessert the Illusion of Watermelon is quite incredible. This sorbet creation is formed into a watermelon slice including sweet little chocolate seeds. It is a beautiful constructed dessert of three flavour layers, that create the outer green skin to the bright red watermelon flesh. The sorbet was ice-cold and excellent. A quick acknowledgement must go to the chef here for creativity.

sorbet watermelon — Illusion of Watermelon

When we turned in for the night the room was warm, with dual split system heating to warm up the room. The king size bed is comfortable and holds you firmly in an embrace. Although right above the main bar and restaurant in a popular drinking establishment, we couldn’t hear any noise, so the night was very relaxing.

In the morning before checking out we opted to try out the Largs Bar for their breakfast from 0630am. We selected the Largs Breakfast and the Avocado and poached eggs. The Largs breakfast is eggs cooked to your liking on toast with lashes of bacon, tomato and mushroom. Whilst the Avocado and poached eggs was on toasted ciabatta topped with rocket and balsamic dressing. Both breakfast dishes were exactly what you need before a long day at work or sightseeing.

Verdict

The Largs Pier Hotel is surrounded by history and is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike. The building façade is picturesque with its arched balcony lookouts. The luxury heritage rooms are spacious, comfortable and well equipped with spectacular views. I recommend sitting on the balcony, drinking a nice glass of wine while watching the sunset over the ocean. If you are visiting Adelaide or are a local looking for a city getaway then do yourself a favour and stay at the Largs Pier Hotel.

The best way to get to the Largs Pier Hotel from the Adelaide airport is a 25 minute taxi ride. Alternatively, if you are in the city and wish to visit the hotel then hop onto the Outer Harbor train. Travel to the Largs Bay train station and then it’s a quick walk up Jetty road towards the beach.

If you would like to stay at the Largs Pier Hotel you can book your stay here. Don’t forget to mention Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 7
Comfort=9
Cleanliness = 9
Price = 7
Facilities =9

Overall = 8

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Australia, Restaurants

Free Books and Breakfast at Queen Street Rescue, Melbourne

August 21, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Street sign with Queen Street Rescue — Queen Street Rescue

Cafes and restaurants are abundant in Melbourne. When travelling, it is always nice to catch up with friends and try a new place to eat. Therefore, when some friends suggested meeting in the Melbourne CBD for a late breakfast, we jumped at the chance to test out Queen Street Rescue. We met up at 11:00am, to sample their breakfast and have a look at a special little area for their customers which is mainly unknown.

Even knowing that we had the opportunity to sleep in, we were awake by 07:00am. Isn’t that always the way, you have a chance to sleep in but your body doesn’t want to cooperate. Damn you body clock! We didn’t sleep in, but at least we could take our time before checking out of our hotel.

Queen Street Rescue is located at 1/189 Queen Street, Melbourne right next door and attached to the Adina Apartment Hotel. We’ve actually stayed at this hotel a few years ago. From what I can remember the apartment rooms were large and spacious and very comfortable.

We made our way into the cafe and sat at a booth and waited for our friends. The interior of the Queen Street Rescue has a beachy feeling. In fact it reminds of the cafe in the popular Australian series “Home and Away”. There are colourful chairs and some rustic furnishings. It feel like a welcoming room with a large bookshelf along one side of the wall next the main entrance.

colourful chairs and tables with large bookshelf — Such a comfortable colourful room, with a large bookshelf along the wall

In the Melbourne Central shopping centre there is has a unique library, aptly called The Little Library. Travellers and locals can exchange books for free. Here you can have a look at what novels people have left and exchange your book for another on the bookshelf. We thought this was the only place this free exchange occurred and was surprised that the Queen Street Rescue offers the same. They have a large bookcase which is filled with free books for its customers to take with them as they leave the establishment.

The Queen Street Rescue changes its menu throughout the day to cater for the different meal times. At night it also becomes a nice place to have some quiet drinks. They also allow for functions, so it is an option if you are planning a get together with friends or colleagues. This morning they had a good variety of breakfast dishes ranging from AUD$7 for basic toast up to AUD$23 for their “Big Breakfast”. Of course I ordered a Big Breakfast, whilst Josie had some toast. We also ordered a Cafe Latte and Chai Latte, to wash it all down.

The Big Breakfast was just that, Big. It usually comes with eggs of your choice with a serving of buttered toast, wilted spinach, baked tomatoes, a continental sausage, some crispy bacon and a cheese hash brown. Everything on the dish was excellent, the bacon was crispy. The scrambled eggs were smooth and creamy, the continental pork sausage was good and the cheesy hash brown was superb.

The toast served were large thick slices which came with a good choice of condiments from vegemite, jam or honey. The Cafe Latte and Chai Latte’s were perfect, so perfect we had some more whilst chatting away about past and upcoming travel plans.

There were a variety of other meals ordered by our friends, and they all looked just as tasty as ours.

The Queen Street Rescue is a welcoming, comfortable place to relax and chill out. You can have something to eat or drink, you can read a book or just meet up with some friends. The counter service is efficient and the meals are delivered to you table relatively fast. It serves alcohol, so would be a perfect place to pop in for an after work drink too.

The overall price is good for the quality of food being served. The restaurant is clean and their books on offer are mainly popular fiction. You should be able to find something to read no matter what your genre.

When you’re in Melbourne and have some time to spare, give Queen Street Rescue a shot and remember tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 8
Atmosphere = 7
Service = 7
Price = 7
Food =7

Overall = 7

Australia, Tours & Attractions

Taking a Night Food Safari in Adelaide

August 17, 2016 OurWorldinReview 2 Comments

Everyone travels differently! Some people take their time and explore the cities they are in. Others want to try and fit as much as they can into the time they have. Some relax around pools and some shop until they drop. Yet one thing everyone has to do, is eat.

On our holidays, we try to see as much of a city as we can without wasting valuable time. Therefore, if we want to learn about a city fast we try to take a city tour. One of the best ways to do that is to take a food tour. We’ve taken tours in many cities, but I have never taken a tour in my own city. The people at foodi.com.au offer various food tours in the five major cities of Australia. We decided to experience our home town and try out the Night Food Safari in Adelaide for AUD$59pp.

The Night Food Safari’s are held every Saturday and bookings can be made at the website. The food tours commence at 4:15pm from Haigh’s Chocolates on the corner of King William Road and Rundle Mall. As a side note, make sure you try Haigh’s Chocolates before the tour. The chocolate has a smooth texture that melts in your mouth with a deliciously sweet flavour.

Meeting place for Night Food Safari Adelaide — Haigh’s Chocolates, the food tours meeting place.

We meet our guide for the night, Anita, and discover the other participants in the tour all happen to be from Adelaide with the same idea of exploring our home city. Anita gives us a brief introduction and explanation about the night and advises that drink purchases are not included in the tour price.

Our first food stop is a small Vietnamese street food store called Sit Lo. Sit Lo is located at 30 Bank Street Adelaide, just off of Hindley street and the interior is nicely decorated with a couple of long tables in the middle of the store and small tables along the wall.

Sit Lo interior — Sit Lo’s nicely decorated wall

Sit Lo serve classic Vietnamese street food at a reasonable price, evident by the popularity from the local university students sitting at the tables. We sample some of the delicious fresh Bao buns, which are sweet steamed buns filled with either chicken, pork, or shrimp. We are also given some lotus flower chips that are richly flavoured and consumed pretty quickly by the group. Anita explains a bit about the restaurant and the owners, then guides us on to the next stop.

Bao Buns at Sit Lo — Those delicious Bao buns, ready to be consumed

a bowl of lotus flower chips — Lotus Flower chips

It isn’t to long until we reach our next destination, Spanish inspired La Rambla Tapas Bar situated at 28 Peel St Adelaide. Once again Anita gave us a brief explanation of the areas history before we enter. La Rambla’s dimly lit room exudes a warmth with some light mood music playing in the background. The nice selection of wines, encourages us to indulge in a glass of red, sit down at a long table and start to enjoy the company of people we are with.

Our three dishes at La Rambla consists of their Jamón Serrano a 15 month aged ham that is a lot like Italian prosciutto with a cured salt flavour and slightly chewy texture.

The second dish brought the table was their Patatas Bravas, golden fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. The potatoes are nicely cooked and spicy tomato sauce and aioli gives it that additional flavour combination that makes it more than plain roasted potatoes.

The third dish delivered out was their Albondigas de Cordero. This dish is La Rambla’s Spanish spiced lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce base. The meatballs were quite large but not plain, proving that the right balance of spices were incorporated into the meatball mixture. The tomato sauce was a nice accompaniment to the dish to give it that extra moisture to stop the meatballs drying out.

Soon after we complete the dishes we are off again to our next food stop of Indian cuisine. Naya is owned by renowned Australian celebrity chef Ragimi Dey, who is there to greet us and talk about her new restaurant. Naya, at 2/24 Waymouth Street Adelaide, is a small thin L shaped store, with limited seating. The menu features infused Indian dishes. On this occasion Ragini Dey produces a Chicken Tikka Pakora and chard salad, which although quite small was extremely tasty and well worth coming back for.

Naya Entrance — Naya at 2/24 Waymouth Street Adelaide

After our fly by stay at Naya we are off again to our next stop, this time it’s French cuisine. Not to far down the street from Naya we stop at Delicatessen Kitchen and Bar at 12 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. Upon entry we are greeted by a charming room full of character. The group settle around some small tables and the bar ready to try some fresh French cuisine. More wine is ordered and the offering tonight is Escargot au gratin. Surprisingly of the 14 people attending the tour only a handful of us try the beautifully presented Escargot. The circular dish presented has large meat portions and the cheese gratin on top combines well to make it superb. Delicatessen Kitchen and Bar is definitely another restaurant to add to our list of places to come back to.

After we complete our wines, its time to head to our final stop for tonight and everyone’s favourite, a dessert bar. So Anita takes us on a little journey towards the east end of the city to French inspired Le Carpe Diem. Le Carpe Diem is a French creperie cafe located at 230-232 Grenfell Street Adelaide which serves sweet or savoury crepes. Here we are spoilt with various sweet and savoury crepes which we devour quickly. Once completed our three and a half hour Night Food Safari is finished.

The Verdict

The Night Food Safari was an excellent way of getting to know a bit about the city of Adelaide. All of the places we visited were new to us and opened our eyes to cuisine options on offer. Overall for AUD$59pp the food tour provided everyone with enough food to be satisfied. So there was no running off to a fast food outlet for a late snack. It could get costly if you decide to keep buying glasses of wine at every stop. If you are on a travelling budget, then take it easy and consume water or soft drinks. If you’re not then the option is yours, but drink wisely.

Overall I recommend doing a food tour if you have limited time in a city. Before you come to one of Australia’s major cities look up foodi.com.au and see what tours they have on offer. If you decide on booking a tour, tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Australia, Restaurants

NNQ restaurant for a taste of Vietnam – Adelaide

August 15, 2016 OurWorldinReview 2 Comments

Travelling throughout the world, there is one piece of advice that I’ve learnt which I would like to share with you. Sometimes the gems are hidden in the suburbs! During exploration in a new city we have come across a place that has that special quality on many occasions. Nghi Ngan Quan or NNQ restaurant is one of those hidden gems not too far from the Adelaide city centre. NNQ is located at 65 Woodville Road, Woodville. It is inside a glorious old heritage bank building and offers Vietnamese cuisine of the highest quality.

On a recent night out we decided to stop by at NNQ for a quick meal before attending a local music concert. It is important to know that NNQ don’t do bookings for groups under six people. For small groups they work on a first in, first served basis. This seems to work well for them as they always have people popping in for a quick bite. Don’t be put off by not being able to book because the number of tables allows them to turn over their customers quickly. If you do happen to wait they have a nice comfortable bar area, where you can order some pre dinner drinks. Waiting times can vary, but we haven’t waited longer than ten minutes to be seated.

On this occasion we were shown straight to a corner table and given time to read the menus before being offered further service. NNQ’s food menu is extremely large with maybe ten pages of available dishes. Much the same can be said for their drinks menu, with various quality wines to choose from. Take your time, and select the dish that best appeals to you. Then match it with a nice glass of wine and enjoy.

The restaurant’s floor plan is pretty big, with seating available across two floors and an outdoor al fresco area. The restaurant is nicely decorated with neutral grey colours and comfy wicker styled chairs. There are numerous pictures hanging on the walls depicting Vietnamese culture and scenery. These pictures always encourage me to go on a holiday (but, that could be just me).

stone tables, wicker chairs restaurant setting — NNQ’s neutral colour decor and wall hangings. Where do I sit?

With such a large restaurant the service staff do a great job of ensuring they look after everyone. Our lovely waitress was extremely helpful and encouraged us to try something off their new menu. We ordered entrées, selecting the chicken satay skewers and the suggested wonton soup. For our mains we decided on the grilled lemon-grass and chilli chicken and a serving of the salt and pepper soft-shelled crab. These dishes were accompanied by a side of rice.

It isn’t too long before our entrées arrive. The two chicken satay skewers are covered with a rich peanut sauce. The chicken thigh meat looks overcooked, but on tasting, it proves to be perfectly cooked. The wonton soup is a lovely flavoured broth topped with coriander and spring onions. Additionally those wonton parcels are delicately simple but tasty.

Chicken Satay with peanut sauce from NNQ — NNQ’s Chicken Satay Skewers topped with Peanut Sauce

Once you start consuming your food, the NNQ staff are so efficient that they ensure that your table isn’t too long without food. This doesn’t have to be the case, but you may want to tell them to take their time bringing out each course ordered. Our mains are quickly brought to us and the lemon-grass and chilli chicken has a subtle sweet and spicy flavour with a delayed little chilli kick for your taste buds.

Plate of food — Lemon-grass and Chilli Chicken, watch the chilli kick you may need a glass of water!

The salt and pepper soft-shelled crab is superb, the crab is well coated and has a balanced salt and pepper flavour. The dish is beautifully cooked with no excess oil dripping off the crab portions. The dish is accompanied with an onion salad, topped with coriander.

soft shelled crab on plate — NNQ’s salt and pepper soft-shelled crab

NNQ does have numerous desserts you can choose from and their fried ice cream is to die for (but not on this occasion, we have a concert to attend).

Overall NNQ is that gem that when you visit Adelaide you should definitely give a try. The price of they food is excellent with main dishes ranging from AUD$12 – AUD$40, but most main dishes are around $AUD16. Exceptional value for the quality of food you are receiving. Take away is also available if you prefer.

To get there, it is a short train ride from the Adelaide Railway Station on either the Outer Harbor or Grange lines to Woodville. Once you get to Woodville, head south down Woodville Road. NNQ is the first building on the right and you should be able to see the sign. There is plenty of free parking available if you are driving.

NNQ also has a sister store in the city called Little NNQ located at 125 Gouger Street, Adelaide. So when you are in Adelaide and decide to try this hidden gem, tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 9
Atmosphere = 9
Service = 9
Price = 9
Food =9

Overall = 9

Australia, Hotels and Accommodation

Doubletree by Hilton, Flinders Street, Melbourne

August 10, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Melbourne is one of those cities where staying for one day or overnight doesn’t do it any justice. There is so much to do in Melbourne and the surrounding areas. Why not stay for a week or two and enjoy all it has to offer? The City of Melbourne has many accommodation options for travellers, depending on the amount they wish to spend. The Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street, is one of those reliable mid-market hotels that offers quality service to their visitors.

When we travelled to Melbourne recently, we opted to stay at the Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street, due to its handy location. We have been to Melbourne many times so we decided to walk from the Skybus stop at the Southern Cross Station to the hotel. The walk takes about 10-15 minutes and is perfect on a nice sunny day. The entrance is a little bit setback into the wall so if you aren’t concentrating, you can walk straight by. So be careful, unless you enjoy walking and backtracking.

Upon entry into the hotel foyer, you are greeted by a large reception desk on the left hand side. From the initial appearance you can see this hotel has incorporated so much into its limited floor plan. This open area alone holds the main reception, the bar and the dining area. In fact the reception desk and the bar is one continuous desk. This means there is always someone available to help you with your booking or serve your drinks.

If you decide to have breakfast included in you accommodation stay then the Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar is where you will find a nice spread of breakfast options, in a comfortable dining area.

Breakfast Buffet at the Platform 270 restaurant and bar — Breakfast Buffet at the Platform 270 Restaurant & Bar

The hotel receptionist was very friendly and once the check in process was done they gave us the signature warm and delicious chocolate chip cookie Doubletree are known for. They also mentioned that you could keep coming back for more of them, but we didn’t take them up on the tempting offer. Check in is usually set for 3:00pm but if your room is available they will allow early access. Subsequently if it is not ready they will store your baggage whilst you explore this amazing city.

A hotel can win you or lose you based on the first impression of the room. In this instance the Doubletree by Hilton on Flinders Street does not let you down. Upon entry you can tell the house cleaning staff take pride and care in the rooms they present. Our room wasn’t large, but it was clean. No musty smell, no mould in the bathroom, and no evidence left from the previous tenants.

Hotel Bed, with clean sheets — Queen Room, good to see a clean fresh smelling room

The bathroom was in pristine condition and well stocked with hotel accessories. The water pressure in the shower and hand basin was fantastic, the toilet was clean and there is enough bench space to hold our toiletries and hair dryer. As standard the room had a fridge, coffee-making facilities, an in-room safe and guest robes. The television was large with a good selection of in-house films or cable television channels. Wifi is free as a Hilton Honors member, so it’s a good idea to sign up before visiting.

Clean hotel bathroom perfect — No water streaks in that mirror, shiny bath tiles. Nice clean bathroom

For the fitness fanatics, the gym is located on the first floor, along with the function and conference rooms. The gym room itself isn’t large, but they have two treadmills, an exercise bike and an elliptical machine. There is also a good range of free weights and a weight machine offering different exercise options.

hotel gym, treadmills, weights — The 1st floor gym, if you can’t work up a sweat in here, you’re not doing it right!

We didn’t eat in the hotel, but it is worth noting they offer room service in case you decide to eat in, or you can try Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar. From what I hear the food is pretty good, and we saw that the dining area is nicely set out.

kitchen area platform 270 restaurant and bar — Platform 270 Restaurant and Bar Kitchen

The Verdict

The Doubletree by Hilton is located at 270 Flinders Street, Melbourne across the road from the Flinders Street Station. The average room price per night ranges between AUD$200-AUD$400 depending on the type of room you want and the dates you require. Bookings can be made through here.

We found the hotel comfortable, accessible and helpful. The CareLine service will assist you with most of your additional needs. We required a corkscrew and it was brought to our room within minutes.

The best way to get to the Doubletree by Hilton from the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport is by the Skybus service. A round trip ride is currently AUD$38 for an adult or family of four (2 adult and 2 children). The Skybus will take you to the Southern Cross station. There you can either use their free hotel shuttle service for CBD hotels, walk, take a taxi or catch a tram using a MYKI card which you can purchase from the train station.

Our team would happily recommend the 4 star Doubletree by Hilton hotel on Flinders Street. If you’re going to Melbourne check out their rates and if you book, tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Service = 8
Comfort=8
Cleanliness = 9
Price = 7
Facilities =8

Overall = 8

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Australia, Restaurants

Gazi Restaurant – Melbourne, where it’s all Greek to me!

August 7, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Melbourne is a fascinating melting pot of multiculturalism. Your ability to access a wide range of cuisines is within reach inside the bustling CBD. One of those culinary delights is George Calombaris’ Gazi Restaurant.

When we arrived there was a line up out this door and down the street. — When we arrived there was a line up outside Gazi’s door and down the street.

George Calombaris is one of the judges on Australia’s version of Masterchef. George’s Gazi restaurant is located at 2 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, on the corner of busy Flinders Street.

The winner of our last giveaway suggested we head to Gazi restaurant to experience what it has to offer. After our recent trip to Greece we were tempted by the thought of some more excellent Greek food.

Gazi is extremely popular with the residents of Melbourne, so I do recommend booking well in advance. We called in at lunchtime to book and were offered the last two seats on their communal table. If you can’t book, then you can try waiting in line hoping for someone to finish early so they can fit you in. Another option is to look at their takeaway option, and dine in the comfort of your home or hotel accommodation.

Our booking was for 8:30pm and upon arriving at the restaurant, there was a line up out the door of customers trying their luck to get a spare table. As we made our way through the crowd to the front reception, we were greeted by the restaurants maître d’hôtel and quickly escorted to our table. Due to the popularity, the Gazi staff try to fit as many customers into their service area as possible. They have communal long tables where small groups can sit together if they wish, or you can be seated by the bar. They do exceptionally well at turning over their patrons to allow more customers in to taste their exquisite Greek cuisine.

Bar seating — Gazi Restaurant’s bar seating

The interior of the restaurant is very well set out, with single tables along the Flinders street side of the restaurant and group booths alongside the Exhibition street side. The main floor is a mixture of small tables that can be grouped to make room for larger parties, and of course the communal long tables next to the bar. The roof decorations were very interesting with small terracotta pots set at different heights to create a terracotta wave. The restaurant had that nightclub bar atmosphere with mood lighting and up tempo house music pumping loudly around the room. In my opinion the music was probably too loud on this night, as it was hard to converse with my dinner guest.

The staff is in one word, exceptional. They always knew when you were ready to order or ask for assistance. The service was quick and attentive, even with a packed full restaurant that was already on its second sitting for the night. The staff even offered to hang up our jackets on little coat hooks well positioned around the room.

Gazi offers a solid menu, with many modern Hellenic dishes available. If you choose from the a la carte menu then you are looking at paying around AUD$28-$30 for your main meals. The best option and value would be to select their “Doing it Greek Style” seven course tasting plates for AUD$49 pp or the 10 course tasting plate for AUD$69 pp.

For our meal we decided to try the seven course tasting plate with some wine. The wine list is extensive with some quality wines from around Australia and Greece. Glasses sell for around AUD$12 and bottles from AUD$50 for an everyday quality bottle to a AUD$260 indulgent red or white.

The first course to arrive at the table was fresh soft pita bread and two quality dips, a creamy tzatziki and a beautiful sweet flavoured Beetroot feta and walnut praline. I could have honestly been happy just snacking on these quality dips for the whole night. The staff offered more bread each time we finished what we had, which was nice given the dips were large serves.

The second tasting plate to arrive at our table was a classic Cheese Saganaki with a modern kumquat syrup twist. The kumquat syrup brought a sweetness to the cheesy texture so we found ourselves scrapping our beautiful máti decorated plates to try get every morsel. The blue máti eye symbols on the plates are found throughout Greece to ward off evil spirits so they are a nice touch.

Our third tasting plate to arrive was a Chicken Tyrokafteri with walnut dressing. This wood fire spitted meat is succulent and the walnut dressing gives it that extra crunchy texture. Such an excellent dish definitely worth considering when you visit. The accompanying dish was also well presented, but not what we were expecting. Gazi’s Tiganites Palates is basically chips with crumbled feta, dressed with garlic oil and oregano. A nice combination of flavours, but we didn’t associate chips with Greece so were surprised to see it. Saying that, we could not fault this dish, and struggled to finish the whole bowl.

Tiganites patates and Tyrokafteri with walnut dressing

At this stage we are getting a little full and start to leave some of the dishes unfinished, because we know we have three dishes remaining. Our ever attentive waiter brings out our fifth and sixth courses together. The fifth is a salted green bean salad topped with almonds and the sixth is Tuna Kebabs. The green bean salad had that hint of salt and were perfectly blanched thus having that perfect crunch. We divided the Tuna Kebab between us and devoured the beautifully seared tuna holding in the flavours of the sea.

Looking at each other we knew that dessert remained and wondered if we could possibly fit it in. When the waiter brought out our Loukoumades covered with Honey Nutella, we forgot that our stomachs were full and ate the dish with our eyes. These beautiful fried balls of goodness were delicious so topped off an excellent night in a stunning city.

Overall George Calombaris’s Gazi Restaurant is a fantastic place to eat. It has a hip casual dining experience feeling, with fine dining quality food. From their website you can get there by catching the 35, 70, 71 or 75 trams getting off at Exhibition and Flinders. If you are in Melbourne then try Gazi Restaurant, and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 9
Atmosphere = 9
Service = 9
Price = 7
Food =9

Overall = 9

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Checkside Tavern Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

The Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

The Verdict

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Our world is an amazing place, so go out there and enjoy it!