Cruiser Restaurant and Bar, Thredbo
Quick lunch at Thredbo
For those of you that don't know, I love going to the snow to snowboard. It's one of those things where I really don't care how much it costs cos it makes me happy....
Anyways, the other weekend past, I went to Thredbo with Ozsnow adventures. Really budget style food, accommodation and travel, but it didn't mind so much since the snow is the real star of the show.
Whilst at Thredbo, I had 2 lunches. One of them was at the River Inn near the Friday flats area. Ozsnowadventures gave us coupons there for $15 bistro meals + can of drink. The meal wasn't too bad, although one of my friends chicken schnitzels was semi raw....
Thus on the second day we decided to eat near the Cruiser lift. Apologies for the lack of photos as I spent most of my memory on snowboarding photos and videos, ahha. But I did remember to take a photo of my meal.
Anyways, the other weekend past, I went to Thredbo with Ozsnow adventures. Really budget style food, accommodation and travel, but it didn't mind so much since the snow is the real star of the show.
Whilst at Thredbo, I had 2 lunches. One of them was at the River Inn near the Friday flats area. Ozsnowadventures gave us coupons there for $15 bistro meals + can of drink. The meal wasn't too bad, although one of my friends chicken schnitzels was semi raw....
Thus on the second day we decided to eat near the Cruiser lift. Apologies for the lack of photos as I spent most of my memory on snowboarding photos and videos, ahha. But I did remember to take a photo of my meal.
The area right outside the restaurant- Cruiser lift on the rightMy friends ordered the nachos and a burger respectively and they judged them as being of average quality but pricey. But this is pretty much expected given that this Restaurant only operates during ski season. It is also noted that because of this, they do not accept any form of EFTPOS, so remember to carry some cash on you!
I ordered the combination wonton noodle soup being the sucker of an asian that I am. The taste was not bad, as I was quite hungry, however there was an overabundance of corriander and a severe lack of noodles. Nonetheless, the soupy wontons was very gratifying after a few hours on the cold hard slopes....
I ordered the combination wonton noodle soup being the sucker of an asian that I am. The taste was not bad, as I was quite hungry, however there was an overabundance of corriander and a severe lack of noodles. Nonetheless, the soupy wontons was very gratifying after a few hours on the cold hard slopes....
Combination wonton noodle soup$17.50
Overall, the restaurant has an excellent location, being right next to the Cruiser lifts and is at the end of the Meritts lift, and was always quite full- even though it was still shoulder season. They have a wide variety of meals available and is not a bad choice for a quick lunch if you're eager to get back on the slopes ASAP! Just remember that the high prices are supporting the snow community and the resort so try not to be too frugal about it :P
Cruiser restaurant (probably not it's real name)
Thredbo ski resort
Right next to the Cruiser Lift
Cruiser restaurant (probably not it's real name)
Thredbo ski resort
Right next to the Cruiser Lift
Last Post Cafe, Methven, New Zealand
Posted by kogepanman in Cafe, dinner, Methven, Restaurant
Dinner at the Last Post Cafe
After a long and treacherous day on the slopes and roads of Mount Hutt, we retired to our lodge to recuperate and attempt to recover from our near death experience... As it was our last night at Methven (the Jindabyne equivalent of Mount Hutt ski resort), we decided to have dinner at the best restaurant in town (as suggested by the lodge owners). Walking to the restaurant, we saw that milling outside were none other than pretty much all the ski resort staff from Mount Hutt! It seems that this is the joint that the crew retire to after a tough day on the slopes as well! We recognised our snow chain fitters who welcomed us in and we got a table pretty easily. One side of the restaurant is actually a bar type setting and there were more ski resort crew hanging over there.
Looking at the menu, it seemed that this restaurant was very food concious with meals prepared gluten free, vegetarian, aqua-rarian and using only free range chooks and eggs. For starter we ordered the spiced corn bread - we had to get 2 servings for the 4 of us as it was quite small. In hindsight, 1 serving would have been enuf, as the bread was dry and bland, although it did have a nice bit of heat and good corn flavour.
Warmed spicy cornbread with Galic aioli$11.50 NZD
For mains, two of us got the ribs, and the others got the chicken and another the steak. I tried a bit of all the mains and have to say that there was no standout between the mains, but each had a very nice flavour to it.
Fillet steak with mash~$36.50 NZD
The steak was nicely cooked and served well and was a nice hearty meal for a cold winters night. Only criticism- which is probably applicable to all the dishes- was that it was a tad bland.
A nice touch to the meal was a serving of complimentary steamed vegetables with a sesame dressing.
A nice touch to the meal was a serving of complimentary steamed vegetables with a sesame dressing.
Complimentary vegetables :)
Smokey BBQ Pork Ribs with thick cut steak fries$25.50 NZD
The ribs were a very generous serving and had a delicious smoky sauce to it and the fries were nice and crunchy. It also came with a side salad which helped to cleanse the pallet in between mouthfuls of juicy ribs. Only criticism is that the ribs were not fall-off-the-bone like you would get at Hurricanes, but it was fairly easy to eat them with fingers or knife and fork.
Rangitikei Free Range Chicken Breast stuffed with salami, cumin cheese & mustard,served with a sundried tomato & saffrom polenta cake & a spiced apricot sauce
$28.50 NZD
The chicken, apart from being a bit bland (especially the polenta cake) was very nicely cooked and not dry. The sauce was nice and tangy and the cheese inside the chicken giving it the majority of the flavour.
We also ordered a nice Chardonnay which topped off the evening's meal. It was light and had a very crisp taste.
We also ordered a nice Chardonnay which topped off the evening's meal. It was light and had a very crisp taste.
Chardonnay $65 NZD116 Main Street
Methven
New Zealand
Phone +64 3 302 8259
C1 Espresso Cafe, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted by kogepanman in Cafe, Christchurch, Coffee, New Zealand
Arguably the best coffee place in Christchurch
Another post from my travels in New Zealand. Don't worry, there's only 1 more after this :P
First stop after landing at Christchurch airport and getting our rental car was to get our caffeine hit of the day. One of my travel companions consulted his trusty Lonely Planet and suggested C1 espresso.
It's hard to find with a smallish shopfront, but once inside, the decor and feel is old school funk. Couches and booths warmly heated with a variety of paintings and other props lying around.
First stop after landing at Christchurch airport and getting our rental car was to get our caffeine hit of the day. One of my travel companions consulted his trusty Lonely Planet and suggested C1 espresso.
It's hard to find with a smallish shopfront, but once inside, the decor and feel is old school funk. Couches and booths warmly heated with a variety of paintings and other props lying around.
Manga on the walls
Lego bricks used alongside real bricks (I tried breaking a piece of but it's stuck :P)
The counter
The menuWe ordered a variety of mochas, lattes and cappucinos. The beans used in the coffees are exceptional quality and all the coffees we had tasted delicious.
Mocha
Mochas with Marshmallows and chocolate coated marshmallow sticks
Cappuccino
A fly at the bottom of the cappuccino mug!
On closer inspection, it's actually a nifty marketing symbol for C1 :P
LatteAfter absorbing the warmth of the shop and the cozy setting, we were all reluctant to leave, however, we had to move on to our next destination and eventually to the snow....Next stop- Methven!
C1 Espresso
150 High Street
Christchurch 8142
New Zealand
+64 3 379 1917
Open Weekdays 7am-10pm
Sat 9am-10pm
Sun 9am-5:30pm
Chinwag, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted by kogepanman in Christchurch, dinner, New Zealand, Thai
Dinner at Chinwag
After hearing about the awesome snow conditions and the amazing fact that for the first time in a long while that the Mount Hutt Ski resort in New Zealand was opening earlier than scheduled, myself and some friends of mine decided to jump on the next plane to Christchurch! This was aided by the fact that Jetstar had surprisingly cheap flights there - approximately $240 bucks return including taxes! What a bargain!!
Anyways, Christchurch is a dead boring city with barely any people around the place after dark so there was painfully little to do in the evenings. On one particular evening, whilst walking around the main streets of Christchurch looking for a place for dinner, we stumbled across a Thai restaurant that had the sign out front - 'Finalist for Christchurch Restaurant of the year 2009'. Hmmmm....Finalist aye....that must mean that it's one of the better places to eat in Christchurch right?? And on that thought, we ventured in...
Anyways, Christchurch is a dead boring city with barely any people around the place after dark so there was painfully little to do in the evenings. On one particular evening, whilst walking around the main streets of Christchurch looking for a place for dinner, we stumbled across a Thai restaurant that had the sign out front - 'Finalist for Christchurch Restaurant of the year 2009'. Hmmmm....Finalist aye....that must mean that it's one of the better places to eat in Christchurch right?? And on that thought, we ventured in...
Funky light fixture at the entranceThe decor, service and overall feel of the place certainly felt like a classy establishment-something I'd expect of a hatted restaurant in Sydney. When we arrived, there were a few people around the bar area and a few tables eating dinner already so it wasn't desserted by any means. We were seated a a long bench like table which seemed suited to communal type meal sharing arrangements, although there were normal tables else where. We sat on one end of the bench and during the course of the meal, a family took up the other end. The table and benches were large enough so that we weren't bumping elbows and it wasn't really noticable that we were sharing a table.
Table settings
The prices of the dishes were pretty good with entrees ranging from $5 to $25 dollars and mains from $20+ (NZD). For the four of us, we ordered Pork Wontons for starters and 3 mains plus complimentary rice. The mains being the signature dish for Crispy Fried Chicken, Green Curry with Prawns and Wok Fried noodles.
Pork Wontons $19.90 NZDThe pork wontons were generous in size and deliciously crispy with an accompanying sweet chilli sauce. One criticism was that the pork was a tad bland and you really had to soak in some sauce to get some flavour into it.
Prawn Green Curry $31.00 NZDThe prawn green curry was a bit lacking in prawns (around 7 or so) but included a variety of vegetables, most noticeably eggplant. The curry itself was delicious with a nice spicy bite to it and went well with the rice.
Complimentary riceThe rice itself was a bit of a dissapointment with the grains overcooked and smushed up so that the texture resembled a stodgy mash potato than the firm, fragrant rice that it should have been.
Crispy Fried Chicken $26.00 NZDThe signature dish which we selected was the Crispy chicken which was nice if a tiny bit dry... given that it was classified as a signature dish, I was expecting a lot more, however it did not differ too much from the crispy skin chicken dishes you can get in most restaurants in Sydney.
Wok Fried Noodles $23.50 NZDThe wok fried noodles came as a DYI dish but was quite yummy with a nice proportion of beans noodles, nuts and other ingredients. Also called Pad Thai :P
Funky Lights
Funny looking toilet symbols, haha
Chinwag- Finalist 2009 Christchurch Restaurant of the yearChinwag
161 High St, Christchurch,
New Zealand
Tel: 365-7363
Fax: 365-7366
5pm - late
Monday - Sunday
Coogee Yeeros Cafe, Coogee
Coffee and snack at Coogee
A cold and blustery Sunday afternoon we all met up to go chillax at Coogee Beach. Walking down the main strip at Coogee, we were looking for a nice cafe to bum the day away.... we decided on Coogee Yeeros Cafe as it had plastic sheets and the bit outdoor gas heaters which meant that it would be ok to sit on the sidewalk.
We each ordered a mug of coffee, being a cappucino and 2 lattes. We opted to have them in mugs which cost $1 more but was easily worth the price. The coffee wasn't the best i've ever had, but considering the weather that day, it felt and tasted really good to drink that mug of coffee....
We each ordered a mug of coffee, being a cappucino and 2 lattes. We opted to have them in mugs which cost $1 more but was easily worth the price. The coffee wasn't the best i've ever had, but considering the weather that day, it felt and tasted really good to drink that mug of coffee....
Mugs of Coffee ~$4.50 each
Mug of Cappuccino or Muggacino, hahaWe also ordered a snack conisisting of pancake with strawberries and ice cream with maple syrup....easily one of the better tasting pancakes I've had and I am by no means a fan of pancakes....the pancake itself was really well cooked with a golden brown layer on the outside but inside really soft and hot. The maply syrup was warm and combined with the strawberries and ice cream, it tasted sublime.
Pancakes with Ice Cream, Strawberries and Maple Syrup ~10
Coogee Yeeros Cafe
204 Arden Street,
Coogee, NSW 2034
Phone: (02) 9665 6363
Norita Board Games Cafe, Sydney CBD
Posted by kogepanman in Board Games, Cafe, CBD, City, Snack on Friday, June 5, 2009
Snack at Norita
A cold and windy Sunday afternoon. We finished shopping around Pitt Street Mall and met up with some other friends. After wandering around for a while, we remembered the strange Norita sign that we always saw on Liverpool Street in the city, but never got around to visiting it. 'Norita - Cafe and board games' it pronounced. I think it's the only one of it's kind in Sydney (as far as I know) and we decided to check it out.
Inside, the decor is kinda dark but cosy with tables and booths. We sat at a booth and received our menu and list of board games. Since we only had approximately 1 hour we, decided to choose an easy game that we all knew how to play and didn't have complicated rules. This is Jenga, haha. The price of the board games vary between the games and depends on how long you want the game for and ranges from around $1-5 per person for 1 hour.
We also ordered some snacks and drinks. Firstly, a Green tea shake which was like the normal ones you can get at japanese restaurants except that it had hundreds and thousands on top of the whipped cream.
Inside, the decor is kinda dark but cosy with tables and booths. We sat at a booth and received our menu and list of board games. Since we only had approximately 1 hour we, decided to choose an easy game that we all knew how to play and didn't have complicated rules. This is Jenga, haha. The price of the board games vary between the games and depends on how long you want the game for and ranges from around $1-5 per person for 1 hour.
We also ordered some snacks and drinks. Firstly, a Green tea shake which was like the normal ones you can get at japanese restaurants except that it had hundreds and thousands on top of the whipped cream.
Green Tea Shake (~$6)Next was the Takoyaki balls with the usual bonito flakes. This was ok, but my guess that it is frozen or prepared as it didn't taste that fresh.
Takoyaki (~$7.50)Lastly, we ordered the chocolate fondue which had a pot of warm, delicious choclate sitting above a candle (which surpisingly kept the chocolate pretty warm the whole time). Around the chocolate were marshmallows, wafer biscuits, strawberries and banana slices. All of which were devoured quickly after a quick dip in the chocolate. What would have taken this dish to the next level would be the addition of some icecream scoops I think.
Chocolate fondue -shared between 4 (~$15)Overall, I would definitely recommend this place as a cool place to hang out, enjoy your company and some cool board games. Food is ok, but is nothing to look forward to.
Norita Board Games Cafe
Level 2
77 Liverpool Street
Sydney NSW
Phone (02) 9267 3753
Bird Cow Fish, Surry Hills
Posted by kogepanman in Alex Herbert, BCF, Bird Cow Fish, Crown Street, Duck Confit, Gnocchi, Lamb, Masterchef, Surry Hills on Thursday, June 4, 2009
Dinner at Bird Cow Fish
One of the cool things about the MasterChef TV show that is currently airing on Channel 10 (which I follow pretty consistently, haha) is that they have a segment each week where one of the amateur chefs compete a renowned chef in cook off of their favourite dish. After I saw a few episodes of this, I knew I had to try one of the chefs restaurants and of course their signature dishes- they looked so delicious on TV! We decided to visit Alex Herbert's Bird Cow Fish (BCF) restaurant after we saw her signature dish- potato gnocchi on Masterchef.
The restaurant itself is located on Crown Street and the ambience inside is cosy and darkish but has a warm feel to it with each table lighted by its own little candle. We arrived at 7pm and there were a few tables and soon after, a few more.
Candle, Sea salt flakes and Pepper Grinder
Low lit environment
Lemon, Lime and Bitters $4.50
BCF Spiced Mixed Nuts (Cashews, Almonds, Macadamia) $5.50
Sourdough Bread $3.50
Nuts, Sourdough and accompanying olive oil dip
Potato gnocchi with sautéed prawn meat, burnt butter, verjuice, capers & crispy sage $18.50
Lamb 2 Ways: Roasted lamb rump and Crumbed baked Lamb with skordhalia stuffed zucchini flowers & a black olive tapenade jus $35.50
Duck Leg Confit and Toulose Sausage with, cabbage & apple slaw; buttermilk potato puree $35.50
One of the cool things about the MasterChef TV show that is currently airing on Channel 10 (which I follow pretty consistently, haha) is that they have a segment each week where one of the amateur chefs compete a renowned chef in cook off of their favourite dish. After I saw a few episodes of this, I knew I had to try one of the chefs restaurants and of course their signature dishes- they looked so delicious on TV! We decided to visit Alex Herbert's Bird Cow Fish (BCF) restaurant after we saw her signature dish- potato gnocchi on Masterchef.
The restaurant itself is located on Crown Street and the ambience inside is cosy and darkish but has a warm feel to it with each table lighted by its own little candle. We arrived at 7pm and there were a few tables and soon after, a few more.
Candle, Sea salt flakes and Pepper Grinder
Low lit environmentMy companion ordered a Lemon, Lime and Bitters and we had water for the table. The LLB was nothingn special but was a nice, tall and refreshing glass full. We then ordered a selection of entrees being, BCF spiced nuts, Sourdough bread with Olive oil and the famous Potato Gnocchi with Sauteed prawn in burnt butter sauce.
Lemon, Lime and Bitters $4.50
BCF Spiced Mixed Nuts (Cashews, Almonds, Macadamia) $5.50
Sourdough Bread $3.50
Nuts, Sourdough and accompanying olive oil dip
Potato gnocchi with sautéed prawn meat, burnt butter, verjuice, capers & crispy sage $18.50The bread was very ordinary and nothing special, the nuts were nicely spiced and was a palate opener but the standout dish for the whole night would have had to be the gnocchi. Light, smooth and creamy, the gnocchi melted in my mouth. What appeared to be a small serving turned out to be quite filling. It also had some prawns which added some sweetness to the dish and also some crispy sage leaves which had quite a delicious but strong flavour. For mains, we ordered 2 to share- being the Lamb prepared 2 ways and the Confit of duck leg. One of the ways the Lamb rump was served was medium rare and roasted and the other being coated in bread crumbs and baked. The roast lamb was delicious and beautifully cooked, however the baked lamb was a tad dry for my liking and thus tasted a bit gamey. The duck was kinda salty but went well with the toulose sausage slices which weren't salty. The accompanying cabbage base was kinda sour for my liking also and it was unexpected that the dish would have such strong differing flavours.
Lamb 2 Ways: Roasted lamb rump and Crumbed baked Lamb with skordhalia stuffed zucchini flowers & a black olive tapenade jus $35.50
Duck Leg Confit and Toulose Sausage with, cabbage & apple slaw; buttermilk potato puree $35.50Next up was dessert. We ordered a piece of Turkish delight which was sweet, sticky and delicious ^_^. And also a Steamed Ginger Pudding with a Sherry based custard sauce. This was moist and the accompanying sauce was not too sweet. The ginger flavour was also good, however it didn't taste like it was well distributed in the pudding and some spoonfuls would have more ginger flavour than others. Nonetheless, it was a yummy dessert.
Turkish Delight $2.50
Turkish Delight $2.50
Shops 4 & 5,
500 Crown Street
Surry Hills
Ph: 9380 4090
Dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm to 11pm
