the perks of being a food blogger

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Hey Foodies!

Are you ready for a new food adventure? Look no further than The Pickle & The Patty, the hottest new diner in SOUTH MELBOURNE!

Let's talk about their menu, shall we? It's American-inspired with a twist, featuring free-range Victorian chicken and grass-fed beef patties that are freshly prepared daily. And if you're a pickle lover like me, you'll be drooling over their unique menu items that feature pickles in all their glorious forms.

But it's not just about the patties and pickles, folks. The artisan rolls are locally sourced, and the handcrafted burgers are topped with in-house pickles and happy egg mayo. It's all about quality ingredients here at The Pickle & The Patty.

And if you're wondering about drinks, they've got you covered with a huge selection of milkshakes, cocktails, and American whiskeys. Cheers to that!

But wait, there's more! The Pickle & The Patty cares about what you eat and where it comes from, just like you do. That's why they use 100% free-range all-beef hot dogs made right here in Melbourne.

So, where can you get your hands on this deliciousness? Obviously, we recommend visiting their new diner for the full experience. But if that's not possible, you can order online for pick-up from their store. And for those who prefer delivery, they'll be available on selected services with a condensed menu.

Trust me, Foodies, you don't want to miss out on this. The Pickle & The Patty is where it's at.

Happy Eating!

Frostickle

Date: 5-March-2023

Eaters: Heman, Asunga, Kimson, Julian, David

Price: $30pp since we had a lot of craft beer and sides, burgers go from $13.50-$18.50. See the online menu here.

Vegan options: Yes, they have many vegan & vegetarian optoins, with plant based patties and eggplant parmas

Gluten Free options: Yes

Address: 179-181 Clarendon St, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Phone: [phone]

Website: https://thepickleandthepatty.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepickleandthepatty/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepickleandthepatty

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Easey’s in Collingwood, Melbourne

Viv recently had her hair fixed for her sister’s wedding, so we went out for a photoshoot! We wandered the streets of Collingwood & Fitzroy at golden hour and took some great shots, before settling down at Easey’s for some burgers & mac ‘n’ cheese tots.

The burgers are delicious and the menu was designed by the famous James Hurlston of Jimmy’s Burgers, and the restaurant itself is made of 3 decommissioned train carriages on a Collingwood rooftop. Since I always forget to take exterior shots, here are some from their website: 

(Last 3 photos courtesy of Easey’s)

Date: Sunday the 30th of September, 2018

Eaters: Viv & David

Price: $22 per person

Address: 3/48 Easey Street, Collingwood, Victoria

Phone: [phone]

Vegan Options: This is Melbourne, of course they’ll do vegan if you ask. If you’re looking to feed vegans though, there are better places in the neighbourhood, e.g. Vegie Bar.

Gluten Free Options: Yes

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

One Ford Street in Balmain, Sydney

Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve food blogged. Sorry for the unexpected hiatus. Moving cities for a new job came with a lot more attention-demanding-things than I expected.

Attention is something that I struggle with and have written about in the past. In English, attention is something we pay. In Spanish, attention is something we lend (prestar atención). In Mandarin attention is something we register (注意).

So in an attempt to be more mindful, I’m going to take time to register my attention. I’m going to write down my thoughts and blog each week. Maybe in future I’ll try to perform other attention focusing exercises, but for this blog anyway, registering attention is my goal.

Sometimes I’ll also invite my friends to say a few words about the food, here is what Lucy had to say:

One Ford Street is an ideal location on a weekend in Balmain where you can avoid the long lines and crowds of the all the other cafe and restaurants in the area. Take a few friends and enjoy a lazy grazing lunch in their courtyard surrounded by passionfruit vines. There is something for everyone, even the vegans and those with gluten intolerance. The pasta is al dente, tomatoe base pasta sauce bursting with flavour. Highly recommend the grazing meat plate to share and Lamb Ragu Parpadelle. Don’t forget to ask for the specials. Always something interesting to try. And the service is impeccable.

Date: Sunday the 23rd of September, 2018

Eaters: Jess, Lucy, Matt, David & Desiree

Price: $35 per person

Address: 1 Ford Street, Balmain, Sydney, NSW

Phone: [phone]

Vegan Options: Vegetarian friendly, they may have put butter in one of the dishes we requested to be vegan.

Gluten Free Options: Yes

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Lentil as Anything in Newtown, Sydney!

Cindy and I are now expatriates of Sydney, so it’s a special occasion when we’re in town. Also Albert and Jenny are officially engaged or something, that’s probably special and worth mentioning too.

Lentil as Anything is a pay what you can restaurant. The food is cooked in large batches and there is a set menu, if you’re hungry and down on your luck, come over for a really good feed and don’t feel bad about not being able to put in more. You can volunteer to help in the kitchen or help out in other ways. Of course, if you can afford to put in more, please do, it helps keep Lentil as Anything open!

Date: Friday the 5th of February, 2016

Eaters: Albert, Jenny, Cindy and David

Price: $15 per person covers the cost of the meal & restaurant

Address: 391 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042

Phone: [phone]

Vegan Options: Everything is vegan!

Gluten Free Options: Yes

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Mammoth Cafe in Armadale, Melbourne!

As a newcomer to Melbourne, I’m relying on my friends to show me where the good food is at - Steph took me to this refreshingly cute cafe in Armadale where we shared “The Benedict” (a fried egg on corn bread + sausage), “Lobster Donut Burger” (exactly what it sounds like, lobster between two halves of a donut!!!) and a “Golden Gaytime panna cotta” (which had honeycomb and gold-flakes!) for desert 😋

It was delicious and I’ll definitely be back to try out the rest of the items on the menu!

Date: Saturday the 16th of January, 2016

Eaters: Steph and David

Price: $69 total

Phone: [phone]

Address: 736 Malvern Road, Armadale, Melbourne, VIC

Vegan Options: Yes

Gluten Free Options: Yes

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Bebek Bengil in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia!

I recently moved to Melbourne for work, and my friends Amelie and Xibing moved to Singapore earlier in 2015. Tom and Sue were left in Sydney (although who knows how long before they move too?). So to celebrate the new year rather than fly back to Sydney, we all flew to Bali!

We spent the first half our trip in relaxing Ubud, and one of the restaurants which was recommended to us was Bebek Bengil - the dirty duck. If you want to eat here, I recommend that you call the day before and order your duck in advance! Otherwise they may run out!

The food was quite decent, but I don’t consider it a “must visit”. (A must visit in Ubud is Naughty Nuri’s for sticky BBQ pork ribs!!!)

Date: Wednesday the 30th of December, 2015

Eaters: Tom, Amelie, Sue, Xibing and David

Price: 1,254,770 Indonesian Rupees or about $125 Aud ($25 per person, we had cocktails as well as food)

Phone: [phone]

Address: Jl. Hanoman, Ubud, Bali

Vegan Options: Maybe

Gluten Free Options: Probably

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Brasserie Bread in Botany Bay!

I’ve made it something of a tradition for me to visit Brasserie Bread whenever I visit the airport to pick someone up, it’s a great place for a very Australian brunch after getting off the plane.

Brasserie Bread is probably the first place that I specifically drove out to due to a social media post. Someone posted their sourdough pancakes and they looked so good that I just had to go try them for myself. Since then I’ve gone from Facebook spamming to Instagramming food pics to Food Blogging and you can probably blame Brasserie Bread for all of that!

It’s a great place for an outing - they have baking classes that are great for kids or for adults wanting to learn a new skill. If you can’t make it out to Botany Bay fear not - Brasserie Bread is a bakery that supplies many cafes and restaurants around Sydney and Melbourne.

I probably say this about every restaurant but you should really bring someone to share your meal with so you can order lots of different things. I recommend the Sourdough Pancakes & something savoury like the Smoked Trout, and don’t forget to get a loaf of single origin sourdough to take away & almond croissants!!!

Date: Sunday the 8th of November, 2015

Eaters: Sandeep & David

Price: ~$20 for food & coffee. [Menu]

Phone: [phone]

Address: 1737 Botany Road, Botany Bay, Sydney, NSW

Vegan Options: Yes. (Their sourdough is Vegan!)

Gluten Free Options: Yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

2 Meter Pizza at Via Napoli Pizzeria in Surry Hills!

For Mitch’s birthday we went to the new Via Napoli Pizzeria in Surry Hills. The Via Napoli Pizzeria in Lane Cove is an old favourite that never fails to disappoint and this place is the same. It’s very authentically Italian and we always have a good time.

Needless to say the food is fantastic. I highly recommend bringing a big group so you can try everything. We had a large group of more than 12 people, and were able to order the 2 meter pizza, 2 pastas, 1 gnocchi and a big antipasto board AND drinks. It worked out to be cheaper than their $45 set menu (since drinks aren’t included in that) and everyone got to have some of everything.

Date: Wednesday the 23rd of September, 2015

Eaters: Mitch, Wendy, Philip, Austin, Ayesha and many others!

Price: Under $50 per person, even after tipping.

Phone: [phone]

Address: 628 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Vegan Options: Yes. (You’re missing out though)

Gluten Free Options: Yes. They make their own pasta and so have a selection of gluten free pastas. They don’t do gluten free pizza though.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Golden Lotus’s Vegan Ubernoms

Photos by David Ma, words by Samantha Lin :)

Yes, “ubernoms” is totally a word–and also a totally apt term for the food at Golden Lotus, a Vietnamese vegan restaurant situated in the vegan-friendly (and gelato-studded) Newtown. I had the pleasure of hitting both the restaurant and a nearby gelateria with a group of vegan and omnomnivore friends in Sydney, including blogger and (superior) photographer David Ma, who has provided all the photos in this post.

We all flipped through the menu and chose a dish each to share, as you do. And what better than to start with some moreish rice paper tofu rolls ($5.80 each)?

Which was then followed by some chewy char-grilled vegan pork skewers, served with a delicious sauce ($9.80).

Jake wanted an entire dish to himself, and he certainly seemed to enjoy his vegan chicken with lemongrass ($14.80), which he polished off without a problem.

And why not have more veggies with our soy “meat”? This vegan chicken stir fry with veggies and cashews ($15.80) certainly did the trick!

Avi, our resident vegan food expert (and the one who recommended Golden Lotus) got the combination hot pot ($15.80), which contained a mishmash of beautifully flavoured veggies.

Avi also suggested we get the sizzling Saigon pan cake ($15.80), which was a DIY dish containing several components, centred on the vegan omelette. Each bit was yummy by itself, but together, provided a wonderful combination of textures and flavours. It was a little messy to assemble and eat, but I’d definitely get this again!

But by far, my favourite dish of the evening was the fried vegan calamari with salt and chilli ($15.80). Goodness me, these tasted just like calamari, and were so amazing and aaaahhhhh I want some right now!

And then we had a group shot taken, because David’s isn’t as single-minded as me, and photographs people as well as food. ;)

Visited on: Monday, 21 September 2015. Dinner.

Spent: $163.80 for eight people, including some drinks and rice

Overall: I’ve only had vegan “meat” once before (in Canberra with Avi, incidentally), so I’m by no means an expert on the quality of the soy-based substitutes, and how the flavours compare to other vegan restaurants. However, as a omnomnivore, I very much enjoyed my meal, and was very pleased with how everything tasted. The service was also excellent, and the staff were particularly patient with our indecisiveness. If I had a restaurant like Golden Lotus where I live, I’d definitely visit occasionally, regardless of vegan company–and oh, that calamari! 8.5/10.

Golden Lotus

343 King St Newtown NSW Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thursday – Sunday: 12:00-15:00; Monday – Sunday: 17:30- 22:30

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

The Elephant Bean in Katoomba!

XiaoHui took me stargazing! We camped out on Narrow Neck Ridge overnight and took long exposure photos of the Milky Way! (Note: that first picture was taken by Xiaohui!)

In the morning we had breakfast at The Elephant Bean in Katoomba, they have good coffee, and their beans on toast was good, but I wasn’t a fan of their sandwiches+salad. The main reason we picked The Elephant Bean was because they were the only ones open on a Sunday morning!

Date: Sunday the 13th of August, 2015

Eaters: Natalie, Xiaohui and David

Price: $12 per person + $3 for coffee

Phone: [phone]

Address: 159 Katoomba Street, Katoomba NSW 2780

Vegan Options: Probably.

Gluten Free Options: Maybe.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Nazimi Japanese Restaurant!

My friend Jerry did me a real solid with some technical advice so I took him, Anny and Mel out for dinner as a thank you!

Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the outside and decor of Nazimi! I always seem to focus on the food and forget about the rest. Nazimi is a little hard to find, it’s on York Street next to the QVB, tucked away downstairs in a little alcove, it’s a real hidden gem of Sydney.

I highly recommend this place for dates (although Mel recommends this place for breakups)

Date: Tuesday the 4th of August, 2015

Eaters: Anny, Jerry, Mel and David

Price: $209.10 (~$30 per person for food, $20 per person on alcohol)

Phone: [phone]

Address: Level 1, 141 York Street, CBD, Sydney, NSW

Vegan Options: Doable but you’re really missing out. (Great for pescatarians though)

Gluten Free Options: Yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Jonga Jip Korean BBQ in Eastwood!

Sorry to my vegan friends, but this isn’t a very good post for you! It’s hard eating vegetarian at a Korean restaurant, I’ve been accidentally served meat on many occasions at Korean restaurants. I think the best strategy is to tell them you’re buddhist, but even that might not work, since Koreans much more likely to be atheist or Christian than Buddhist.

Anyway, I had family dinner with my brothers and Mitch, who is living with my brothers. We had so much food on the table that the seafood pancake had to sit on a chair until we made enough room for it on the table!

Date: Monday the 10th of August, 2015

Eaters: Mitch, Roger, Philip and David

Price: ~$20 per person.

Phone: [phone]

Address: 87 Rowe St, Eastwood, NSW

Vegan Options: Plz no.

Gluten Free Options: Yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Dinner Club visits the Park Hyatt thanks to Lime & Tonic.

Lime & Tonic is a new coupon company, similar to groupon, scoupon, livingsocial, etc. Except Lime & Tonic aims more at fancy dining experiences. Sophie spotted this deal and invited us all to come.

The Park Hyatt’s “The Dining Room” is their fine dining area, and has an excellent view of Sydney harbour and the Sydney Opera House.

Although the set menu gave us 3 choices for each of the entrees, mains and desserts, we decided to get some of everything and share. The food was more generous than what I was expecting, and we were not able to finish all the dishes.

It was definitely a good deal and I'll be looking out for more Lime & Tonic coupons in future.

Date: Saturday the 13th of June, 2015.

Eaters: Sophie, Mimi, Lucy, Cody and David.

Price: $69 per person with a Lime & Tonic coupon. Drinks were extra

Website: http://sydney.park.hyatt.com/

Vegan Options: Yes.

Gluten Free Options: Yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

In-N-Out Burger!

A must visit if you’re ever on the west coast! In-N-Out burger hasn’t expanded to the rest of the world, or even the east coast of America despite the chain being more than 65 years old now.

Be sure to check out the not so secret menu before you order, they’ll actually serve you your burgers any way you want, but these are a few very popular non-standard ways of enjoying their burgers!

In-N-Out Burger prides itself on freshness. There are no freezers on site, nothing gets frozen. The fries come in as whole potatoes and are cut just seconds before they’re deep fried.

I visited the Pleasanton In-N-Out burger with my highschool friend Ruben and his wife Tingwei who I stayed for the Bay Area leg of my USA Trip!

Date: Thursday the 16th of April, 2015

Eaters: Ruben, Tingwei and David

Price: ~$10 per person.

Website: http://missionchinesefood.com/

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Vegan Options: Plz no.

Gluten Free Options: Yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Mission Chinese Food in the Mission district of San Francisco!

Danny Bowien opened Mission Chinese Food in the husk of an old Chinese restaurant, Lung Shan, and kept the exterior signage to confuse people. My friend Matthew couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant but he told me that he’d recognise it by the massive line outside.

The lighting inside was all red so I used a flashlight to light up the dishes :)

The food was a bit of a more modern take on classic Chinese dishes, or perhaps Chinese food in America is just different to what I’m used to in Sydney.

Date: Wednesday the 15th of April, 2015

Eaters: Matthew and David

Price: We spent around $25 each and massively over ordered. You could be fed for $15-20 per person.

Menu: Urban Spoon Menu

Location: 2234 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110, United States

Phone: [phone]

Website: http://missionchinesefood.com/

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Vegan Options: I don’t recommend this place for vegans or vegetarians. There are better options nearby, there is great Mexican food to be had in this area.

Gluten Free Options: yes.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Xpressomondo in Melbourne’s famous Degraves Street - a laneway full of cafes.

On my way back to Sydney from my trip to the USA, my flight was unexpectedly diverted to Melbourne! There were massive storms over Sydney and it was not safe for planes to land or take off. United Airlines wanted us to wait 8 hours at the airport to see if the weather would clear up... but I asked them to instead book me a flight back to Sydney on Friday, and just hang out in Melbourne.

I did a year of high school in Melbourne, so was glad to have the opportunity to catch up with old friends. Steph and Anthony were kind enough to let me crash on their couch, although they were too busy to come eat out with me (it was a during the week after all). Fern came out on Friday to have brunch with me and see me off to the airport - we talked until it was time to rush off for my 1pm flight!

We were just going for any old cafe in Degraves Street. We sat at Xpressomondo because they had seats available, and didn’t realise that it had such low reviews! 28% on Urbanspoon?!? The food was completely fine. I don’t know what people are complaining about. The staff were fine, the food was fine and the coffee was fine. Perhaps other people came in with extremely high expectations of “Degraves Street” and were left disappointed, but I found it to be a decent cafe breakfast - admittedly, a classic cafe “big breakfast” is kind of hard to screw up, you just fry everything and then serve it.

Date: Friday the 23rd of April, 2015

Eaters: Fern and David

Price: $18 for the mains + $5 for drinks.

Location: 33 Degraves St Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3000

Social Media: Facebook

Vegan Options: There are better places in Melbourne if you’re after vegan food.

Gluten Free Options: Probably.

[theperksofbeingafoodblogger]

Salito’s Crab House and Prime Rib in California!

Jay took us all out on a bicycle tour of San Francisco, riding over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito, where unfortunately Le Garage was closed, so we went to Salito’s Crab House and Prime Rib instead.

We had the Clam Chowder, Salad, Double Crab Enchiladas, Fish and Chips and Mussels. They brought out our food really quickly and we were able to make it back to the wharf in time for the ferry back to San Francisco.

Date: Sunday the 19th of April, 2015

Eaters: Jay, Jordan, Jill, Nick and David

Price: We spent around $20 to $25 each.

Menu: Urban Spoon Menu

Location: 1200 Bridgeway, Sausalito, California, USA, 94965

Phone: [phone]

Website: http://www.salitoscrabhouse.com/

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Vegan Options: Yes.

Gluten Free Options: Yes.