Pho Phd, Marrickville

Every time I go to Marrickville, I have wanted to try Pho Phd – as my brother swears by it. Saying that it is the place to be. But every time I’m there, it’s closed. So, on a Tuesday night the brother and I meet our uncle there for dinner with his family.

We see the queue as we walk over and it’s only a Tuesday night. Thankfully, with a party of seven, we are lucky enough that they have one big table left.

Thai styled fish cakes $10

We start with the fish cakes, chewy outsides with mushy innards. The spice is enough to give you a kick in the tastebuds.

Boneless stuffed chicken wings $12

Boneless chicken wings? Um … yes please! Stuffed with mince as well. Like can this get any better? It is a bite-full, and has a lot of different things going on at the same time, especially when you dip it into the fish sauce. But the slight crisp on the chicken makes me one happy girl.

Vietnamese crepe-styled pancake (prawn & pork) $12.50 

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same to the Vietnamese crepe. I was actually looking forward to this, since the first time I had it was at Red Lantern. I thought perhaps being in a little local restaurant, I could try a more “traditional” take. This however, was full of oil and that was all I could taste.

Combination Pho Regular $12; Large $15; Extra large $19

BRING. ON. THE. PHO! So, there’s a regular, large and extra large to choose from. On this fair winter’s night, I proudly admit to you all, I went with the large. My brother on the other hand went with the EXTRA large. Now, I tried to capture it for you all to see his basin pho, but it didn’t turn out too well with no comparison to see how MASSIVE it was.

The broth was delicious, packed with flavour. There was a generous amount of noodles to meat ratio, or is it because I ordered the large that I think that? However, one downfall is that it was not hot. It was luke warm, I’m not sure about you but when I order a bowl of pho (or any noodle soup) I expect myself to be blowing endlessly before I can eat it. And nothing worse than a luke warm bowl of soup on a winter’s day.

Vietnamese jelly drink

Please enlighten me, do you prefer a bowl of steaming hot noodles blowing endlessly yet still burn your mouth or a bowl of luke warm noodles where you can simply indulge instantly?

Double Roasters, Marrickville

After pulling Miss AC up on the cronut bandwagon with me when we headed to Brewtown Newtown, we were hoping for another cronut adventure at the Grumpy Barista. However, much to our disappointment – they are not open on Sundays.

In quick pursuit, Miss AC, Miss PC and myself whipped out our phones to find where we could go eat while waiting for the late riser Miss MC to make her way over. That was when I saw Double Roasters and exclaimed, “We have to go!” What would we do without our smart phones?

Fresh orange juice $6

Pot of chai tea $4.50

“Quick! Pour your chai in before your tea gets cold!” That was heard but not registered as I snapped away, then as I finished up, “Oh, I guess I won’t take a photo now that I’ve already poured mine in…” I laughed as I turned my pot around for Miss AC to snap after hearing her disappointment, because after all she had good intentions for me to begin with.

Croque Monsieur: black forest smokehouse ham, and triple cheese toasted sandwich $9

Innards shot

Just because we had to, we ordered the croque monsieur to share. The melted cheese lying there, our eyes glowed with happiness. Miss MC did the honors of cutting it into equal 4 pieces, and that stringy cheese glory made us all “ooooo~” with excitement. Take this as the ultimate guilty pleasure of a ham and cheese toastie! But we were glad to have shared this, as having it alone would be a little too heavy and rich.

House baked beans: spinach, button mushrooms, pesto butter, and feta with sourdough $13
+ poached egg $2 each

Egg porn!

Miss AC and I were on a double today; we both opted for the baked beans with a poached egg. Damn that egg porn! The baked beans were delectable – it was perfect for a cold winters day. It was so moreish, I secretly wished for perhaps one more toast to help me soak up more of the left over baked beans and sauce.

Smashed avocado sprinkled with crumbed feta, dukkah and lemon on sourdough $9

Miss PC had the avocado toast, and said it was delicious with the dukkah.  And this would be perfect for you if you’re an avocado lover, as there is a mountain of avocado that got a little too much for Miss PC.

Bacon and egg roll $8.50

Miss MC chose a bacon and egg roll, and when I asked how it was her answer was very matter of fact, “It’s a bacon and egg roll.” I guess there were no complaints?

Who would think we had enough food? Of course that was only our starters because hello to some sweets!!

Peanut butter blondie $4

The peanut butter blondie was nice; it was everything you would think it to be. A peanut butter slice. Bits of peanuts nestled inside makes a great bite.

Apple & Blueberry muffin $3

A warm muffin will never go wrong; I think you can all agree with me here that the only muffin tops we don’t like are the ones hanging off our jeans. But apart from that, GIVE ME ALL THE MUFFIN TOPS! The crusty top is so addictive, the entire muffin is fluffy and the bits of apple offers that touch of fresh citrus along with the blueberries giving that sweet goodness. YUM!

I will one day learn that it is not a given that every café is open on a Sunday. I must also remember to check opening hours prior to organising events.

But I don’t think that it worked out all that bad, considering I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Double Roasters.

The Henson, Marrickville

On a lovely Saturday afternoon Miss CC and I were found basking in the winter sun at The Henson. Located behind the bar, on a residential street - is where this little gem is hidden.

If you don’t exactly like having children running around you, you may want to opt coming at night or not on a weekend. As this place is super kid friendly, with a garage designed as a play area. For those that like to have a catch up over a friendly beer, cocktail or wine as the kids are left to their own devices. This is the place to be.

“What just happened?” That was the first thing Miss CC said once we both demolished our burgers. Because believe me, before our food arrived we were happily yapping away, then when the food arrived there was complete silence (apart from the sounds of approval).

Left: Vanilla malt shake $9
Right: Salted caramel shake $9

This may not be the 'best' salted caramel milkshake (as I have not had enough to make that call), but it was by far the closest to a salted caramel flavoured milkshake I have had. Most I have ordered usually taste more like a caramel milkshake than salted caramel. Miss CC made an almost moan like sound when she had her vanilla malt.

Kumera fries, nigella, tahini yoghurt $8

So, someone has been craving for sweet potato fries for a while now. It was basically the seller when I saw it on the menu before heading to The Henson. Crunchy strips of goodness was exactly the way to my belly. Dipping in the yoghurt was a nice refreshing hit, but I preferred without.

Soft shell crab burger, old baby slaw, ice berg, sriarcha & chips $16

Miss CC went for the soft shell crab burger and she looked like she was in heaven! Beware of the spiciness, this is not recommended for non-spicy eaters, at all! Unless of course you want to have that tongue burn.

Pork belly burger old baby slaw, ice berg, sriarcha & chips $16

I had a hard choice, jumping from the chicken karaage or the pork belly. But went with my instincts and ordered the pork belly. The thin strips of pork belly and bit of cackling were simply exploding in my mouth with goodness. This is also a spicy burger, but it was all the more addicting with every bite. I also loved the soft yet toasted bun!

Churro 'chips', mork fudge, malt gelato $11

Ok, so the sweet potato fries wasn’t all that sold to me – it was also these churro chips! I know right, say whhaaaatt??? Take this like … sweet nachos! Churros made like triangle corn chips! I’ll be honest, a real churro is better, but these are crunchy with a bite and then you’ll get that chewy like feel between. Drizzled with chocolate fudge, sprinkled with cinnamon brings you to complete bliss, along with a dash of ice cream. Because let’s be honest, everything tastes better with ice cream!

Great company is always a bonus with good food, and being able to bask in the winter sun will never have any downs. We sure hit food coma though …

OH before I sign off, for those who love ice cream and are not yet aware, Mövenpick are giving out FREE ice cream on 1^st August 2014 to celebrate Swiss National Day. Check it out here. (Note: Journey From Within was not sponsored by Mövenpick. Credits to Miss CC).