Mary's Newtown, Newtown

I’m pretty sure everyone has been to Mary’s Newtown already. But there are some that haven’t. Say for instance, Miss CC’s cousin, Miss EL, as she moved over to Hong Kong for the past few years. And when Miss CC and I were in Hong Kong in March, we had a mutual agreement that a date was to be set when she was back on Aussie soul to take her to this ah-may-zing burger joint.

“I think I’m here”

“The place has no signage”

“And bearded people standing outside”

“… and a red light”

“Which makes it look like a brothel”

Miss EL spammed us as we were making our way over, poor girl was so unsure.

My reply: “Yes, that’s exactly what it looks like”

A Thursday night and the bar was still buzzing with people, a short 15 minute wait and we got our table.

Cheeseburger $15

Our bellies rumbled, and our mouths drooled even more as our dinner was placed on the table. What I love most about Mary’s burgers is the soft bun, but then you get the slight toasty crunch before your teeth sinks into the juicy patty. And you just simply take a moment to appreciate that melted cheese, patty, and burger. And everything is all right.

Whole bird $30

We get the whole bird between the four of us, because we can totally eat it all with a growing young boy (Miss CC’s brother). Crispy batter, and succulent chicken. I do believe we were all a little silent forgetting to ask Miss EL about what other plans she has while she was back home.

Mash and gravy $5

Miss CC raves on so much about the mash and gravy, and I admit, I have never actually ordered it. I dipped my fries in and yeah, cool, it’s nice. Whatever, can we move on? No, you cannot, because you’re supposed to eat it with the spoon first. Miss EL and I did an invisible cheers with our spoons, and both looked at each other with our eyes wide. THAT MASH AND GRAVY! I have never had such an intense gravy before, it was all types of good in such an all types of bad kinda way. Like with the bite, I can totally feel how my arteries could instantly clog up, but there was no way I could turn back, because #yolo.

The only problem I believe everyone has covered is, it is a bit too dark. But meh, I’m there for the food – the lighting can suffice.

What is the first place you would take a friend from overseas to eat? The most recommended, as I would also like to keep a list as we have totally crossed Mary’s off, if we didn’t make Miss EL have withdrawals back in Hong Kong…

Mary's Newtown

6 Mary Street,

Newtown

Arabella, Newtown

A night out at Arabella,

Won’t have you singing an acapella,

Or turn you into Cinderella,

But you could start writing a novella

On the ‘quieter’ side of King Street you will find Arabella, an establishment that has been here since 2002. Starting with the street completely empty of restaurants, to watching them open and close, Arabella remains standing for 14 years and counting.

Owner: Mohamed mixing tabbouleh

Owner and head chef, Mohamed Zouhour, is passionate about his cooking. We are told he uses organic produces, and through this you see how he hopes to give his customers a great Lebanese experience.

Fresh lemonade

I start with fresh lemonade, while it comes out looking more orange than yellow it was indeed made of lemon. It was refreshing, sweet and sour, a perfect accompaniment for my following dishes for the night.

Fattoush $16

We start the night with fattoush, I am completely in love with this salad, and believe me – I am no salad eater. It was nice to start with, as the tanginess helped my stomach prepare for more food, and the crispy bread was definitely the best way to give me my much needed crunch factor.

Hommous topped with meat and pine nuts $17

HOMMOUS! Now, apart from the fact that this was super smooth and easy to go down with pita bread, the meat and pine nuts really brought this to a whole new level. We loved how the hommous had the sweet juices and olive oil mixed in, and we kept going in for more. We tried not to, as we didn’t want to get full on just hommous and pita bread!

Tabbouleh $15

What Miss CC loved most about this tabbouleh was the fact that she could not see the onions, as she mentioned most tabbouleh she has had she can always see it. However, upon her statement – everything was chopped so finely!

Kebbi $18

Now, the menu states that this is healthy! “If this is healthy, consider me converting to healthy foods!” that statement received a laugh from Miss CC. This is served cold, boiled mashed potatoes with crushed wheat, onions and olive oil, you see where the healthy parts come into play right?

babaganouj $14

This was a hit in the face, it was smokey indeed!  But this was because both Miss CC and I were so eager to try it, until we see the pomegranate. Don’t ask why or how we missed it, we just did. But adding some pomegranate to your babaganouj gives you a pop of sweetness after the smokey hit. It was interesting.

Falafel (4 per serve) $15

Before I continue, I have always wanted to try a falafel but never get the chance to because I get distracted by other choices. So, it was my first time. AND oh my freaking goodness, this was amazeballs! The crumbs fall apart in your mouth like a cookie, “Do not bother eating a falafel anywhere else.” That was a call made by Miss CC. I guess if I ever crave for a falafel, I’ll have to just come back to Arabella. No words, no pictures will ever do this justice.

Lady Finger (4 per serve) $15

Beware of contents, this comes out like a spring roll and reminds me of a spinach and feta triangle. A bite into this, you will have the feta cheese-oozing out from the end, so beware not to lose your cheesy goodness.

Lamb mansaf $28

By this point, we were hugging our stomachs but the smell was simply alluring. I find this tasting like a curry, and the rice looked like it would be hard but was in fact soft. The lamb was tender, and if you wanted you could add some yoghurt.

Shish kebab $26 | Shish tawouk $24

The shish kebab and tawouk were simply divine. The meats were so tender, and marinated in subtle hints of chilli and spices, I kept dipping it in the pureed garlic. But the lamb definitely held a great charcoal flavour which is something I love, as it adds such flavour to the meats.

And how do you end a night of Lebanese food? With Lebanese sweets of course! In the last few years I somehow managed to find my love for baklavas, I just love the nutty traces with the drizzled sweet pastry. Yum yum yum!

Come on a weekend and you will also get the great atmosphere and live belly dance show!

So, what are your favourite Lebanese dishes? Do you love baklavas too, or still trying to find a love for them? As I know they can be overly sweet for some people …

Hit: Falafel

Miss: Lady Finger

Arabella

12/489-491 King St,

Newtown

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday 5pm - 11pm

Sunday 12pm - 11pm

Journey from Within dined as a guest of Arabella. However, all thoughts and opinions are based on her own. Thank you to Mohamed and his team at Arabella for the invite and hospitality.

Cow & The Moon Artisan Gelato, Newtown

Let’s be honest, there is always going to be that one place that we all want to keep to ourselves hoping that no one ever finds out about it. But I decided I shall be nice and let you all in on my little secret, despite the fact that it has been broadcasted by numerous other bloggers already. I now introduce to you all, Cow & The Moon Artisan Gelato.

We are spoilt with choices, and there is a little line on a Monday night. However, that’s ok because it gives us the chance to peek at what we want. Upon deciding which flavours I wish to devour in my belly, I was ready to order my little cup only to be stopped by Miss CC, “Now, wait. Let’s be smart here…” I was confused (please do not judge as you keep reading).

500ml tub $13.50

We then decided to go with a 500ml take away tub between the two of us, because it is better value (That was what Miss CC meant by ‘smart’). “If we don’t finish it, you can take it home.” That comment received a chuckle response from me.

Left to right: Caramelised figs & walnut, mint choc chip, strawberry pannacotta with balsamic vinegar

The texture of their gelato is so creamy and smooth, and not to mention light (or it could be the flavours we ordered). The strawberry panacotta with balsamic vinegar would have perhaps been our favourite for the night, the strawberry mixed in with the gelato giving you that nice refreshing fruity touch. The mint choc chip isn’t anything that stands out to be different, but I do enjoy mint choc chip in general, and felt I needed a hit of mint that night. And the caramelized figs and walnuts was the slightly heavier option for the night, offering bites of figs and walnuts throughout. YUM!

Before we knew it, the tub was … empty. You see why I chuckled at her comment right? But it’s also because the gelato really is smooth, creamy, light - all components that makes you going for more. I do enjoy messina, but after a few spoonfuls their flavours can get a little heavy where you will stop but we here we were going in spoonful after spoonful.

I may just be visiting Cow & The Moon a little more regularly than I should …. Not sure if that is a good thing, most likely not.

A moment on the lips, forever on the hips …

Anndddd… although Movenpick isn’t the same don’t forget they’re giving away free ice cream on the 1^st August 2014. Check out details here.

Brewtown Newtown, Newtown

Girls. What don’t they talk about? They have no boundaries … or do they?

So what topic was brought up in the confinements of Brewtown Newtown.

“Did you know that there is poo therapy now?!”

Well, don’t we all learn something new every day. This was rather… interesting, however I shall not bore you all with what that consists of and will allow your lovely imaginations take you to another world.

Freshly squeezed orange juice $5

“Oh, it’s really freshly squeezed.” I was somewhat amazed and taken aback even though it was clearly stated on the menu. Even Miss PC seemed shocked at my remark. However, in my defense – I see it on the menu all the time yet it still comes as bottled juice. I have Miss AC here to back me up on this.

Poached or scrambled eggs on toast with house relish $10
Extras: candied bacon & hash browns ($4.50 each)

Something simple was what I was after, yet after adding all my “extras” it wasn’t so simple after all. The scrambled eggs were fluffy on my perfectly toasted bread. I would have liked my bacon to be fried a little more, but that’s just me being picky. But the three little morsels of hash brown balls were simply delectable! Super crunchy on the outside, with soft and mushy innards. I would highly recommend adding a side of hash brown if it’s not in your breakfast order. Because why not?

Baked polenta with mushrooms, grilled asparagus, poached egg & parmesan $15

I tried a bit of the polenta and it was divine! The insides were soft like pillows whilst the exterior had the nice crunchy element. Delicious!

Grilled blood sausage, hash brown, candied bacon and boiled egg $16

This is only for your eyes to feast on because Miss MC devoured it herself. I know right, selfish girl. :)

Cronuts $4.50 each

Now, the main reason as to why 4 girls were talking about poo therapy in Brewtown Newtown – the CRONUTS! After asking the friendly wait staff what they had on offer, I secretly wanted all 4 cronuts and was playing the words in my head on how to word it nicely. That was until a smart cookie cronut saved me, “There are 4, and we have 4 people...” Best idea ever!

Soy chai tea $4.50

In my words, how to describe a cronut in its simplest form would be that it is more a crossiant than donut. So what makes it special? The flavours of course!

Cinnamon cronut

We start with the cinnamon, you really cannot go wrong with cinnamon. “OH MY … THIS IS AHHHHHHHHHHH-MAY-ZING!” Miss AC was in a world of her own, because I have never heard her drag out the word amazing like that before.

Jam cronut

Moving on, the jam cronut! We were afraid that it would be jam packed (see what I did there? *wink wink*), that being - drizzling all over the place after that first bite along with being way too sweet. But it was perfect. No excess jam, but enough for you to taste the sweet strawberry.

Glazed cronut

The glazed cronut, expect it to be like a krispy kreme but not as sweet. The glazing is only on the top, so that could explain the sweetness levels. I’m not sure if it was the cronut or the glazing but we could taste it being a little burnt like. Not that we are complaining, we quite liked that little difference.

Chocolate-coated cronut

The last cronut sat there and it was almost like a bittersweet moment, which actually matched this chocolate-coated cronut perfectly. I loved this for I was expecting so many things to go wrong, that is being too sweet and heavy. The dark chocolate gave that bittersweet touch, and it was surprisingly not heavy like most chocolates would be.

Seriously, all of these may look and sound as if they would be overly sweet but surprisingly they were not too bad. Perfectly balanced, very well done Brewtown Newtown. Now, my next aim is to head over to the US and try the original.

Take away

And because happiness needs to be shared, take away cronuts were definitely a must.