Hello, it's been a while! I've just been having this baker's block the past few days where I simply couldn't find a recipe that I really wanted to attempt. Sure, I've got a whole to-do list to accomplish but you know how sometimes you feel like something but can't pinpoint what it is you want? Yeah, no? So anyway, I decided to get a little break from baking and just enjoyed a nice food expedition trip to Surry Hills with my sister today.
I knew there were a lot of cafes around and Bills is one of the most talked about, must-try breakfast/brunch type of place so we decided to go there. The interior was clean and simple with wooden tables and chairs. They had around 6 outdoor tables so we sat outdoors even though it was quite a windy day and I spent about half the time tossing my hair out of the way while I munch through my lunch. So here's what we got:
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Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid with Lime Aioli, $12
Portion size was a little on the disappointing side. There were only 6 pieces of them despite the aioli being so unnecessarily abundant. I had to add a little more salt but the squid was pretty tender. I would've liked it to be more crispy but the lime, aioli and a liiiitle bit of coriander brought it all together very nicely. |
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Sweet Corn Fritters, Roast Tomato, Spinach and Bacon, $21
No complaints about the portion size this time. Usually when I think about corn fritters, I think mushy batter but this one... The corn was the star, not the batter and the corn was very nice and crisp. The bacon, tomato and spinach were really nice and much needed additions for flavour and texture. I can understand why this would be one of their most popular dishes. |
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Coconut Poached Chicken Sandwich with Cucumber and Lime Mayonnaise, $18.5
The coconut flavour was not too overpowering, it's really subtle and nice. For me though, the filling had way too much mayo, making the bread a little soggy. I was thankful of the plentiful greens served with my sandwich to smear the mayo on and make a DIY salad. I'd ask for them to separate the mayo next time around. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this, it was very refreshing (not too sickening from the creaminess of the mayo) thanks to the cucumber, chives, coriander and various greens. Like it.
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The menu I thought was a great balance of classics and some creativity. They were certainly not overly whacky but there's enough to it to make you want to come back and try a lot of things from the menu like the zucchini fries with yoghurt, ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and miso charred steak sandwich. It was a little pricey for a breakfast place but a nice treat once in a while! Service was not bad, food came promptly, great relaxing ambience. It's a great place.
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| Sorry for the lack of shape. Hot day and impatience are the ones to blame here... |
We were pretty full but I couldn't resist trying some ice cream from Gelato Messina- considered to be one of the best in Sydney. I got the Gaytime flavour- mixture of caramel and milk ice cream with biscuit crumbs. It was really creamy, not caramelly enough for my liking but pretty good!
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| Passionfruit Meringue, Ginger Brulee, Chocolate Raspberry Tarts |
And how could we not walk past Bourke Street Bakery when we're already in Surry Hills. Don't worry, we didn't eat all this right after Bills, we got them for take away, to enjoy slowly at home. The winner was definitely the passionfruit meringue tart. The curd was so flavourful and its tartness was mellowed down by the meringue. A real sweet treat! Ginger brulee was better than I expected, ginger wasn't too overpowering, custard was creamy, crunchy tops. Yum. And the chocolate raspberry one was alright, nothing wrong with it but just not all that special. I've yet to try their sausage roll/pie varieties, I'm sure to go back to get some soon.
I love the passionfruit tart so much I think I'm going to try and make one soon. So stay tuned for a recipe :) See you soon. x
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