Zi Teresa Pizza & Pasta House

6A Coronation St

On the non-Westfield side of

Hornsby

Sydney

9476 4437

Despite the restaurant being in Hornsby for over 30 years, not once have we been there so to try something new, our family went out for dinner to the Zi Teresa Pizza & Pasta House.

As we arrived, we were faced with a cosy brick entrance, which contrasted greatly with the updated surrounding buildings. To add to the authentic Italian style, there was the typical big loud Italian boss and photos of Italian scenery hung around the room.

Hearing from a family friend that their pizza was good, we decided to test their claim by ordering 3 varieties of pizzas. The first being the Four Seasons pizza shown below. It was a creative formation of a pizza and a matching delicious taste.

Marinara Pizza

Next we had the Zi Teresa Special which just had the lot of all toppings. And the final pizza and the family favourite, the Marinara which had the typical mozarella and tomato paste topped with a variety of seafood.

To make a comparison to the well-known pizzas of Pizza Hut and Dominos, this pizza is definitely much more healthy and better tasting, with nice, crispy bases but not burnt to the crisp. The flavours are also juicy within the pizza without an excess of oil oozing out.

Despite the pizza being a bit pricey, it is definitely an authentic Italian experience to go to the restaurant. It is pizza, that actually tastes like pizza and is a recommended place if you want to feast on some genuine Italian food.

Inferno Caffe

Shop 454 (near the entrance closest to the bus stops)

Macquarie Shopping Centre

North Ryde

9888 9992

It was a wonderful occasional in our adventure to the Inferno Caffe (Inferno apparently meaning hell in latin), but the experience was far from being in hell, with 20 of us having a lovely birthday dinner in the restaurant. After a fun ice-skating session, we settled down in an exclusive area to feast of some de-lish food.

The Inferno Caffe proudly advertises its wood-fire pizza, which certainly tasted very good. I'm not very sure of the names of these pizzas but a definite favourite was the one below. On a scale of pizza however, I wouldn't place right at the top with the best but it would in the upper half of better pizzas (did that make any sense?). There's nothing irregular about the pizzas, nothing you wouldn't find in a normal italian restaurant, but with the limited choice we had, I'm sure there is a much larger variety available to try.

The pasta was again, not a particular stand out but still tasted good, nothing you wouldn't find in a general italian restaurant. The salad followed a similar pattern with the other courses, but with extra compliments on the sauce.

In all, the food was good, the service was good and the restaurant had a nice cosy feeling. Its hard to make a judgement on the limited variety we had but in all, I would say this restaurant would be a good trip if there was an urge for a traditional italian wood-fire pizza meal. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Ultimate Indulgence in a Sandwich

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food chocolate cake mix
4 (1 ounce) squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Whipped Topping
12 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare and bake cake mix in two (9-inch) round cake pans as directed on package. Cool in pans 5 min. Invert onto wire racks; remove pans. Cool layers completely.
2. Place chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the whipped topping and cookie crumbs; mix lightly.
4. Place 1 of the cake layers, top-side down, on serving plate; spread with the cream cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining cake layer, top-side up. Spoon glaze over top of cake. Let stand until set. Store in refrigerator.

Soban Korean Cuisine

Shop R2 (outside opposite CommBank)

Westfield Shopping Centre

Hornsby

Sydney

9415 2028

Last Sunday, being the long weekend, our family decided to try the new restaurant in town.

Being a common visitor to the Hornsby Westfield restaurants, it was a bit of an anticlimax when we found the "new" restaurant still retained the same format as the previous owner but this was forgotten when we saw people cooking their food in the table. Yes, there's a korean barbecue restaurant.

So what on earth is a korean barbecue?? Basically they had these stoves in the centre of the table and then they give your raw food which you can cook yourself on a rack. The fuel they use is also eco-friendly and provides a nice fire to warm any frozen hands.

We decided to go with a full barbecue menu and rice so we ordered the Marinated Galbi, Teriyaki Chicken, Jumulleok and King Prawns. My favourite was the Jumulleok with yummy sauce, which you could still taste after you fried it. And nb: if you ever get the galbi, you're meant to roll it out, not just plonk the whole thing on the rack. (That was an embarrassing moment, but luckily our waiter saved our meal.)

Marinated Galbi

Jumulleok

The service was also very good as they changed the rack at least 6 times, whenever it was going black and if you looked troubled (which was quite often for us) they immediately stepped in and helped.

Despite the fantastic service and food, the pricing is pretty hefty ($8 for 2 prawns) but I would recommend it if you just want a taste of culture and some fun, hands-on eating experience.

Blue Dragon Restaurant

Here at Food Lovers I'd like to think we have a personal interest into this restaurant seeing as it is owned and operated by one of our own father's.
ANd so at the risk of this being a completely biased opinion, this has to be one of the best Chinese restaurants around.

Blue Dragon is a highly reputable restaurant, delivering distinctive Cantonese cuisine of the highest quality. The food is said to be Chinese food for the Western taste as it is more flavoursome and appetising for the Western palate.
It is renowned for its exceptional customer service in a friendly atmosphere.

It is conveniently located in Northmead Shopping Plaza with ample parking in the front. Take-away or dine in options are both available. They have just launched a new website that has a comprehensive look at their extensive and delicious menu.


The menu includes a list of chef's suggestions which showcase most of the customer favourites. However my personal favourite would have to be the satay chicken, the special fried rice and for dessert, definitely the fried ice cream.
Yes, you may think that damn I could get any of these dishes at any other Chinese restaurant. But I have it on good authority (and so not just my personal opinion), that Blue Dragon definitely has the best dishes of all the Chinese restaurants in Sydney.

RECIPE: That's the way the cookie crumbles

WHITE CHOC CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

225g butter, softened

1/2 brown sugar

1/4 cup condensed milk

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

white choc chips

METHOD

Preheat oven at conventional 190*C

Cream butter and sugar

Beat in condensed milk

Mix until light and fluffy

Sift in flour and baking powder

Add white choc chips

Roll into desired shapes

Place on baking tray (with baking paper) to cook for 10mins or until golden brown

SOS!

My dough tastes like cardboard!

Add more of everything, you've probably got too much baking powder.

My dough is really oily!

Add more flour.

My dough tastes really plain!

Add some more condensed milk or sugar or butter, brown sugar makes the cookies more chewier while condensed milk just makes it sweeter. Butter makes the cookie more oily.

Passello Restaurant

Shop 145 Harbourside

Darling Harbour

Sydney

9281 3699

Among the numerous restaurants cluttered along the Darling Harbour, we managed to pick a small Italian restaurant: Passello Restaurant.

Being just by the harbour near the Sydney Convention Centre, there was a splendid view as the sun set, displaying a generous ray of light reflecting off the office buildings.

But what makes the restaurant is not just the view, but the also splendid food from what we tasted. We decided to share a plate of garlic bread, salad, pasta and pizza, gaining a small taste from the wide array of italian cuisines.

The garlic bread was typical and flawless as was the Quattro Pizza which we had much trouble picking. But luckily our final choice was satisfying with a wonderful combination of toppings and crispy base.

Quattro Stagione Pizza: Pepperoni, Ham, Mushrooms, Cabanossi,

Garlic & Onion

But a highlight for me was the ravioli. The sauce was perfectly complimentary to the ravioli pieces and I confess, I greedily asked if anyone wanted the last piece and was very pleased that everyone was being their polite selves and allowed me to eat it.

Goat's Cheese & Asparagus Ravioli: served with cream

and mushroom sauce

And to round off the night, the waiters came around with candles to complete the outside-by-the-harbour-at-sunset experience.

RECIPE: The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

METHOD
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

BYOB; buildyourownburger

the counter


the menu


the burger



Over the weekend we discovered a wonderful burger cafe in Crows Nest called The Counter where you pick and choose everything that goes on your plate, from the toppings down to the burger bun.
The menus are attached to clipboards and set out like survey forms - with little boxes to tick next to a huge variety of options that determine the insides of your burger!
The side menu is just as creative with starters such as sweet potato fries, mini cheese burgers, fried onion strings and fries topped with cheese. You can even have a 'fifty-fifty' and have a mix of two starters for value of one!
But dont worry, if you're terrible at making decisions, you can simply order one of the counter's signature burgers, all of which sound quite delicious.

Note: If youre not too keen on bread, you can have your burger, toppings, sauce and all, in a bowl on a healthy bed of salad!

WELCOME

Welcome to the Food Lovers' Guide to Food.

Our group of five food-enthusiasts will travel the world bringing you the best...and the worst food that we encounter. Whether it be the heavenly hamburgers in New York or the delectable desserts of France, if we eat it, you will hear about it right here.

At least that's what we hope to become someday. Every great blog has to start somewhere! And so we will be starting off in Sydney.
So, sit back, read until your mouth waters and most importantly, eat.