Adriano Zumbo Pâtissier - The Star - Sydney, Australia.

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie

A dessert train??? Yes, you heard correctly.  A dessert train at Adriano Zumbo Patisserie, located in The Star Casino, is one of the first that I know of in Sydney. 

I've been a long time fan of the macarons from Adriano Zumbo, having queued up a few times when he celebrated his birthday with Macaron Day to try out the plethora of flavours on offer. My favourite macarons are the salted caramel and salted butter popcorn. Oh how delicious they are. The size of the macarons seem have to shrunk or gotten smaller over the years and I don’t recall them being as good as they use to be.

Bright, bright colours and neon lights fill the walls and I feel like I’m watching a scene from 'Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory' movie. There is not only a patisserie but also a dessert train, where they make fresh desserts on the premises and you can view them in action. The space isn’t huge but there is enough seating to accommodate for 16 diners. We chose to go after dinner and ended up waiting half an hour or so. By the time we left there was no queue.

The chefs place the desserts on a conveyor belt and they usually make a few of the same and a selected number of desserts depending on how busy it is. Lucky for us, it was busy, so the turnover meant fresh desserts. I was amazed at the intricate details of the desserts on those little plates and the effort put in. Alternatively, you can order from their menu.

If you've been to a sushi train before, they charge by plate colours. All dessert plates on the train are now $7.00 with the exception of the macaron plates which costs $10.00.

The ‘Iles Flottanes ($7.00)’ was one of our favourites for the night. A hollow pavlova shell filled with delicious caramel and vanilla sauce.

The ‘Baked Chocolate and Orange Tart ($7.00)’ was a nice tasting tart but was a bit too sour and heavy handed on the orange flavour. There was nothing about it that screamed amazing.

The ‘Pistachio Crème Au Caramel ($7.00)’was light and refreshing to the palate. We also enjoyed this and the accompanying sauce. 

The 'Chocolate Fondant ($7.00)' was oozing with chocolate and was scrumptious. Not overly rich but just right with the bitterness of the chocolate. 

The ‘Apple Crumble Rice Pudding ($7.00)’ looked appealing but wasn't chosen as it was hard to share. We saw it go round and round in circles.

The ‘Cappuccino ($3.50)’ was a great made coffee. It had the right amount of froth, wasn't overly runny and the coffee was strong.

Their drinks and ice-cream were also really decent priced and my friends couldn't contain their excitement and ordered some ice-cream at the end even though we were already in a sugar coma. I had a try of it myself and found it a bit too sweet. It was served in a nice little cone.

Definitely recommended going not only for the novelty factor but some of the desserts do taste great, depending on what is available on the day. The only negative was the lack of variety and it is expensive if you have too many. 

No reservations are taken so be prepared to wait during busy times.Please note the dessert train is only open from Friday to Sunday. 

Where?

Shop 1, Cafe Court,

The Star,

80 Pyrmont St,

Pyrmont NSW 2009

Opening Hours – Patisserie

Monday 11am – 10pm

Tuesday to Thursday 11am – 11pm

Friday and Saturday 11am – Midnight

Sunday 11am – 9pm

Opening Hours – Dessert Train

Monday to Thursday – Closed

Friday 6pm – 11:30pm

Saturday 2pm – 11:30pm

Sunday 12pm – 6:30pm

Website

http://adrianozumbo.com/component/k2/item/111-the-star-pyrmont.html

Pancakes on the Rocks - Beverly Hills - Sydney, Australia.

Pancakes on the Rocks

 

 

It's actually been a long time since my last visit to Pancakes on the Rocks. It was either not in proximity or we had other new restaurants we wanted to try out, the latter being the most likely case. It has expanded its restaurants to many locations and finally there is one close to home in the south.

 

Pancakes on the Rocks in Beverly Hills has taken over the Brazilian restaurant that previously occupied that space, on the corner of the very busy King Georges Road. Parking in Beverly Hills can be a nightmare as it is rather limited during lunch and dinner time. However, they offer underground parking which is a plus.

 

It's a family friendly restaurant that caters for all ages and I find that the food is pretty consistent no matter which location you end up going to. It is spacious inside and what I like about these restaurants is the casual dining atmosphere and pocket friendly prices, but they seem to have gone up a bit since my last visit.

 

The 'Nachos ($14.95)' is one of my all-time favourites. We asked for the sour cream on the side as me, being the picky eater, does not like sour cream mixed together. I like the crunchiness of the corn chips with the beef sauce, beans, tomato salsa and jalapeno peppers, smothered in melted cheese and guacamole. They were very generous with the portion but unfortunately there was way too much beans and I struggled to find much meat at all.

 

The 'Chicken Caesar Salad ($15.95)' was delicious. Again, the portion size was very decent. A mix of cos lettuce, bacon, croutons, parmesan cheese and grilled chicken topped with Caesar dressing. I previously mentioned in my other post that my favourite place to have the Caesar salad is definitely Pancakes on the Rocks hands down. I love their dressing and there is just the right balance of flavours that makes it taste really good. They don't drench the salad with sauce like some other places. The only let down was the stale croutons.

 

Who doesn't like ribs? That glistening glaze on a long strip of grilled 'Pork Ribs ($28.95)' is just scrumptious with a side of wedges and salad. We opt for the barbeque marinade and it's pretty good. If only they put it in the over for a few extra minutes it was have been better as it didn't have that grilled golden brown colour yet, but it's hard to tell from the picture because of the sauce.

 

By this time we were struggling to finish, but how could we leave without having their renowned pancakes. I prefer thicker pancakes as opposed to the thinner as I like the cake texture. The 'Bananarama ($12.95)' comes as two thick pancakes topped with grilled banana, ice-cream, cream and butterscotch sauce. I'm drooling at the thought of it. The pancakes are perfectly cooked and not overcooked like my past few experiences. A definite order if you like banana.

 

They serve a mean breakfast I hear but that will be for another time. Will definitely be dropping by more frequently to have their delicious pancakes.

This is my last post for this month before I fly off to Singapore and Seoul, Korea. It will be filled with lots of eating and I can't wait to go to back to my favourite country, Singapore, as I embark on eating my favourite foods such as Hainan chicken rice, clay pot rice and herbal soup. This is my first time going to Seoul so it will be an adventure. I have a  big backlog of posts to go through but I'll be sure to find time upon my return.

Where?
507 King Georges Rd
Beverly Hills NSW 2209
Australia

Phone no: 02 9580 7220

Opening Hours
Sunday - Thursday
7am - 12am
Friday - Saturday
7am - 1am

Website
http://www.pancakesontherocks.com.au/