Dessert Story - Adelaide, South Australia

After falling in love with Meet Fresh in Sydney, we were thrilled when we first found Dessert Story in Melbourne's Chinatown. We loved the Melbourne location so much that we kept going back so we couldn't believe our eyes when the first Adelaide location opened several months ago on Gouger Street. First Breadtop came to Adelaide, then Mother's Crepe, now this! Life is good.



As you walk in, the glow of the orange lanterns welcomes you before the sheer size of the menu overwhelms you. There's certainly no lack of choices with Taiwanese and Hong Kong style desserts as well as drinks on offer. The vast majority of the menu is priced around $6-$8, which makes for a very reasonably priced dessert.



The gigantic menu can be broken down into the following:

Taiwanese Desserts (in black bowl/plate) - 

Taro, Herbal Jelly, Black Glutinous Rice, Puddings, Tofu Puddings, Snow Ice and Crushed Ice.

Hong Kong Desserts (in orange bowl) - 

Sago or Black Pearl Soup, Tofu Pudding, Black Glutinous Rice, Grass Jelly, Ice Cream.

Fruit Smoothies (in clear plastic cup) - 

Drinks with some choices containing predefined ingredients or you can build your own combinations.

Choose your category, then choose the specific item number. It's best to order by number rather than name because the names are very similar. You may be asked if you'd like your dessert hot or cold. I generally go with cold because I like to eat the ice. If you choose hot it will come in a warm soup. After ordering at the counter, you'll be given a number on a little stand. Staff will compile the ingredients, find your number and deliver the order to your table.

I'm not a fan of the Herbal Jelly or the Grass Jelly. I think they must be an acquired taste in a similar way to Vegemite. I've tried most of the other categories and my pick of the entire menu is #15 - Taro Balls with Honey Bean, Coconut Jelly, Pearls ($6.80). I love the different textures and flavours. This one is quite filling as well so can be shared between two people if you're not overly hungry.



The fruit smoothies are fun too, especially if you enjoy different textures in your drinks like pearls, jellies or fruit. Here's one of the set options: Mango Coconut drink ($5.90).



It's also important to note that the ice shaving machine is a penguin. This is awesome because he's cute (see red bow tie), appropriate (penguins and ice go together), and useful (he shaves ice for the cold desserts).

I strongly believe that the negative reviews online are mostly due to the fact that people in Adelaide have no idea what to order. This is completely understandable as we've never had this kind of dessert shop in Adelaide before. It takes a bit of patience and adventure to navigate the myriad of choices, but it's well worth the effort. Dessert Story in Adelaide is one of my favourite stops for sweets because their desserts are different, affordable, and fun.

Relish'd Burger Bar - Adelaide, South Australia

Relish'd Burger Bar was started by the Marling family in October 2012 at Anzac Highway, Glenelg. They're already off to a great start and serving up some awesome burgers.



The surf theme works really well and gives the place a nice summery vibe.



The menu includes several types of burgers: moo (beef), chook (chicken), lamb, and vego. All burgers come topped with their namesake tomato relish, which is made onsite. They also offer chips, salads, a kids meal (called a Grom Pack) and coffee, tea & hot chocolate. On weekends, breakfast is available from 8-11am.



For our first visit, we started with a classic Relish'd Burger ($8.90). It comes with lettuce, tomato, spanish onion, fresh herb aioli & relish. Burgers come with a knife which keeps everything together and can be used for slicing it for easy consumption.



The toasted Breadtop bun and freshly ground beef are key elements carefully selected and paired with excellent quality fresh veggies. The relish & aioli take the burger's flavour to the next level. This is one awesome burger and now holds the title of my favourite burger in Adelaide.

The rosemary sea salted chips are very moreish. In addition to their great flavour and chunky size, they're less greasy than normal fish and chip shop chips. Good thing we only bought the Snack Size ($3) because I could eat a truck load of these.



We also enjoyed the BLT Chook burger ($11.90). Good quality chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, fresh herb aioli & relish combine for another great burger.



We left feeling very satisfied and amazed. The food showed a lot of care and was packed full of excellent quality local ingredients. If you haven't tried these burgers, you're seriously missing out.

David Jones Sushi Bar - Adelaide, South Australia

A dilemma for city workers on the go is where to buy a cheap, tasty, healthy, and quick lunch. One solution is take away sushi from the David Jones Sushi Bar.



Look for the orange "Sushi Bar" sign located downstairs inside David Jones itself (not in the food court).



You will find a large glass case full of quality take away packs of sushi made daily. Packs range from medium to large in size and sell for about $8-14 per pack.



There are also a number of single sushi rolls for $2.95 each such as Tempura Prawn, California Roll, Teriyaki Salmon & Avocado, Salmon & Avocado, Cooked Tuna & Avocado, Chicken Katsu, and Teriyaki Chicken & Avocado.



The take away sushi rolls come in a clear plastic wrapper for easy transport. A small plastic fish containing soy sauce is also enclosed. Here is the Teriyaki Chicken & Avocado roll ($2.95).

Instead of the nori (seaweed) wrapping around the outside like most sushi rolls, the sushi rolls from David Jones have the rice on the outside and the nori on the inside. This is sometimes referred to as an "inside out" sushi roll. The result of this construction is a slightly different flavour and experience which I really enjoy. Protip: Do not remove the sushi from its wrapper but simply peel the wrapper open. The clear plastic will easily split down the seams on the sides. This method is demonstrated below with the Chicken Katsu roll ($2.95).

There's also an eat in menu available with a variety of made to order plates which look quite tasty, but the take away options seem to be the most popular. With so many places around Adelaide to buy sushi, it can be difficult to decide where to go. David Jones Sushi Bar is at the top of my list of tried and tested sushi favourites in the city.

Update 30 April 2014: Due to the closure of Food Glorious Food, David Jones Sushi has relocated to Cafe Delores in Renaissance Arcade!