Daily Choice - Adelaide, South Australia

Daily Choice in Southern Cross is the original spot for Vietnamese rolls (banh mi) around Rundle Mall. The staff at Daily Choice were churning out sandwiches to queues of hungry customers long before the trendy Soonta Rolls and Miss Mai came along. Since the arrival of these new competitors in nearby James Place, Daily Choice is definitely less busy than in the past, but you may still need to line up with loyal customers for one of their old school Vietnamese rolls. You won't wait long though because staff are efficient and the line moves quickly. If you do go down the banh mi path, you can choose Lemongrass Chicken, BBQ Pork, Stewed Beef, Vietnamese Ham, or Crispy Skin Roast Pork for $4.50. Or if you can't pick just one, go for the Combination Roll for $5.50.



If you're keen on a lighter option and/or want to skip the queue, walk straight up to the little fridge on the left and go for my favourite - a pack of their awesome cold rolls. You can get Chicken, BBQ Pork, Prawn or a combo pack. 2 rolls costs $4.20. A pack of 2 Vegetarian rolls is only $3.30. These are not your average cold rolls - they're jumbo sized. They also come with a choice of either Hoisin or Sweet Chilli dipping sauce.


Chicken & Pork cold rolls ($4.20)

The quality and freshness is consistently good, the sauce is tasty, the price is right, and they're both filling and relatively healthy so the cold rolls from Daily Choice are in my regular rotation for city lunches.

Protip: Due to the ginormous size of these cold rolls, I recommend dipping prior to the first bite, then carefully pouring a little bit of sauce prior to each subsequent bite. This pour method avoids the contents of the roll ending up in the sauce. Just make sure you ration your sauce so you don't run out before you finish the second roll. Enjoy!

Sneaky Pickle - Adelaide, South Australia

With the support of the Adelaide City Council and Splash Adelaide, the number of food trucks is rapidly increasing. Fork on the Road is Adelaide's very own street food event which brings together as many mobile vendors as possible in a celebration of street food. The inaugural event was held on 30 Nov 2012 in Victoria Square. People must be loving it because the turnout was HUGE!



The second Fork On The Road was held on 21 Dec 2012 in Hindmarsh Square. This was the first day we discovered newcomer Sneaky Pickle! The truck's name and paint job were just too awesome to pass up.



When I saw Fried Pickles ($5) on the menu I simply had to try them. The crunch from the batter and the crunch from the pickle make for a perfectly sneaky, crunchy combo. The fried pickles come with a zesty creamy mayo for dipping too. They're salty, sour, and divine! I'd choose these over chips (french fries) any day.



We also ordered the Pastrami on Rye with slaw & pickles ($9). If you're not familiar with pastrami, it's basically smoked corned beef. Pastrami was brought to the United States by Romanian Jewish immigrants in the late 1800's and first became popular in New York City at places like Katz's Deli. Sneaky Pickle makes their own pastrami and puts some thin sliced rye bread around it.



The sandwich comes standard with cheese and mustard, but I also like to add some of the self-serve bbq sauce. Along with the sandwich you also get a side of creamy slaw and two slices of dill pickle. Yum!



The newest item on the menu is Texas Pulled Pork w/ BBQ Corn & Bread 'n Butter Pickles ($9).



This sandwich is soft, juicy, and very moreish with a great crunch from the coleslaw. This is the best pulled pork I've had so far in Adelaide and I think it's going to be very tough to beat.



Sneaky Pickle definitely adds distinct flavours and styles to Adelaide's street food scene. The quality and uniqueness of the food will keep me coming back. The best way to keep tabs on where to find Sneaky Pickle is via Facebook or Twitter.

Update 21 Jan 2013:
Last week, Sneaky Pickle added a new sandwich into their rotation - The Reuben ($9). Corned beef, melted swiss cheese, and sauerkraut on toasted rye bread. It also comes with a great homemade tangy Russian dressing which is perfect for dipping. Sides of crinkle cut potato chips and a sneaky pickle round out the meal. This is my new favourite menu item and I highly recommend everyone to try the Reuben as soon as you can.

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.