I'm so envious of everyone I can see on Instagram right now taking some time off and going on a road trip! But recently seeing a friend's roadtrip to Bateau Bay to try the Carl's Jr outpost there made me laugh and remember my time there. Thankfully when I went, we didn't go just to try this as it wouldn't have been worth the 1.5 hour drive out of Sydney. But it was still lots of fun to conveniently cross this off the eats list too!

Carl's Jr isn't available in Sydney so when they decided to open up a store in the Central Coast, many were flocking to try the American fast food chain! The day we went it was super empty as the hype has since long passed.





For a fast food restaurant, it's very clean and sleek looking. There is lots of space and a nice atmosphere. Additionally, the service I received was really nice too and the food, as expected, was fast!

There wasn't anything in particular that I wanted to try here nor had I heard any "must try" items so we went with one beef and one chicken burger. Patrick noted that he had tried Carls Jr in Japan and it wasn't anything special except for the hand scooped ice cream shakes so we made sure to get one of those.











So driving all the way to Bateau Bay for Carl's Jr? I wouldn't recommend! But making it a stop on your road trip to spend some time on the Central Coast? Do it!

My food review for Belle's Hot Chicken is made possible thanks to Uber Eats. I really enjoy using the delivery service because it is so convenient to have a night in without the worry of having to go out and buy food, queuing up for food, or cooking food. Throwing back today to the time the girls and I babysat Dallow's apartment (Dallow is a cat)!












Overall I can see why Belle's Hot Chicken is so hyped up and so loved by so many people! I love that we can get this taste of America through some really amazing Nashville style fried chicken in Sydney. Even with a little bit of sogginess from the Uber Eats delivery, Belle's really came through and the food was still super delicious.





TL:DR;
Price: On the pricey side but the Baller Bucket is a really good deal
Quality: Very good
Service: N/A
Ambience: N/A

This post is so delayed, I'm so sorry everyone! Let's rewind back to November when all of us university students were in the middle of studying for our final exams. I used to travel all the way to uni to study with my friends each STUVAC but over the years, I can barely get out of bed after those long weeks of classes and all. However one phone call from my girl, Vanessa where she mentioned "We can order Uber Eats" definitely sparked my attention and yeah... found myself at uni on a day off!

I've never used Uber Eats before! Because it was only recently that it had become available in Sydney. Now if only they would take this service all the way out west...

Anyway so I used Vanessa's friend referral code which got me $10 off my order, and $10 for her to use on her next order. I would love if you guys could also use my code as well which I've listed at the bottom on this post! xx At the time of ordering, there was free delivery but now after I've used this app a few more times they have introduced a $5 flat-rate service fee which I guess is the delivery fee.

The app itself is very very easy to use. You first type in your delivery address (currently only around the Sydney CBD area) and then numerous restaurants pop up and you can scroll through them and check out their menu. You can also filter your search down if you're looking for a particular restaurant or type of food, e.g. "fried chicken", "rice", "pizza", "carbonara". You select your items, place your order, add any notes in such as requesting extra cutlery or less sauce, etc. Then you are given a live update/tracking on your food status and delivery.

Todays choice? We went for the Brooklyn Depot Burgers and Brew! Our process was just as above and our food arrived outside our building delivered by a friendly guy on a bike (so cute). You can also request the uber deliverers come upstairs to your particular room or suite but we were moving around a lot so we didn't request a specific location except the building.








All in all, we both LOVED our lunch from the Brooklyn Depot and we ended up spending the afternoon feeling way too full to study and I even had leftovers to take home.

I highly highly recommend this place and the Uber Eats service! I even more so recommend if you are using Uber Eats to order from this place hehe.

As mentioned at the beginning of the post, I would appreciate it so much if you guys could please use my code for $10 off your first Uber Eats order: "eats-kimn6392ue" :)



TL;DR:
Price: Under $15
Quality: Delicious! Very thorough
Service: Used Uber Eats, but the packaging and delivery was great
Ambience: N/A.

Riding past this place nearly everyday on the bus to uni (yes I'm that lazy) has made me real curious as to who is succeeding in the former Soul Origin's place on Broadway. The outside always looks bright and friendly as the place has a nice orange theme to it and the doors are wide open.

Originally I was going to stop by with Francis sometime but on this random unplanned event, my sister and I were the ones stopping by as the $5 mid wings and $5 popcorn chicken signs caught our eyes!



We had actually just eaten a late lunch with my friends Vanessa and Claudia but upon looking over the menu board, everything actually still sounded so tempting and delicious. Walked in for some $5 chicken but ended up ordering a burger and concrete shake as well because we're already here so why not! The food is very American themed/inspired.



Service is very quick and friendly, but it's a shame there is no option to upgrade the drink in the +$5 combo (chips and drinks) to a concrete shake. A concrete shake by the way is their soft serve textured shakes that come in some fun and unique flavours such as Peanut Butter Butterscotch, Nutella, NY Cheesecake and Coffee.


There is limited seating available by the counter and window and I can see it getting a little cramped once the place gets busy. Luckily we're here around 6pm when it's quite empty on this day. You're given a number from the counter and they bring out the food to you when it's all ready. On every table, there is a ketchup bottle hahaha







In the end we walked out of the Hub House Diner with a take-away box in hand full of chips which we happily nommed on the train home. Our little dining experience was really fantastic here and I really hope to come back to try their other burgers such as the Just Jack and Phat Chicken! A friend of mine also recommended the Veg Burger which I would also love to try.

All students around this area or even workers and passerbys, I encourage you to try out this fast food place! Let me know if you do, or if you have and how it went for you. Keen to return.



TL;DR:
Price: Bit pricier than normal quick eats
Quality: Good
Service: Good
Ambience: Bright and friendly, fast food vibes

It's been AGES since I've brunched. I remember in my first year of University, we were all about that brunch life since that was the best time my friends and I could all meet up. Nowadays, we're lucky to even catch each other for dinner or drinks because life has been so busy.

Orto Trading Co in Surry Hills boasts of the Insta-famous Eggs Benedict & Fried chicken. I remember a few months ago my girl, Terry also giving me some truffled polenta fries she got take-away from the place and they were so good! She said they were much better with the blue cheese sauce it came with. Unfortunately I didn't order that when Vanessa and I ventured here for some brunch after Vanessa's job interview. Which she cried about how badly it went all of brunch. Literally all of brunch. We even had to get ice cream after 😂  Just over a week later as I'm writing this post, I'm so happy to also tell you guys - VANESSA GOT THE JOB! Congratulations to this gorgeous new Operations Manager!!! Not even graduated yet and already landed a job, she is absolutely amazing and deserves it 💖

Hehe back onto this food review. Orto seems like a far walk on the map from Central Station but it actually isn't that bad. Just like most times when you are walking around Surry Hills, the uphill will tire you but the way back going downhill is much faster. Take comfort in that like I do.


There is an extremely cute outdoor courtyard area where you can enjoy your meal in the sun which is getting much more lovely in Sydney lately. We opt to sit indoors because it's still a little windy on this day. And it's annoying because my hair feels like it's only 5cm or something with my new short hair, but it still manages to fly into my mouth and poke my eyes at every possible opportunity! 😱



The indoor is even more pretty with both a colourful wall, a rustic brick wall, and the rest is glass allowing the gorgeous sunshine to seep in. It feels very chic and modern. Each table has flowers in a vase to my delight because this will make my photos look even nicer and even more "brunch" like 😇



It's quite empty at 12PM on a Wednesday and so we choose to sit in the corner right in front of the kitchen. The chalkboard menu is high above our heads but we are also handed a paper menu since there are a lot of options. The waiter is so nice and friendly, and tells us about the specials of the day which Vanessa chooses to order. As for me, I'm here for the Eggs Benedict x Fried chicken which Vanessa also recommends!


We're not Vanessa and Kim if we don't order entrees or drinks with our meal (because indulgence is what we do best):

We had some conversations until our meals arrived not too far apart and it looked so good I couldn't wait to dig in!





I had such a good experience at Orto Trading Co and I feel like I definitely will come back some time and give the other options a try. One menu item I particularly have my eye on is the scotch eggs!! I highly recommend everyone give this place a go especially if you're looking for a non-busy, good-food and Instagram-worthy kind of place to dine!



TL;DR:
Price: Bit pricey
Quality: Very good and freshly made
Service: Friendly and welcoming
Ambience: Pretty, rustic, chic and hip!