♡ Kimmie Bites | Food blog, Sydney Australia ♡: Italian

Bondi Pizza, Parramatta

Hey all! An oldie but a goodie here on the blog today. Throwback to my first time at Bondi Pizza, which is a popular Sydney-based franchise. Only the location I went to was not the flagship Bondi store but that of my more local Parramatta.

Parramatta is the perfect and most central place to meet up with some of my good friends and it is amazing to see it has such a large and ever-growing foodie scene. It is no wonder that this suburb is often hailed as Sydney's second CBD. I couldn't agree more.

Bondi Pizza in Parramatta is located on Church St which is surrounded by a bustling array of other restaurants. Inside this venue it is extremely large, spacious and cosy. So it is no wonder that it is so popular of a place to find families and or groups of friends all cheerily chatting away and catching up!

Anne-mary and I are here first on this particular night where we find ourselves on a large table waiting for our friends to arrive. Yes.. trust the Viets to arrive on-time as all the others arrive Filo-time 😂

Despite our tiny awkward situation, the staff are friendly and ensure our table has all the correct plating, utensils and tissues, as well as bringing us table water and a menu to peruse while we wait. This restaurant is extremely busy though so the next time we interact with them again, we find ourselves desperately trying to make eye contact as they rush by and attend to multiple other tables.

One by one everyone begins to arrive a few drinks are ordered as we all eagerly await our food. It is freezing outside, standard for a Sydney winter but Bondi Pizza's restaurant is very warm indoor.

Our wedges arrive first and everyone pounces on them, so thank you Aylwin and James for being my unintentional hand models hehehe

Potato Wedges with sweet chilli sauce & sour cream (large size) $9.95

The wedges are so perfect having a thin, crispy-crunchy exterior and soft, fluffy potato insides.

They are also not that oily. A solid crowd pleaser.

Our hungry group literally smashes 3/4 of the wedges before our longboard comes out. Super exciting stuff! 3 pizzas on a giant longboard, what's not to love.

The Longboard (any 3 pizzas) $76.95

This is a really good deal to get if you're feeding a large group! You can choose any three 12" pizzas from the signature or classic pizza menu and you save somewhere around $5-10 on the total.

WE TOOK REALLY LONG TO UNANIMOUSLY COME TO A DECISION (which honestly will probably happen to you too if you go because there's such a huge range of exciting sounding pizzas) but finally at last the three we chose are below:

Bondi Meat Supreme $25.95

This pizza is topped with traditional Italian pepperoni, wagyu meatballs, premium leg ham, pancetta, balsamic onion, mushroom, rocket and bbq mayo.

All in all, this is pretty much a fancy meat lovers pizza with rocket over the top. With the meat toppings obviously being of higher quality than a usual meat lovers pizza I thought I would taste a difference but my verdict is no, not really. The balsamic onions are sparse and hidden under the cheesy layer but such a welcome addition - doing what a pickle does for a cheeseburger and cutting through all the meaty flavours. The pizza base is said to be the "tastiest thin pressed pizza in the world" and while I'm not sure about the latter part of the claim, it is a pretty nice thin and crispy base!

Marinated Chargrilled Lamb $26.95

This pizza is topped with tender marinated lamb backstrap fillet, fetta, balsamic onions, roma tomatoes, rocket, sweet potato crisps and creamy Caesar sauce.

The lamb was really delicious and smokey with a great meaty texture. All the toppings worked really well on this, with my favourite being the interesting crispy sweet potato! Only thing is that there was such a tiny amount of sauce so I didn't really get those Caesar flavours coming through and it did end up being a bit dry.

Grilled Chicken Pancetta $25.95

This pizza is topped with marinated grilled chicken tenderloin, pancetta, roma tomatoes, rocket, and bbq mayo.

I found this pizza to be really disappointing because the chicken was so dry. It had the texture of an overcooked chicken breast. Also there was such a lack of pancetta on this pizza that it should have just been named Grilled Chicken pizza.

Overall, Bondi Pizza was really average to me. It was such a good location and venue for my friends and I to all come and catch up over some cosy food - however the food itself was nothing special. I'm lucky I had them all to split the costs with but it was still expensive for what we got so I'd probably look elsewhere next time.

Let me know if you have a favourite thing to order at Bondi Pizza that you think is really good or if you have any other recommendations!!! 😚

TL;DR:
Price: Expensive
Quality: Good quality but not amazing
Service: Friendly but the place gets busy, so they are always in a rush
Ambience: Nice, spacious, cosy space - very busy dinner crowds

Bondi Pizza

320 Church St,

Parramatta NSW 2150

Open 7 days a week

Sunday - Thursday: 11:30AM - 10PM

Friday & Saturday: 11:30AM - 11:30PM

6 comments

, by Kim

Hungarian

Continental Superb Stocks - Review & Recipes

I've been thinking a lot about soup these days. Especially the ones my high school hospitality class would make and sell every time winter would come around. Freshly made out of wholesome ingredients, carried out in large metal pots, spooned into serving cups and accompanied with hot toasty ciabatta rolls. So warm and comforting. And so perfect for the season.

In my household when we eat soup, it's usually the instant or canned kind. So with this in mind I was determined to give making my own soups a go. Just as if my prayers were being answered, I was sent three of Continental's new Superb Stocks. Beef, Vegetable, and the reduced salt Chicken stock.

I'm a huge fan of Continental's soups so I was more than happy to give their new liquid stock range a try. Their stocks are made using real meat, herbs and spices. And notably the chicken stock has 40% less salt than the market leading liquid chicken stock.

Glad to report that they are all VERY delicious and did not disappoint. There is so much flavour and I can really taste the difference compared to other liquid stocks on the market or when I'm just using a stock cube. My favourite is the vegetable stock which I feel like could stand alone as a plain and simple broth. But the next best thing about these stocks is the convenience! The time it takes out of creating your own stock from bones and vegetables (although that is too a very rewarding experience), and the lesser amount of seasoning you have to taste and add.

Below I'll be sharing my recipes and tips for some soups and stews I made using each stock flavour! I hope you give these recipes a go and enjoy them just as much as my family and I have. Additionally the Continental Superb Stocks can be used in a bunch of other recipes with ideas on the packaging, or it can be used in anything that requires stock. 110% recommend this!

BEEF STOCK

Goulash

The beef stock has an intense, deep and rich beefy flavour. Slightly smokey too. It is not sweet or too salty which leaves a lot of room left for this stock to mesh in well with the other flavours of your dish. I found this perfect for my goulash which was already flavoured by lots of paprika, capiscum and tomatoes.

Goulash is a Hungarian beef stew. It is hearty, warming and extremely comforting. Featuring tender chunks of beef in a thick and spiced tomato stew, it's no wonder I miss it.

There's a lot of debate and/or discussion on the internet about the differences between the Hungarian version and the American version. I wasn't sure which one I was going for in trying to recreate goulash as I had it during high school so I put a bunch of different recipes together. So in the end this is no way 100% authentic or traditional goulash. I personally think it turned out great but also good to be aware that you can tweak this dish according to your preferences! It is a very forgiving dish.

Also I used a cast iron pot over the stove for this entire recipe. You can use the oven method, casserole dish, pressure cooker or a slow cooker. Anything that makes sense and works for you.

Ingredients:

750g gravy beef, cut into 2-3cm cubes
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g mushrooms, sliced
2 large red capsicum, cut into 2cm pieces
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons smokey/hot paprika
1 tablespoon honey
2 dried bay leaves
2 cups of Continental Superb Stock - Beef
1 can of diced tomatoes
Olive oil
Sour cream and parsley to garnish

Optional, to serve with: Cooked egg fettuccine/Pasta/Rice/Toasted sourdough bread/Bread/Potato mash

Method:

Heat some olive oil in your pot over medium heat. Cook the beef cubes until browned, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Heat some more olive oil in the pot and add chopped onions, garlics, mushroom and capsicum. Stir until onion is soft and translucent.
Put beef back in the pot. Mix in flour and paprika for 1 minute. Add honey and bay leaves.
Stir in Continental Beef Stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to boil. Then cover with lid and simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
Spoon goulash into bowls. Mix in sour cream if desired. Garnish with sour cream and parsley to serve.

Recipe inspired by: taste.com.au

VEGETABLE STOCK

Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Soup

Continental's Vegetable Stock as mentioned above is my favourite of the lot. It has such a simple, sweet and nourishing taste. In fact it is also probably the most versatile of the lot and I am very excited to create more winter inspired recipes using it. But moving on to the one I've chosen for this post... a vegan Sweet Potato and Cauliflower soup.

Such beautiful soup that I guarantee you will fall in love with. Sweet, creamy and earthy!

When I was thinking back to the vegetable soup from high school I was trying to recreate, I'm pretty sure they must've used carrots or pumpkin. Neither which I have in my pantry. I am much more fond of sweet potato and cauliflower and super excited to see recipes available combining the two. This one is very healthy, wholesome and nutritious. You can read more about the health benefits here as I love how Jenn at Veggie Inspired has written. This recipe is mostly hers with a few minor tweaks to the ingredients. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 brown onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small twig of rosemary
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
2 average sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cauliflower, chopped into florets
1L of Continental Superb Stocks - Vegetable
1 can of light coconut milk
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Spread cauliflower around on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Bake for 15 minutes. Shake the pan around to toss the cauliflower and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the edges start to turn brown.
Saute diced onion until translucent in 1/4 cup of Continental Vegetable Stock in large pot.
Add garlic, rosemary, paprika and turmeric and stir for 1 minute.
Add chopped sweet potato, roasted cauliflower and remaining vegetable stock to the pot. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or transfer to a regular blender/food processor.
Add the coconut milk and stir well. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve.

Recipe inspired by: Veggie Inspired

CHICKEN STOCK

Pea and Fennel Soup

I love chicken stock. It goes with just about everything. This reduced salt stock really comes through as while you can taste the lighter difference, the delicious herby flavour we associate with chicken stock is still going well and strong.

Why pea and fennel soup you ask? Such an unlikely choice and combination. My boyfriend's mum gave me a large bulb of fennel last week. I was really excited to use it but I had no idea how. Prior to this I've only had it lightly shredded in a salad. Yet with this soup project in front of me I thought why not. Lets combine the beautiful liquorice and aniseed flavour of fennel with something easy and just as easily fitted into the winter warmers theme.

I settled on peas as they are one of my favourite green vegetables which I think are largely over looked. They are insanely convenient and packed full of good fibres and iron. I found this recipe on SBS which tags it as an Italian staple which can be served all year around. Couldn't agree more! The peas give the soup a sweet, thick and humble base, as the fennel uplifts everything to create a refreshing and nourishing flavour. Try it, you'll like it!

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon butter
2 cups of chopped fennel bulb
1 brown onion, diced
1L of Continental Superb Stocks - Chicken
500g of frozen peas
Thickened cream
Salt and pepper
Croutons

Method:

Heat butter in a large pot. Add fennel and onion and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Add Continental Chicken stock and bring the pot to a boil. Add peas and cook for 3-5 minutes until the peas are tender.
Remove the pot from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Puree the soup according to your preference using a stick blender/regular blender/food processor. I blended my soup only to a coarse puree.
Place soup in pot and whisk in thickened cream. Reheat over low heat until hot, then serve with extra cream, croutons and/or olive oil.

Recipe inspired by: SBS Food

Kimmiebites was invited to be apart of this project by Social Soup and Continental. All opinions and recipes in this post are genuine, honest and highly recommended. I wouldn't post about it if I didn't like it or thought it was bad :)

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, by Kim

burgers

Vintage Valley Reduction Sauces review!

What is a reduction sauce? I briefly remember coming across this term on one of my weekly Food Network binges but never have I ever attempted to make one or work with one. So when Vintage Valley reached out and personally had a selection of their new range of reduction sauces sent to my work and my colleagues asked what it was or what I was going to do.. I had no clue.

So first things first as we fast forward a few weeks let me share with you my favourite answer found on the internet to that first question I posed:

"A reduction sauce is simple what the name implies-reduction. It is an elegant way to make use of all those delicious pan drippings from a pan grilled steak or a sautéd chicken breast. It is adding liquid and reducing it by heat so as to concentrate the flavors and infuse thosescrumptious flavors in the pan you may have previously thrown away. A reduction sauce is NOT a gravy. It is a sauce. The difference is a thickening of the flavor without thickening the sauce itself."

(Woody, firefoods.co.uk)

With this in mind I had set out to experiment and cook up as many different new recipes as I could using the six different bottles of reduction sauces sent to me by Vintage Valley.

Which requires me to pop down another definition. This one for "vincotto/vinocotto", the general style of sauces in this range.

"Vincotto, which translates literally as “cooked wine”, isn’t actually a reduction of wine but of the unfermented crushed fruit and skins of dark grapes, known as “must” (vincotto is also known as mosto cotto or “cooked must”). What results is a light syrup with a sweet and sour flavour, known in Italian as agrodolce, and this perfect balance makes vincotto equally at home in sweet and savoury dishes. In classical times, it was used in tandem with honey as a basic sweetener before sugar cane took centre stage. These days, vincotto is generally used in the same fashion as balsamic vinegar: for dressings, de-glazing and drizzling over fruit and dairy-based desserts."

(Christine Osmond, 2013, SBS)

The six flavours I had were: Vino Cotto, Cherry Vino Cotto, Fig Vino Cotto, Blood Orange Vino Cotto, Caramelised White Wine Vinegar, and Caramelised Red Wine Vinegar.

All completely unique and delicious and special in their own ways. The general flavour overall is definitely as described by the above definition. Kind of sweet, kind of sour, kind of like balsamic, kind of like sugar syrup.

Cherry Vino Cotto

The cherry vino cotto is very deep and rich in flavour and aroma. It is quite smooth with no bitterness and I love how it authentically resembles black cherries. I felt like cherry vino cotto would pair well with red meat and wanting to go just a little further outside of the box, I chose some lean cuts of kangaroo steak to bring you guys this recipe.

Ingredients:

Kangaroo steaks
Marinade: Vintage Valley - Cherry Vino Cotto, salt, pepper, herbs of choice
Asparagus, washed
Sweet potato, cubed
Tomatoes of choice
Mushrooms
Butter/Oil

Method:

Marinade the kangaroo steaks in the the marinade mix for up to an hour to overnight
Steam the asparagus and sweet potato in a covered microwave-proof bowl with 3tbsp of water until tender
Heat up frying pan with butter/oil and sauté mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat
Sauté baby tomatoes until skins start to wrinkle, around 3 minutes. Remove from heat
Fry kangaroo steaks on each side for around 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and cover with foil for approx. 10 minutes
Slice meat when ready to serve

Fig Vino Cotto

This fig vino motto is honestly like a big warm hug. It has the 'deep earthy flavours' of mature figs and a gritty and much welcome texture thanks to the inclusion of the small fig seeds. This sauce would work perfectly in a dessert and is so delicious with ice cream, but how about with a meal?

Yep.

Just perfect.

Ingredients:

Pork scotch fillets
Marinade: Vintage Valley - Fig Vino Cotto, oyster sauce, salt and pepper
Mandarin segments, peeled
Brussel sprouts
Butter/oil

Method:

Marinade pork scotch fillets in marinade mix for up to an hour or overnight
Roughly chop Brussel sprouts. Season with salt and pepper and saute with butter/oil in frying pan. Alternatively leave whole if preferred
Fry pork scotch fillets on each side for around 4-6 minutes depending on thickness. Remove from heat
Deglaze the pan with Vintage Valley Fig vino cotto to create a drizzle sauce
Assemble the pork, mandarin segments and brussel sprouts when ready to serve

Caramelised Red Wine Vinegar

This is one of my favourite sauces of the lot!

It truly has such a luxurious and velvety taste. Definitely sharper and more savoury than the rest because of being a vinegar. To add, I found this sauce extremely versatile. I've used it as a marinade, a salad dressing, a reduction sauce - but to be honest my new found favourite way to use it is by making caramelised red wine onions. And I've never liked caramelised onions but with this, now I do. They're the perfect way to boost the flavours and textures in your dish, and pairs so well with steak!

Ingredients:

1-2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced from root to stem
1tbsp butter
Salt
1/4 cup of Vintage Valley - Caramelised Red Wine Vinegar

Method:

Heat butter up in pan. Add sliced onions and gently stir to coat
Check every 5-10 minutes to ensure onions are not burning in their caramelisation process! Keep the heat at medium. At around 20 minutes they should be quite golden brown and jammy looking. Cook according to your taste
When you're happy with the taste, deglaze the pan with some Vintage Valley caramelised red wine vinegar and stir into the onions
Serve with your choice of dish.

I served mine over some Philly cheesesteak inspired sliders! Yum!

Blood Orange Vino Cotto

When I think of blood oranges, I think of a sour and bitter fruit. It's not something I prefer compared to normal oranges. But with this vino cotto the inevitable sourness and bitterness balance each other out and produce something that is somewhat sweet and reminds me of orange peel and zest. I really have come to like this sauce. It recommends that it is good with poultry which brings me back to my this orange chicken with roasted veggies my mum created one Christmas. This is me trying to recreate that with the help of the vino cotto.

Ingredients:

Chicken thigh fillets
Marinade: Vintage Valley - Blood Orange Vino Cotto, turmeric, ginger powder, onion powder, orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
Orange slices
Vegetables: yellow onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts
Olive oil

Method:

Marinade chicken thighs in marinade mix
Preheat oven to 180
Cut vegetables into preferred shapes and sizes. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Place chicken with orange slices on top into oven, surround with vegetables
Roast for around 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through
Serve when ready!

Caramelised White Wine Vinegar

This sauce is quite similar to its red wine vinegar counterpart in the way that it is sharp and luxurious. Notably it is also the most crisp tasting sauce of the lot and I can see this being the perfect thing to use in delivering a bittersweet flavour to dishes. I tried this with the pork recipe at first and I really enjoyed it with potatoes which soaked up all the flavours. But in my most recent attempt, I have to say it is very uplifting as a salad dressing.

Ingredients:

Salad mix of choice
Prosciutto
Bocconcini/buffalo mozzarella
Figs
Vintage Valley - Caramelised White Wine Vinegar

Method:

Assemble salad with salad mix, prosciutto, cheese, cut figs
Dress with Vintage Valley caramelised white white vinegar!

Vino Cotto

And last but not least, good old classic Vino Cotto. My actual favourite of the lot and the one that I can't imagine anyone not absolutely loving. It is so tasty and versatile and it goes well with literally everything. Entrees, sides, mains, desserts, snacks - you got it. It has such a fruity aroma that I find very more-ish. I chose to put this into a dessert recipe which I'm sure you will all love once you give it a try.

Ingredients:

3-4 medium Corella pears
500ml water
4tbsp white sugar
1/3 cup Vintage Valley - Vino Cotto
Vanilla bean (or substitute 3tsp vanilla essence)
Orange rind strips
Mascarpone
Sponge cake (optional)

Method:

Peel the pears
Add the water, sugar, Vintage Valley vino cotton, vanilla bean, orange to a small/medium saucepan
Turn on the heat to medium and stir until sugar dissolved. Add the pears in and ensure they are covered with syrup
Simmer uncovered for approx. 20 minutes until pears are soaked and tender
Remove pears from syrup. Reserve the syrup, it can have other uses in the future. Leave around 3/4 cup syrup in the pan and simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until a thick syrupy consistency
Serve poached pears with a generous spoon of mascarpone, sponge cake and syrup sauce!

Hope you guys enjoyed my post about Vintage Valley reduction sauces and will give some of my recipes a go! They are currently available in select supermarkets and grocers so if you find it, I promise you won't regret it. It was such a new flavour experience for me and I'm truly thankful for the opportunity. A big thank you to Vintage Valley and Chris for reaching out to me xx

Kimmiebites was invited to review this product by robotklan and Vintage Valley. All opinions and recipes in this post are genuine, honest and highly recommended. I wouldn't post about it if I didn't like it or thought it was bad :)

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, by Kim