Birthday Food Crawl

This month I turned the ripe old age of twenty-six and decided in celebration to undertake a one day food crawl of my favourite foods/places in Adelaide. It was a super jam packed day as I still did two training session and my weekly shopping and food prep! I have to say I was really obnoxiously full after all the eating, but it was great fun and I got to enjoy foods I don't get to eat on a regular basis. So here it is.. the 2013 birthday food crawl review :)

To start my morning I had my usual pre workout food, almond butter (from Goodies and Grains in Central Market) and banana. The special addition for the birthday crawl however was two Welsh Cakes I had baked the day before. These are a childhood favourite of mine and I haven't had one since I was at my nan's in the UK at Christmas last year, so these are a little special as they remind me of family and home. They are kind of like a fried scone covered in sugar ;) Combined with the banana and almond butter they were even better! And I buzzed through my workout due to all the carbs!

Argo on the Parade

After boxing I picked up hubby and we headed to the first stop on the crawl, Argo on the Parade. This has become my go to place in Adelaide for breakfast as the food is always amazing, the service quick and efficient and the vibe modern and buzzy. 

Hubby had a Cafenatic iced drink (double shot of espresso, milk and vanilla) and the Argo big breaky (bacon, eggs, chipolata sausage, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, hash brown and toasted organic rye bread) with no mushrooms. He was really impressed with this breakfast as the eggs were cooked exactly to his liking/order, fried hard with no soft or gooey bits whatsoever. He often finds that a lot of restaurants undercook his eggs so this got a big thumbs up from him. Hubby also thought it was a really good serving of food for the price. The cafentic was similar to an iced coffee, just not creamy. Hubby thought it could've used a little more of a coffee hit but found it it lighter and more refreshing then a traditional iced coffee.

For my breakfast I went with the Aunt Dolly again, I loved it so much the first time I had it! This is a combo of asparagus, scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes and light rye, however I added bacon, mushroom and avocado :) So delicious, perfectly scrambled eggs with just the right amount of creamy and fluffy. For my drink I treated myself and instead of my usual juice went with a smoothie. It was really hard to choose as they all sounded so tasty but I ended up going with the Tropical Getaway (tropical juice, mango, mixed berries, strawberries and frozen yoghurt) and was certainly not disappointed. The mango flavour was really evident and the texture was thick and creamy. A really great meal to start off my birthday :)

Bakery on O'Connell

After Argo's we headed on to our next stop for a special meal I like to call brea-ssert. Basically desert after breakfast ;) I have never been to Bakery on O'Connell and I had heard they did a Nutella heart shaped donut. Nutella is an all time favourite non paleo food of mine and this item has been on my must try list for some time. The donut wasn't huge but this wasn't a bad thing as it was soooo rich and decadent. A soft, sugary dough, a thick layer of sweet pink icing and the HUGEST amount of pure Nutella filling that oozed out when I bit into it. An amazing bakery item, I have no idea how I had never eaten one of these before! It was so sickeningly good.  Hubby had a slice of rocky road, this was a really unique take on a traditional slice with a coconut/biscuit layer a thick marshmallow layer and a plentiful chocolate nut topping. This was really moorish,  I had a couple of bites and even after the donut could of polished the whole piece off. Both items were crazy good, and I'd highly recommend getting to Bakery on O'Connell and giving their tasty baked goods a go (and pretending calories don't exist for the day!)

BBQ City

After my sugar rush I had my PT session at Crossfit (felt soo full I think I was lucky to keep my food down!) and then went to Central Market to buy my weekly shopping. After loading everything into the car we headed to one of my ALL time favourite places to eat in Adelaide, BBQ City on Gouger Street. As soon as I decided to do a food crawl this was the first place on my list, being paleo and having a huge food bucket list to get through I try not to use my off road days going back to the same places so I don't get in here as often as I'd like (weekly would be my preference ;) ) I'd like to note though, this place is not renowned for great service, the entrees ALWAYS come out before the mains when I eat here and no one's meals arrive at the same time. The decor is grungy and the place is a little run down. However the food is just so, so good that this all seems insignificant to me, plus it reminds me of when I lived in Hong Kong.

Hubby went with the satay beef from the lunch specials menu. It was a pretty big serving for a measly $8.50! This dish had a strong peanut taste, a good balance of meat and vegetables and plenty of rice.

When I eat here I always get the BBQ Pork, always. Today I went for the two option BBQ combo choosing the roast duck and BBQ pork. This dish was a whole $10.50. So much tasty BBQ goodness and a really huge serving of rice make this an absolute favourite of mine. The BBQ pork is always juicy and tender with the right amount of fat to meat ratio. Today it was spot on as usual. The duck was crispy and sticky, with great flavour and plenty of meat on the bones. They don't skimp here! I have to say that they do just cut the BBQ up from the meat hanging in the window and heat it up in the microwave (right in front of you!) and this bothers some people.. I think as long as it tastes amazing and doesn't give me food poisoning I don't mind how it's cooked ;) We both had a sneaky lunchtime drink as well, they are always generous with their alcohol servings here so be careful if your driving! Our entree came out last (not to my surprise)... we had our usual of steamed dim sims. Juicy fatty pork, soft skins and scorching hot these hit the spot as usual.

If you like Chinese food, particularly BBQ...this is the place to go. The food is so good, the servings super generous and it is fantastic value for money. Yes the service isn't top notch, the decor isn't stunning but sometimes you don't need a modern, fancy dining experience just good food and good company to share it with :)

San Churro Gouger Street

After BBQ City we headed up the road for our lunchtime dessert (Yes I can put away a serious amount of food!) at San Churros. I had been emailed a free churros for two voucher for my birthday so we ordered those with milk chocolate and white chocolate dipping pots along with a cappuccino for hubby and a peanut butter hot chocolate with whipped cream for me. This was my first time having a hot chocolate here and I wasn't disappointed, rich dark chocolate flavours, foamy top, plenty of cream and a huge chunk of salty peanut butter dipped in chocolate on a spoon that you mixed in until it melted. The churros were as good as the last visit, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and not oily. A nice little afternoon dessert and even better as the churros were free!

Melt CBD

After doing my weeks food prep we headed out for dinner. We decided on sharing a pizza from Melt CBD as we didn't want anything super huge or heavy. We were seated straight away and the service was fantastic as per my last visit. Hubby ordered a pale ale and I had a glass of sparkling. For our food we ordered the El Diablo pizza which was topped with tomato, mozzarella, pepperoni, anchovies, olives, capers, fennel, basil, oregano and chilli. The pizza didn't take long to arrive and smelt amazing. The crust was slightly crispy but not burnt, it wasn't at all soggy or oily and the fresh fennel really set off the spicy pepperoni. This pizza was a really great combination of fresh ingredients that complemented each other well. This was hubby's first time at Melt and he said it was probably the best 'real' pizza he's had in Adelaide, for me it was definitely as delicious, fresh and original as my last visit.

Spatz Coffee House

And so we reach the final stop on the food crawl (unless you count the Welsh Cakes I squeezed in when I got home) Spats coffee house. Hubby ordered a Bailey's iced coffee and the sticky date pudding whilst I went with a lemon lime bitters and the brandy snap basket with added banana. Hubby raved about his Bailey's iced coffee, tons of cream and ice cream as well as a super strong coffee and Bailey's hit. 

My brandy snap basket was gorgeously presented, again with a very Bali/tropical feel and the pretty coloured cream patterns on the plate. The brandy snap was perfectly cooked so that it had a slight crack, a slight chewiness and no trace of that burnt sugar taste you can get with brandy snaps. The ice cream was creamy, there was an epic amount of super sweet whipped cream and plenty of fruit, This was your classic, traditional homestyle dessert and it really hit the spot. Hubby has always loved sticky date pudding and was pretty impressed with Spats version. The cake was moist with plenty of crunchy nut pieces to give it an interesting texture. The sauce was also delicious, really thick and sweet. Again, an 'old school' dessert done extremely well. Spats certainly know how to make beautifully presented and down to earth food.

And that was the end of the epic food crawl, I kind of rolled into bed in a huge carb coma and slept ridiculously soundly all night. I'll be honest and say I wasn't well the next day, all that sugar/dairy/grain really hit me hard and I was really rundown, had cold like symptoms and felt generally nauseous. Was straight back on the paleo train that night with a much needed Welsh Stew, however I didn't regret it at all. I had an amazing birthday, ate amazing food and shared an amazing, fun experience with hubby. It certainly reminded me why I eat paleo 90% of the time, and how amazing food can be when it's not eaten so often that it loses that specialness once in a while treats have :)