Sabbaba - light, fresh and healthy :D

It actually looks like a small coffee shop. Where people pick up their daily coffee fix or sit in the few little tables to enjoy a pastry or two. 

 Sabbaba

But of course, it’s much more than that. Their idea of “Food Music & Friends” is clear the minute you walk inside their tiny shop. An aroma of grilled meats fill the air, upbeat Lady Gaga music is playing and the waitress seems to know the regular’s usual orders. 

So when L and Y were particularly hungry one day and were confused where to else to eat in Bondi Junction, J naturally suggested Sabbaba. 

“Their food is SO good!”raves J. “Their juices are fresh, their pita bread is sooo soft! And they have really nice falafels!”  

Taking on J’s advice, we shared the Meat, salad and dip plate with chicken (meat of your choice can be chosen), hummus, tahina, babaganoush, salsa, chickpeas, garden salad, tabouli, red cabbage and pickets. Also served with two freshly home baked pita. Still wanting to try their falafels, we ended up upsizing to the value meal where if you add $4.90 to any pita, plate or bowl you get two more items from vine leaves, hot chips, any drink, falafel balls, side salad, dessert, chick peas with paprika& olive oil, corn chips with guacamole. We chose the falafel balls and a dessert :)

 

Meat, salad and dip plate($17)

Feeling thirsty as well, we also chose to get their fresh juices. These were excellent thirst quenchers! They didn’t taste diluted at all and were definitely freshly squeezed as they started rusting after a while!

Freshly squeezed Apple and Lemon Juice and Apple Juice ($4)

The food too was just as tasty as J had recommended. Making pita pockets with the bread, we stuffed them with the chicken breasts, the vegetables and the dips. The dips were very fresh and tasty and went well with just the soft and fluffy pita bread alone :) The grilled chicken breasts were nicely marinated but were unfortunately a bit dry- for more juicy chicken, try the chicken shish :P 

 Fresh and soft Pita Bread :D

 Stuffing food into our pita pockets hehe :)

 

The falafels were absolutely delicious! Not only were they in just the right size and were very crispy and seasoned perfectly- unlike those huge but soggy and overly sour ones hehe :P

  

Falafel balls

Even though it looked quite small, by the time we had eaten our way through the plate we were feeling stuffed and weren’t sure if we could fit in that log dessert...

“Oh! But you guys HAVE to try it! It’s really good!!” gushes J. 

Log

So halving the dessert, L and Y tried it and were instantly glad they didn’t skip dessert. The top layer was a light and crispy pastry while the bottom layer consisted of a creamy texture with different sorts of crushed nuts. Combined together, it was a deliciously rich dessert that had us wanting more. 

 Check out how flaky it got, thats how crispy it was hehe

On a side note, just a few weeks ago when J first tried this place, she ordered the corn chips & guacamole as part of her value meal. The fresh avocado dip was very thick and smooth :D perfect when eaten with the crispy and lightly salted corn chips!   

Corn chips & guacamole

With its catchy name, Sabbaba was extremely satisfying, particularly its falafel balls and that delicious dessert! Everything we had, from salad to juice to hummus, had been very fresh! It is definately the perfect place to go for a light and healthy yet still very tasty meal :) It also reminds us not to judge things from the front- while it may look just like a small cafe, its much much more than that ! :P hehe

Nibble on Nibbles! xx

Ps: some of you might have noticed our new like/dislike button, but for those who haven't..you'll find it at the top of our posts =D !!






_________________________________________

Sabbaba

Shop 1/71-91 Spring St

Eastgate Shopping Centre
Bondi Junction NSW 2022 
 

SpiceMe Thai

“Hey, have you eaten yet?” 

Half the time, that’s how our meals tend to occur. Realising that we both hadn’t eaten yet, leads to a quick meal decided in minutes. So one particular day where we both end up finishing uni around the same time and hadn’t had the chance to have lunch , we end up at Spice Me Thai – a corner Thai eatery inside Bondi Junction’s Westfield.  Starved after a day of study, we order our dishes and sit at the wooden benches to enjoy them.

J went with the “make-your-own” stir fry option where one can customise their order to their liking picking their type of noodle, sauce and fillings. 

With the various options on offer, J finally decides on the Chicken Stir-fry with curly noodles and oyster sauce. She also had a deep fried tofu as a side dish. The noodles actually had an appearance and texture very much similar to instant noodles... hmmm actually, we were pretty sure they were instant noodles hehe.. and the sauce was a bit too salty for her liking. Though the deep fried tofu was quite nice and pretty- looked like a cute little gift tied together with a noodle ribbon hehe :)

Chicken Stir-fry with curly noodles and oyster sauce ($11.50)

Golden Tofu ($1.50)

L chose fish cakes to begin with and the BBQ Chicken complete with a small side salad and a tower of sticky rice. The Fish cakes were a good starter, nicely seasoned and went well with the the accompanying salad. The BBQ Chicken was barbecued well and the sticky rice had a nice chewy and starchy texture and it is coconut scented! :D

Fish Cakes ($2.20)

BBQ Chicken ($15)

Since we hadn’t had a good serving of Thai food in ages, it was a pretty satisfying lunch overall. Though we wouldn't say that the food is exceptional, it’s a pretty good place for a quick and easy nibble after a day of shopping or before a movie :D

Nibble on Nibbles! xx 

__________________________________________ 

SpiceMe Thai

Level 1, Shop 1021 

Westfield Bondi Junction

(500 Oxford St Bondi Junction NSW 2022)

Ghermez Cupcakes

The display of perfectly lined up decorated cupcakes at the red and white store was just too much of a temptation for J&L. 

Regular Cupcakes on display at Ghermez

“Ugghhh... I want oneeee!” L proclaimed

“Me toooo!” J chimed. “They’re SOOOO cute!”

So even though we had just had our lunch and were pretty much stuffed, we couldn’t help but settle on a compromise – we’d get the MINI cupcakes! It wouldn’t be too heavy on our already filled stomachs and yet we would still get a dose of a Ghermez cupcake... hehe  :P 

Ghermez cupcakes

L went with the Mini Red Velvet Cupcake. A red velvet chocolate cake with coconut cream cheese icing.  Some of the bottom bits were unfortunately burnt but overall the cupcake was not too sweet with a good balance of cream cheese, chocolate and coconut. The cake itself was really moist and fluffy, making the perfect texture :)

Mini Red Velvet Cupcake ($2.20)

Though on the other hand, J’s chocolate marshmallow cupcake was a bit of a disappointment. It was a good choclately flavour but nothing too special.

Mini Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcake ($2.20)

The counter also had a sample tray of generous chunks of 4 cupcakes which we gladly helped ourselves to hehe :p

Fresh Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Icing, Fresh Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Icing, Vanilla Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream Icing, Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing

The Strawberry Cupcake was made with fresh strawberries and was extremely light and fluffy with the strawberry flavour not being too overpowering. It was surprisingly much better than expected and didn’t have that artificial strawberry taste (reminded us of the fresh strawberry milkshake at Perfection, Rose Bay hehe)

The Banana Cupcake had an eerie resemblance to freshly baked banana bread but with a creamy milk chocolate icing.

The Vanilla Milk Chocolate was nice and rich and was just like eating a moist brownie. The texture was nice with an incredible aroma. Definitely a was guilty pleasure to enjoy hehe.

The Vanilla was not too sweet with a really light and smooth buttercream icing on top :)


Our mini cupcakes and samples was a good compromise after all. There will always be temptations...but sometimes are there are temptations that are just too sweet to pass up ;) 

 Mini Cupcakes on display at Ghermez

Giving in to the sweet little devils, J bought home a caramel cupcake and another red velvet cake- the more than vanilla but not quite chocolate goodness really gets her hehe :P

Regular Red Velvet ($3.80) 

The caramel cake itself was more firm than the others but it goes well with the sticky caramel layer on top :D

Dulce de Leche ($3.80)

Ghermez makes some of the best cupcakes we've tasted so far :) All their cupcakes had a really soft and fluffy cake base with a light and smooth butter cream icing which are not too sweet overall :) ...Classic flavours made of fresh and fine ingredients with a pinch of glamour and a dash of style as they would say hehe

Nibble on Nibblies! xx

_________________________________________

Ghermez cupcakes

Westfield Bondi Junction

Level 5, 500 Oxford St
Bondi Junction, NSW 2022

Chikyu - Ya Japanese Cuisine

Our friends S and M had just returned from their holiday in Vanuatu and we were anxious to hear all about their island experience… and to see their fresh tans haha  =P  So what better way to catch up over dinner?  Since it was surprisingly cloudy that day, we chose to go to Chikyu-Ya.  It’s close by, easy to access and it doesn’t hurt that their food is tasty and good for value too :P hehe 

Chikyu-Ya

Being a small restaurant, there is often a queue at Chikyu-Ya, especially on Friday nights. So the five of us went at 5:30 to make sure we got a table (plus we were already tired from a day of shopping hehe :P ).. and in fact we were the first customers there for dinner that night! Hehe

Chikyu-Ya

Still pretty full from lunch, Y chose to get a green salad with tofu and topped with Chikyu-Ya’s own sesame dressing. 

Tofu Salad ($8.00)

L  was also thinking of getting the Tofu Salad as well having a late lunch herself,  but couldn’t stop eyeing the colourful sashimi . “Why not get the Kaisen Salad then?” Y suggested and the decision was made. It was a sashimi salad with mixed lettuce and Chikyu-Ya special dressing.  The raw fish were fresh and sweet, complimenting the crispy lettuce :D

Kaisen Salad ($14.00) 

J too was tossing between the various options in the end getting her favourite Potato Salad and Udon. The potato salad was made of mashed potatoes mixed together with some thinly sliced onions, carrots and cucumber. There was also a hint of pepper to it, making it extra tasty. The Japanese thick noodle was served in sweet soy sauce flavoured soup with some seaweed and shitake mushroom.  The noodles were very well cooked to a lovely chewy texture :)

Potato Salad ($6.00)

Udon ($8.50) 

On the other hand, S and M had a much easier time picking their meals, both craving for Japanese food after their trip away haha. S went with the Oyako Don- sweet soy sauce flavoured chicken, onion & egg on rice. The onions were soft and sweet, also very nicely flavoured with soy sauce that even S who normally doesn’t eat vegetables ate them too!  

Oyako Don ($11.50)

M chose the Karaage Curry- deep fried chicken and curry with rice. The karaage was cooked to perfection! The chicken was fried to golden brown and was juicy and meaty :D and the batter was just right, not too thick but not too thin either :)

Karaage Curry ($14.50) 

All the meals were very filling and the five of us decided to wait awhile before ordering J & S’s favourite green tea ice cream !!

So whilst listening to S and M’s experience of staying overnight in a hut that only had a padlock HAHHAAH, we waited for the food to digest before having dessert .

But… we didn’t expect this …

“Three Green Tea Ice Creams Please”

“Oh.. I’m sorry we have none left”

*long pause*

“Noooooo!”

“Ahh…I’m very sorry..”

“Gahhhhhhh”

So we actually started making plans to go somewhere else for dessert, thinking of Igloo Zoo just around the corner in Bondi Beach… But as we were packing up and ready to get the bill when suddenly …a small  glass of green tea ice cream is placed on the centre of the table. Extremely curious, we all look up ..

“From the chef.. we only have a bit left”, our waitress explains with a smile on her face.

“THANK YOUUUUUU!!”, we chorus before digging into the smooth creamy green tea goodness =)

J thinks that the green tea ice cream here is definitely the best! The sweetness and green tea flavor are just right and the ice cream is extra creamy and smooth giving it quite a chewy texture. Thick ice cream is always better than those watery, icy ones!

Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans ($4.00)

Very satisfied with the end of our meal we left and went off to walk around since it was still pretty bight outside.

It was a good meal - nothing beats complimentary green tea ice cream: P 

Nibble on Nibblies ! xx 

________________________________________

Chikyu-Ya
106/106 Ebley St
Bondi Junction 
NSW 2022