Flamed AKA The Dirty Burger Place, Northmead

This corner shop might not look like much from the outside, but inside it hides some of the tastiest burgers ever. Now I don't usually blog about my weekday lunch spots, (my work area is pretty pathetic when it comes to lunch options) and I definitely don't blog about takeaway joints too often, so trust me when I tell you this is a pretty damn good burger. This discovery was thanks to Tomred, who found this place and then whinged incessantly because he couldn't satisfy his burger craving as they were closed during the Christmas break. We only knew them as the 'dirty burgers'.

Oh yes, look at The Dirty Burger. Dirty in a good way, dirty like they smell like they're going to clog up your arteries with their fatty goodness and possibly make you feel completely nauseous for the rest of the day, but is totally worth it because it tastes so good while you're eating it. You know what I mean. It's the type of food that's perfect after a hangover. And so when they reopened we tried these so-called Dirty Burgers, and have been going there regularly ever since. Because The Dirty Burgers are GOOD.

Plain burger ($4.50) with extra pineapple (60c)

Recently I've been getting my burger fix at The Counter, and anyone who's been there will know that once you've had a Counter burger, you don't need another burger for a long time. But I keep going back for these dirty burgers, because unlike the Counter ones, they don't leave you feeling like you have a boulder in your stomach. The patties are nice and thin so there's no dryness in the meat, and best part is the generous slathering of their BBQ sauce that oozes out of the burger. Sooo good. And I don't even like BBQ sauce! In truth it's a fake dirty burger - you get all the enjoyment while you're eating it without any of the guilt nausea afterwards. A deadly combination. And dirt cheap too.

Burger meal ($8.00) - Burger with the lot, chips & a can of drink

I usually order the plain burger, but the others go all out. The burger meal comes with everything; a burger with the lot, chips and a can of drink. A fair bit more than I can handle, but the boys can polish it off easily. The Hawaiian burger is almost exactly the same as the burger with the lot - with extra cheese, pineapple and bacon. The chips here are okay, they're always freshly fried and if you say yes to chicken salt you get a lot of chicken salt :)

Hawaiian burger ($6.30)- Plain burger with bacon, pineapple and cheese

Small chips ($3.50)

Small Greek salad ($5.80)

The salads, along with all the fresh vegetables in the burgers are very fresh, I think I've seen them getting their vegetables delivered from the Northmead Growers Market, which is just across the road, definitely a good sign. The salad is a tad pricey for the size, but at least it's nice and fresh, which is more than I can say for some of the food I pay for at the canteen at work.

Quater chicken ($4.90), potato scallops (80c each)

For research purposes we tried out some of the other things on the menu, and discovered the chicken burger is not as fabulous as the regular burger, and the BBQ chicken actually makes you feel guiltier about it's heavy grease levels than the burger does. The potato scallops, like the chips are decent enough, but my stomach usually can't handle much more after scoffing down that huge burger.

Mediterranean set ($13.50) - Grilled fish, two prawns, two calimari, baby octopus and chips

The Mediterranean basket is good value and surprisingly tasty. The fish is moist and is the type that's lightly battered and grilled, a style that I have come to prefer over the usual heavily battered deep fried fish. The prawns are nicely marinated and the calimari and baby octopus isn't chewy at all. The service is always cheerful and very efficient, they were even nice enough to bring us our food at the outdoor seating area when we were too lazy to wait inside for our order. Mmm yes, I will be looking forward to my dirty burger fix next week.

Flamed & Grilled Seafood Burgers
Northmead Shopping Plaza
Level Ground, Shop 10, 2-4 Campbell Street
Northmead NSW 2152
(02) 9890 3252

Mon to Sat: 8am - 7.30pm

East Ocean Bakery - Eastwood (CLOSED)

Ah...Now this is what missed about Sydney during my month overseas. Ever since returning from my holiday, I can't stop marvelling at how beautiful and perfect the weather is in Sydney at the moment. After a month trapped under an endlessly low & heavy cloud, breathing in humid and polluted air, coming back home was literally a breath of fresh air. The sky is so blue! It took a long time to convince A that going for walks outdoors was not worth the effort in KL, that's why they've built so many air-conditioned shopping malls for everyone to walk around in. It is a lot easier for him to convince me to go out for a walk here, even though I tend to avoid exercise like the plague. So even with the gorgeous weather, it will take quite a lot to convince me to walk all the way to Eastwood. It will take even more to convince myself to go on my own. But I know that there are a few very good reasons:
1. Hukuya - great value sushi restaurant but is closed on Sundays :(
2. BBQ One - my best friend's mother's chinese BBQ store that has the best roast pork in Eastwood
3. Wife cake

Wife cake (lou phor peng) is a flaky pastry filled with wintermelon paste. One of the main ingredients is pork lard, no wonder I am completely obsessed with this asian dessert. Honey to the bee, that's pork lard to me. I am a little confused by the aversion to pork lard that many of my non-muslim Malaysian friends and family have developed. Anyway, if you want a good wife cake I don't think you can get much better than the ones at East Ocean Bakery in Eastwood.

Wife cake food porn (flaky butter pastry with wintermelon, pork lard, sesame and five spice filling)

Forget BreadTop, forget the rubbish they sell in the asian supermarkets, this is the real deal. The pastry is so perfect and is overflowing with wintermelong filling. East Ocean bakery always seems to have freshly baked trays filled with a variety of asian sweets. I get three wife cakes and cannot resist the large tray of freshly baked egg tarts sitting on the table. They are still warm, the egg filling perfectly set but a little wobbly inside, just right. Unfortunately they shove the warm egg tarts into small plastic bags and the pretty tarts do not survive the walk home in my shopper. A is still happy to scoop out the ruins of the egg tart for his afternoon tea.

While I am in Eastwood, I also stop by the huge Sakura supermarket to buy some of my favourite Prima meals, Noodle King instant noodles and linger in the sweets and biscuits aisle. I have a hankering for some strawberry flavoured chocolate and this cute little packet catches my eye:

It's even cuter inside, small squares of chocolate made up of thin strands of dark, white and strawberry chocolate. The smell of the strawberry chocolate is very inviting, I have a bit of a weak spot for it. These little morsels are good for satisfying those ever-persistnt chocolate cravings.