Red Rock Potato Chips, Australia

Red Rock Deli is a brand of snack foods in Australia, stocked at my office in Sydney. Over the years, I've had a opportunity to try a number of their chips, but they also make a flavored popcorn lineup that looks amazing, and a line of flavor coated peanuts.  Bold, unique flavors seems to be what they are all about.

For the chips, all have the same kettle chip base, crispy, fine for kettle chips, but aren't really my style.  I keep trying them though because the flavors are fascinating.  I've only tried the standard chips, but they also make "Special Reserve" line with flavors like Slow Roasted Pork Belly & Mustard Cider Jus (yes, really).

Update Review, March 2022

I wish I liked the form factor of these chips more, as the flavors are unique.  But the chips are thin style, very crispy, slightly kettle style.  And just not my style these days (I like thicker, crunchier, wrinkled ones).

Sweet Chilli & Sour Cream.

The flavor of these is interesting.  I love sweet chilli & sour cream to dunk my wedges in, which I definitely learned in Australia, and still lament why this duo hasn't spread more.  So it makes sense the flavor would work well on chips.  But ... it didn't work that great for me.

I didn't actually taste sweet chilli, nor sour cream.  I would never be able to identify the flavor.  I did taste herbs, and something sorta dairy-like, but if anything, they reminded me of a slightly zesty sour cream and onion.  Not a bad flavor, but not really what I wanted.

**+.

Original Review, 2019

Sweet Chili & Sour Cream.

"The lingering sweet heat of chilli and paprika with a hint of smooth, tangy sour cream."

The first flavor I tried was the Sweet Chili & Sour Cream, because I was so excited to see that they turned my favorite Sydney pub snack (wedges with sweet chili & sour cream) into a chip.

As I said in my intro, the chips were fine, crispy style, but not really what I'm into these days, but I tried these to see how the flavor was.

They really kinda did taste like sweet chili & sour cream, or perhaps something like a bbq chip crossed with a sour cream & onion with less onion focus.  I liked the flavor, but it was nothing like dipping a wedge, or even a plain chip, into a generous glob of sweet chili and sour cream.  Interesting to try, but not something I wanted more of. **+.

Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar

.

"A grind of fresh sea salt with a generous splash of the sweet sharpness of balsamic vinegar."

Next I tried sea salt & balsamic vinegar.  They were interesting.  At first, they tasted just like salt and vinegar chips, something very familiar.  Strong vinegar component.  And then, there was ... yup, a hint of balsamic.

I call these ... "Elevated Salt & Vinegar", the flavor really is more unique, but very much the same as a classic salt and vinegar at the same time.

Again though, for me, interesting to try, but not what I wanted as I'm just not that into potato chips these days. **+.

Honey Soy Chicken.

"The sweetness of honey cut by the subtle richness of soy sauce."

And finally, Honey Soy Chicken, the ones I expected to like the least, as I don't care for chicken.

But ... I think I liked them the best?  Maybe I was just more in the mood for chips that day?  I actually liked the crispy, very fried, form factor of the chips.

And then the flavor.  Um, yeah, they "tasted like chicken".  But, zesty chicken.  BBQ chicken.  Or I suppose, honey soy chicken? So very odd, but I didn't dislike them, although my American chip brain still doesn't quite know how to deal with meat flavors in my chips. ***.

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Wellington Cake Shop, Bondi

Regular readers of my blog are likely well aware that I adore baked goods, and love to seek out new bakeries wherever I am.  My recent trip to Sydney included such an adventure, although, unintentionally.

Store Front.

It just so happened to be a celebration at my office for a co-worker, and to feed us hungry masses, the organizer arranged to get baked goods from his favorite bakery in the area: Wellington Cake Shop, in Bondi.  I later ventured there myself to check it out, and it really is a cute little bakery, very local neighborhood vibe to it. I got to enjoy an array of items.

"Where ordinary end sensation begins."

Wellington Cake Shop is small bakery specializing in Austro-Hungarian cakes and tortes, with a rather cute slogan.  For me, Hungarian items are not ordinary at all, so, this was fitting.  I'm largely unfamiliar with these specialties.  But locals, besides just the guest of honor, rave about this place, and it has been in operation for quite a while, so, clearly, they are doing something right.

"No pre-mixes, no funny numbers, just the pure of the pure: butter, chocolate and more butter."

They take pride in creating everything from scratch, and I think the "something right" is exactly what they say: "more butter".  These items are decadent and delicious, and most certainly not healthy.  In addition to a number of Hungarian items, they are also known for their bagels and ice cream, although I did not get to try either of those. 

Since we had such an assortment of items, I did try small pieces of a few items that I didn't get photos of, such as a savory cheese crisp pastry that my co-workers really liked, but I wasn't really in the mood for (eh, savory, would be good paired with a salad at lunch, but not what I wanted at 2:30pm), and the apple strudel that I enjoyed all the remnants of (great flaky pastry, cinnamon and sugar, yes!), and settled on 3 full size items to really enjoy.

Chocolate Kuglouf.

"The Kuglouf is the undisputed King of its Class, all others pale into insignificance."

The kuglouf is the signature item of Wellington Cake Shop, and was the one that drew all our attention when we saw it, not even knowing this fact.  So lofty, and, zomg, look at all that chocolate!!!  It was sliced into massive hunks, and no one seemed to mind the hefty portion sizes.

That said, I didn't love it, but I think this was just me not loving this general type of dessert.  This was my first kuglouf.  It was not moist, and it sorta looked like it should be flaky, but wasn't, both of which threw me off a bit.  I suspect that it might be much better warmed up (and with vanilla ice cream?).  I also didn't find that chocolate as pronounced as I'd expect given how visible it was.  So, dense, not moist, not flaky, and not particularly chocolately ... but people love this.

So for me, this was just ok, not great, and not something I wanted more of. **+.

Walnut Danish.

"Our Danish’s and Snails use the traditional Austro-Hungarian recipes and we make our own fillings – lush and moist."

I moved on to try another item, and I'm glad I did.  This was fabulous!  The pastry itself was top notch.  So ridiculously flaky and buttery.  Messy, and perfect.  The folds inside were nicely moist.

I still am not sure what the filling was (walnut and cinnamon?).  The filling was a slightly savory slightly sweet paste, with a subtle nuttiness to it.  I liked it.

I wish I knew what this is, but what I do know is that I truly enjoyed it.  ****.

Cheese Pocket.

I took one more item, again not knowing what it was.  I was drawn in by the generous dusting of powdered sugar on top.

This turned out to be delicious too, and I was rewarded with another slightly sweet, slightly savory filling, this one I think was cheesecake-like: sweetened ricotta, hint of citrus.  The pastry was again incredible, super flaky, super messy.  

Slightly better than the walnut danish, but I'd gladly have either again. ****+.

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Butter, Sydney

Butter is a fried chicken restaurant in Sydney.  A well regarded fried chicken restaurant.  The menu, as you may have guessed, is mostly, well, chicken.  Wings, tenders, sandwiches.  Fried chicken can also come on top a salad if you are attempting to be a touch healthy, or served with a hot donut, their signature combo.  They have a lineup of fries, loaded with things like chili, or poutine, or Japanese mayo, sauce, and bonito, or, um, even Nutella.

But none of those things drew me in.  I was drawn in by the other side dishes, mostly all vegetables.  Mashed potatoes and gravy.  Slaw.  Fried halloumi fingers.  Interestingly topped Asian greens.  Corn on the cob.  Let's just say, that after nearly a month in Australia, I was really craving some vegetables.  I had plenty of great food while there, but, my vegetable intake was quite low.  

So one night, when I had leftover proteins and carbs left to finish off at my hotel, I ordered just some sides to go with, in an attempt to have at least a few token vegetables in my day.  I ordered on DoorDash, and my order was quickly confirmed, and it was delivered in a reasonable time frame, well sealed, and moderately still warm.

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• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Miso Corny. $5.

"Corn on the cob, miso butter."

I started with the amusingly named "miso corny".  I have no idea if corn was in season, as it was the end of summer there (March) but corn on the cob sounded fabulous, and I do love miso and butter.

I had to laugh when I opened my takeout bag to find my corn in a little foil lined bag on its own, and, well, it was a single piece, just half a cob.  Uh ... the portion is *half* a cob?  That said, the corn was ripe, it was well cooked (no shrivled bits, not too tough, etc), and it was nicely smothered in butter.  I didn't taste any miso however, it just tasted like buttered corn, and badly called out for some salt or pepper.

So, well cooked, but a letdown in terms of flavor and portion size.  If you order direct, this is $4, on Doordash it was $5, which definitely seems high for half a cob.  ***.

Asian Greens. $11.

"Steamed and chilled Chinese broccoli with peanut dressing, togarashi and wasabi peas."

Next I moved on to the more interesting sounding dish, the Asian greens.

This dish I was excited for for both the Chinese broccoli itself (vegetables!  Green vegetables!) and the toppings.  I was pleased to see it was loaded up with the goodies on top.

The Chinese broccoli was fine.  Bite size pieces of stem, some bite sized pieces of greens.  A good base I guess.  The peanut dressing I expected to like, but wasn't really into.  It tasted more strongly like tahini than peanut to me.  There was tons of it, so impossible to get a bite of just greens to have something lighter and more vegetable forward.  The togarashi added interesting spice, but it seemed like it clashed a bit with the dressing.  Green onion was nice garnish for further Asian flair.  The crushed wasabi peas were great fun, crunchy and had a bit of kick.  Unique garnish, and one that worked.

Overall though, this felt a bit muddled, and wasn't really what I wanted at the time.

The portion of this was fairly small too, less than a small size deli container, definitely less than I was expecting. If you order direct, this is only $9, it was $11 on DoorDash, which again felt high.  ***.

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