Skinny Girl Nutrition Bars

I truly don't know how I wound up with a product from Skinny Girl in my snack pantry.  Sure, I love to try all kinds of snacks, and find bars handy to have around when I'm on the go, but this isn't really a brand that I'd seek out.

"With Skinnygirl™, you can have it all!  A balanced lifestyle with delicious products that help you celebrate the things you love. No guilt. No hassles."

Frankly, just reading their marketing makes me recoil slightly.  I'm all for balance, but, they go a bit too far for my tastes, and their iconic, well, skinny girl logo .... shutter.  

 

Anyway, I believe the brand name came to fame originally for low-cal cocktail recipes (and later, pre-made, ready to drink, supermarket cocktails), but they've dabbled in many different product offerings, including different supplements.  I tried only the nutrition bars, but they also currently make a line of salad dressings with only 5-10 calories per serving (huh, really?) and cocktail inspired preserves (again, so low cal it makes you wonder ...).

Bars

"Tasty Nutrition Bars"

The bars all are 170 calories or less, and have 6g of protein or more.  Like many similar products, the flavors of the Skinny Girl sound promising: chocolate chip cookie dough. Chocolate peanut butter with sea salt.  Etc.  Etc.

I rather assumed that they'd go the way of all other products that have my leave favorite ingredient, soy protein isolate, in them: awful!  I was pleasantly surprised.

Dark Chocolate Pretzel.

"SkinnyGirl Dark Chocolate Almond with Coconut Protein Bars offer all the benefits you want without compromising the decadent flavor that you love."

At a first glance, this at least didn't look like an awful nutrition bar.  I could see real chunks of peanut.  There was chocolate drizzled over the top, and the entire back side was coated in chocolate.

So I broke off a chunk.  I could tell the bar was made up of some actual ingredients.  Oats, nuts, bits of pretzel.  It didn't have a strange consistency.

It was ... well, a granola bar.  I liked the crunch from the peanuts, and the peanut flavor obviously.  It was a bit sticky in a good way.  The chocolate didn't taste like wax.

But a granola bar isn't something I'm ever going to get crazy excited about.  And, don't get me wrong, this wasn't actually made with "real" pure ingredients.  The ingredient list is quite long.  There are certainly some normal ingredients in there, like the peanuts, oats, almonds, and sugar, but there are plenty of other slightly less appealing things (like the long list of ingredients that make up the "chocolate coating" and the gluten-free pretzels).  But if you like granola bars, and want to try another one out, these aren't bad.  ***.

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Zero&

San Francisco has no shortage of bubble tea shops.   New ones crop up all the time.  Most don't really catch my eye, but one, Zero& (or 0&), did - and not just because the name is awkward.

"We’re proud to offer the highest quality, most unique hand-made fruit beverages on the market today. From our idea to your smile, we put lots of love and careful attention in each item. We hope you enjoy our work as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!"

Zero& is a small chain, with several stores in San Francisco, and others throughout the bay area.  The name, and concept, behind Zero& refers to the lack of additives - 0 additives. 0 artificial flavors. 0 calories sugar.  This means fruit drinks made with entire whole fruits - 20 whole lychees in the "lychee blossom", a whole coconut in the "coconut zero", half a pound of strawberries in the "strawberry marble", and so on.  Real ube and taro, no powders.  A lineup of drinks without a slew of unhealthy mix-ins or toppings.

But none of that really was enough to make me pay attention.  I've tried other healthier bubble tea shops before, like Aura, and I wasn't particularly impressed.  What drew me in to Zero& was actually NOT their drinks, but rather, their partnership with Hanabi Bakery, and some fantastic sounding pastries and cakes.  Now that sounds more like me, right?  You know how much I love my baked goods.

My first "visit" to a Zero& location was actually virtual, when I ordered from the Hayes Valley location online for delivery via DoorDash.  I placed my order online for desserts: a mini box cake, a croissant, and a cooler bag (mine had just ripped, seemed like a great coincidence that they had them on DoorDash!).  I put in my preferences to contact me if anything was out of stock (so they wouldn't just refund), so I could pick a different flavor/variety of the item.  I'd had such a hard time narrowing down my choices, I would have been fine picking my second choices.

Alas, when my Dasher checked out, I got the receipt, and ... they cancelled the mini cake entirely, and charged me for the cooler bag, but, it didn't arrive.  So in the end, I ordered 3 items, and only got one.  Sadness.  

I didn't really like my item all that much, but I was still drawn in to the concept and menu, so a few months later, when Zero& opened a shop in the Westfield mall near my house, I visited again, this time, in person.  In addition to trying more desserts, I also finally tried a drink.  The queue to place an order at the kiosk was looong, and the wait even longer.  They do have clear screens showing how many drinks are in the queue, and which ones they are working on, along with time estimates, so I was able to see that it was going to take nearly half an hour, once I finally got to the front to place my order.  In the future, I'll certainly just order online in advance, which I did my next visit.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Drinks

The drink lineup at Zero& is a bit different from many bubble tea shops.  While they do still have some common drinks, most are fairly curated and unique.  They do not have a huge lineup of toppings, only regular or crystal boba, and grape or lychee jelly.  That is it.  Some drinks come with cheese foam, but only a few, and you can't add it on to any others.  The only customizations you can make for the most part are sweetness (regular or "less", cane or zero calorie sugar - which is $0.50 more) and milk (regular milk, oat milk, or for some, milk tea base).  I wish they had more flexibility.

Cold

For cold drinks, Zero& has several categories: fruit (blended, whole fruit based drinks), Milk Tea (only some of which actually contain tea), and Pure Tea (actual teas).  You can customize the ice level in these to regular, less, or none.

Ube Taro Milk Tea (no caffeine).
Iced. Less Sweet. Add Boba. $5.95 + $0.50.

"Ube Purple Yam, Freshly Steamed Taro Paste, Fresh Grade A Milk."

Since I love ube, and taro, it should come as no surprise that my first drink was the ube taro milk tea.  Yes, ube and taro in the same drink?  I'm in!  It sounded perhaps a bit like the ube milk tea with taro puff cream and taro balls I got from Happy Lemon.  I added boba, and asked for less sweet.  I kept the regular milk.

It was quite clear this drink was made with real ingredients and not powders.  It was still a lovely shade of purple, even without the artificial ingredients.  The ube flavor was fairly subtle, but I really liked the generous amount of lightly sweetened taro paste at the base.  Since I got it less sweet, it was not overwhelmingly sweet.  The boba were fresh, not stuck together, had a light chew.

Overall, clearly a drink made with quality ingredients, although I did wish for a bit more strong flavor.  I'd consider the lychee jellies with this in the future, but really, I wanted to be able to add the cheese foam!  ***.

Baby Peach (Seasonal). $7.45 + $0.50.
Add Boba.

"Fresh Honey Peach, Jasmine Green Tea, Dragonfruit , Sea Salt Cheese Foam."

A companion went for one of the blended fruit drinks, made with a green tea base, peaches, and dragonfruit.  He added boba.  This is one of the lucky drinks available with the cheese foam.

This drink looked great!  Vibrant colors, such layers.  I didn't try it, but he enjoyed it, and said it reminded him a drink he had in China.

Lychee Blossom. $5.95.
No Sugar, Add Crystal Boba +$0.50.

"20 + Real Lychees, Edible Rose Petals."

My next visit, I went fruity, quite out of character for me, but, I wanted to try something quite different, and I had the impression that the real fruit drinks are where Zero& really shines.  I opted for the lychee drink, which I think is literally just made with a slew of lychees blended with ice.  I didn't add any additional sugar, since I knew lychees would be quite sweet on their own.  I added crystal boba, just to have some texture in there.

The drink was really nicely made, perfectly blended.  Really smooth slush.  It was also quite sweet, as, well, it was mostly just lychees.  A lovely sweetness, but, quite sweet nonetheless.  I can't imagine adding sugar to this.   I ended up adding some water to mine to water it down a bit once the sweetness got to be a bit much several gulps in.  It was the kind of drink that made me want to be on a beach, and, uh, spike it.  Drinking it in San Francisco dreary weather didn't seem quite appropriate.

I quite liked the crystal boba, they were firm but not hard, none stuck together, and complimented the lychee quite well, they almost seemed like lychee bits, but they were my added boba.  I definitely recommend that pairing.  The rose petals on top were visually pretty, but didn't add much to the drink.

I also did add sea salt cheese foam (+$1), but it was accidentally left off my drink.  I was able to get it on the side instead, and that worked out better anyway, as I could taste it separately.  It was a fairly lackluster version of cheese foam - not particularly cheesy, not particularly salty, not particularly great consistency.  I love good cheese foam, but this was pretty mediocre, more like, uh, slimier whipped cream? I did like it with the sweet slush though, nice to have the richness against the sweet lightness.

Overall, not the right drink for the setting, but a good drink, and very well made.  ***+.

Creme Brulee Muddy Milk. $5.45.
Less Ice, Add Boba +$0.50.

"Torched Crème Brûlée Cloud, Fresh Grade A Milk."

A friend got this, and, obviously, given my love of crème brulée, I *had* to try it, particularly when his response to "How is it?" was barely coming up for air to say "yum!", as he spooned up all the crème brulée goodness (and yes it came with a tiny spoon just for those purposes).

I tried only the topping, and I see why he enjoyed it.  It was a rich custard, more like a thicker anglaise than a more set actual crème brulée, which makes sense, given that it was on top of a drink after all.  So it was kinda thick, but fairly runny, and tasted deeply like custard.  If that doesn't sound great, it is just me poorly describing it, after all, haven't we all just wanted to lap up a vat of creme anglaise before?  It was exactly that, just with a lightly bruléed top, so it had a slight caramelization and crisp top.  Very, very tasty.

The rest of the drink was the muddy milk, I think brown sugar syrup sweetened milk, but I didn't try it.  No sweetness modifications are possible for this drink, but you could opt for oat milk if you wish.  He seemed to like it.

I'd definitely consider getting this myself in the future, although this is definitely a heavier, dessert style drink.  **** for the topping for sure. 

Hot

Most of Zero& drinks are iced or blended, but they have a few warm options too: warm versions of the ube taro, cream brulee, and teapuccino milk teas, or hot versions of the jasmine blossom or peach oolong.  No warm fruity options.

Black Sesame Blizzard. $6.45 + $0.50.
Hot. Oat Milk. Less Sweet. Add Crystal Boba.

"House Black Sesame Paste, Fresh Grade A Milk, Signature Black Sesame Cream."

The black sesame blizzard is a brand new drink on the Zero& menu, available in both iced and warm versions.  Even though I love taro and ube, I went for this one day, as I do quite like black sesame, and it is a more rare find.  I get black sesame whenever I can, like in dumplings at Din Tai Fung, or ice cream like with the shaved ice at Ice Monster in Tokyo, excellent hard serve at Polly Ann here in SF, or creamy, dreamy soft serve at places like Soft Swerve in NYC, Chanoma Cafe or Rice Workshop in Sydney.  Of course, I've had other drink versions too, like the taro sesame milk at Original Royaltea in Sydney or black sesame latte at K Tea Cafe in Sunnyvale.

It was a cold, rainy, gloomy day, and I opted for the hot version, as I was looking to warm up, and be comforted.  I went for less sweet, and made with oat milk, and added crystal boba.  I think this was my first ever warm drink with boba added.

My drink clearly had been made a while before my number was called as it was barely lukewarm when I got it, even though I was standing by waiting and waiting for it (it took 20+ minutes!).  I have to dock Zero& a few points for that, as it really would have been better warmer.  That said, I did still really enjoy it.

The drink is made with housemade black sesame paste, which I found lining the inside of my cup too. Again, no powders here, only real ingredients.  It was thick and rich, and had a really strong nutty flavor.  A sophisticated nutty though, akin to tahini.  I had oat milk as the base, and that was a nice match for it.  It was lightly sweet, just as I had asked for (only regular or light are options, no option to have no sweet).

On top is black sesame whipped cream, which melted in since I had it warm, like it would in a hot chocolate.  I think this would work better on the iced version, as mine really had mostly melted in by the time I got it (again, also likely due to it sitting there so long?).  Still, the sesame whipped cream was tasty.  The crystal boba I was a bit hesitant to add in a warm drink, not quite knowing how that would work (would they melt?) but actually it was fine.  They stayed nice and soft, not gummy, not clumped together, lightly sweet, and fun to suck up.  I suspect lychee jellies would be a nice match too if you wanted sweeter.  

Overall, this was warm, creamy, nutty, and comforting.  Exactly what I was looking for.  Only downside (besides the lukewarmness)?  Black teeth after I drank it!

****.

Desserts (By Hanabi)

"Delicate desserts, beautifully designed and handcrafted with love. Healthy and mind-glowingly delicious."

"Our vision is to bring customers a refined handcrafted dessert selection with all-natural ingredients and modern designs. Our menu is composed of modern French mousse cakes, delicate desserts and bread inspired by flavors from different cultures around the world. Every product crafted by Hanabi kitchen is lovingly handmade by our trained bakers, after multiple rounds of testings and improvements before presenting to customers." 

The baked goods and desserts at Zero& all come from Hanabi Bakery, a small establishment founded by a pastry chef who had worked at Craftsmen & Wolves and several Michelin starred restaurants.  I don't think the bakery has a retail storefront of their own, but their goods are sold at several other places around town, and they do a lot of catering.

Baked Goods

Hanabi makes some pretty awesome sounding breads, including savory korean garlic bread and a croque monsieur croissant, and filled sweet croissants like ube almond, pandan almond, thai tea, and more.  Oh, and don't get me started on the sound of the taro pork sung croissant, an all butter croissant stuffed with fresh taro paste, kewpie mayo, and covered in pork sung and furikake.  Zero& doesn't carry the entire collection, but, most of it.

Sesame Almond Croissant. $5.95.

"Butter Croissant; Sesame Almond Cream; Almond Slices."

Given my adoration of black sesame, it should come as no surprise that the first baked good I had from Hanabi was the black sesame almond croissant.

I knew before I ordered, from seeing photos online, that Hanabi's style of croissants isn't a bready, lofty style, they are more dense, flatter.  I think these are made like classic double baked almond croissants, just, with different pastes inside (and obviously, on top).

The croissant was ... fine.  It was very flaky, very messy, and clearly high butter content.  Best heated up.  Not really a croissant I'd rave about, no amazing layers, but, better than an average cafe croissant.  

On top was baked on sesame paste and tons of sesame seeds, both black and white.  The sesame flavor was there, but I didn't taste anything almond-like.  The menu description said "almond slices", but I didn't see any on top, nor inside.  The seeds on top made an amazing mess as I cut or bit into the croissant.

Think of the messiest, flakiness croissant you've had, the kind where you have rubble all around you, and this was that, just, magnified.  In addition to shards of croissant, there were sesame seeds all around me.

Sesame Almond Croissant: Inside.

Inside was a very thin layer of more sesame paste.  I was really let down by how little paste there was, as it was pretty easily lost.  I also realized that I really wanted a cream filled croissant, not just a paste.

Overall, I'd call this a fine croissant, and nice to have something other than a standard almond one, but, it wasn't an amazing croissant, and the filling was not very generous.  I'd try something else next time, not another croissant.

***.

Cakes

A major focus of Hanabi bakery is cakes.  Full size cream cakes with amazing flavors like the Chestnut Château with mocha butter chiffon cake, chestnut paste, vanilla whipping ganache cream, chestnut chantilly cream, edible gold flakes, roasted chestnuts, chocolate covered espresso beans, and fresh sage leaves.  Mousse cakes like layered uji matcha mousse and coconut mousse with matcha dacquoise.  Stunning mirror glaze creations.  None of these are available at Zero&, but Zero& does carry the individual size "Mini box" cakes.

Mini box cakes come in several different flavors year round, with seasonal specials like pumpkin in the fall and a lunar new year red velvet.  They also even make some gluten-free.

Matcha Jasmine Mini Box. $8.99.

"Uji Matcha Chiffon Cakes, Jasmine Green Tea Whipping Ganache, Uji Matcha Chantilly Cream, White Chocolate Crunchy Pearls."

When I visited, all of the non-gluten free options were caffeinated, with either chocolate components or matcha.  My companion got the matcha one, and it looked amazing.  She ended up not trying it then, opting to take it home for later, so I wasn't able to steal a bite. 

Rose Lychee Mini Box. $8.99. 
Gluten-Free.

"Gluten-Free Vanilla Chiffon, Light Rose Chantilly Cream and Whole Milk Powder, Whole Lychee Fruit, Edible Rose Petals and Edible Gold Flakes."

I didn't want caffeine, and sadly they were sold out of the taro and black sesame ones I was eying, so I took a gamble on the rose lychee box.  I do like rose and lychee, but I was wary of the gluten-free cake base.  

This was ... ok.  I don't think the gluten-free nature was the problem, but I wasn't really a fan of the cake layers.  I realized I don't generally really like chiffon cake.  It was fairly moist, and light, but, boring.  Like angel food cake.  I just never want that kind of light cake.  Bring on the butter please!  

The chantilly cream was lightly sweet and lightly rose flavored, a pretty subtle, lightly floral, fairly lovely flavor.  I liked it.  Within the layers, there were chopped up bits of lychee jellies, like the kind you get in a bubble tea, along with a full lychee split in half on top.  The lychee was sweet in all the right ways.  The rose petals were pretty but I didn't actually like the texture they added.  Mine had only two tiny bits of gold flake.

So overall, the cream was tasty, and I liked the lychee and rose flavors, but, as a layered cake, this wasn't a winner for me.  **+.

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Spice I Am, Surry Hills, Sydney

Update Review, Nov 2023

To me, Thai food is a key selling point of spending time in Sydney.  You've heard me talk about it before. The thai food there is in another realm of existence compared to Thai food in the US (and definitely compared to San Francisco).  Some of it is certainly the access to fresher Southeast Asian ingredients, some of it is certainly the large immigrant population from Thailand, which provides both cooks/chefs to staff the restaurants, but also, they seem to have a customer base that isn't afraid of spice, and, in fact, *wants* it.  Spice levels at most of the Thai restaurants in Sydney are considerably higher than their US counterparts.  And I love it.

So during my recent stay in Sydney, when I was craving spice, Thai delivery it was.  I opted to order from Spice I Am again, as I was curious to try more of the menu again (I used to visit in person years ago, long before I had a blog).  My order was ready *incredibly* quickly, and my Dasher fast and efficient.  From the time I ordered, until it was in my hands, was less than 20 minutes, even though the restaurant is in Surry Hills, and I was staying near Darling Harbor.  

Nam Khao Tod. $27.50.

"Crispy rice salad with Thai sour pork, chilli powder, ground peanut, coriander, red onion, spring onion and mint leaves (serve with lettuce)."

I discovered the concept of crispy rice salad at Mumu in Sydney last year, and I've been on the hunt for it again since, hence my ordering it at Fish Cheeks in NYC this summer.  When I saw it on the Spice I Am menu, it was no question that I wanted to order it.

It came in two containers, with the lettuce separate.  Other crispy rice salads I have had used a big wedge of cabbage, which I really prefer, but this lettuce was fresh and crisp, and I could sorta make lettuce wraps with it, so, just different from a cabbage wedge.

The crispy rice salad was fairly different from the version at Fish Cheeks, even though they were described very similarly.  The Fish Cheeks version had more clumps of rice, with a crispy side to them, but, they were large, so were also mushy in areas.  It also had very bright hunks of the pork sausage, and whole peanuts, and not much in the way of herbs besides the garnish on top.  The Spice I Am version was all smaller bits of rice, some of which were nicely crispy.  There were a few full peanuts, but most were ground and integrated throughout.  The pork was much smaller pieces, and blended in both texturally and color wise with the rest of the dish.  It had more fresh herbs (mint, parsley, etc).  And yes, some legit chilis right on top.  

The dish was cold, which I wasn't expecting.  The delivery was so fast, and it was a hot night, so I think perhaps they really do serve it cold?  I was caught off guard by that.  The textures were good, lots of crispy bits.  The heat level was perfect for me, never too spicy, but enough to slow me down a bit to have a sip of wine.  I did like the funky flavor of the fermented pork bits, and the overall complex sour and spicy notes.

Overall, it was good, but I probably wouldn't get again.  Maybe better served in the restaurant, if it is warm? And a touch more crispy?  Still, I think fairly authentic, and yay for spices.  ***+.

Original Review, March 2020

Sydney has no shortage of excellent Thai restaurants.  It was after my time living there that I realized just how poor the Thai food is in the US (at least, where I've lived).  I've visited all the Sydney institutions by now, including those that have since closed (tears, I miss you Sailor's Thai (particularly the Canteen!!)

This visit to Sydney however, I didn't really have time to go out and dine, and worse, it was raining nearly the entire time, so venturing out to get food one particularly wet evening, after having just gotten back to the hotel from the office, soaking wet, just wasn't appealing.  Thus, delivery it was.  And I knew Thai food would be a solid delivery option - curries hold heat well, there are plenty of interesting chilled dishes, and, well, Sydney has good Thai food.

I took the opportunity to order from Spice I Am, which has been on my list for quite a while, but is known for having long waits.  Definitely known for having seriously authentic Thai food, and the chef has won many awards.  While I did have a wait a while for my order, at least I did it from the comfort of my hotel room!  Delivery was via Deliveroo, as with most places in Sydney.

Thai Feast for One.

I ordered one starter, one salad, and one curry.  Yes, I ordered way too much food for one person in a single sitting.  But since I was getting delivery getting just one dish didn't make sense, and I wanted to have at least two items in case I didn't like one.  Hedge my bets. And I knew it would all keep fine for a few days in my fridge, which, of course I had in my hotel room (along with a microwave of course).

The menu at Spice I Am is quite extensive, and narrowing down on just a few dishes was hard enough.  I was able to easily look past the soups and "Light Meals" - which really seemed like appetizers - but with 9 different salads, 21 "Specials of the Day", 18 stir fries, 8 curries, noodle dishes, rice dishes, and more "Specialties" ... making decisions was hard.

I settled on one "Special of the Day", a dish I knew was a cold dish so would travel well, one salad (which I thought was cold but wasn't!), and one hot main dish.  It was hard to pick just one main hot item, but since I was getting delivery I decided a curry would be better than a stir fry or noodle dish, or any of the specials, as it would hold heat, and not get soggy.

The food was all decent, arrived nicely packaged, and delivered in the spice department as expected.  I wasn't really blown away by anything though, but I have no real complaints.

Mieng Ka Na (With Finger Lime). $19.

"Sweet and sour spicy flossy pork, finger lime, ginger, shallot, and fresh chili. Served with green Chinese broccoli leaf."

First up, my starter: mieng ka na.

This came from the "Specials of the Day" section of the menu, which, as far as I can tell, doesn't actually change with the day.  Of all the dishes I ordered, it was the one I was most eager to try.  It sounded fascinating.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a winner for me.

The idea is you make little wraps with the broccoli leaf.  The leaf part was a success, not a leaf I normally eat raw, and I liked how crisp it was.  I'd love to fill it with other things.

But this filling ... well, it seemed to be 85% coconut?  Coconut wasn't even listed in the ingredients.  I don't mind coconut, but, I wasn't looking for coconut filling.  I wanted flossy pork!  And there was a little bit of flossy pork in there, stringy, savory, and I think good, but, alas, all I could taste was coconut.  There were also chunks of cashew (yay crunch) and good herbs, but I certainly didn't find any of the promised finger lime either.

So ... no finger lime, not much flossy pork, and mostly coconut?  Yeah, meh.  By the forkful it certainly wasn't good, made into wraps it was a little better, and mixed into salad later as leftovers it was best, but I ended up throwing out much of it.  I just didn't enjoy it. *.

This is a cold dish, in case you were wondering.

Yum Pla Krob Salad. $23.

"Salad of Thai herbs with crispy seasoning whitebait, cashew nut, chilli, eschallot, coriander, and mint leaves."

This was a bit of a random order on my part, but I wanted dishes that would hold up well for delivery (so, cold was ideal), and I wanted lighter dishes (given all the decadent consumption I was doing), and, well, I wanted something fresh (so much fried food, way too many ridiculous desserts, and really no fresh veggies or fruits in days!).   So a salad met those requirements.

The salad line up had all sorts of interesting sounding options, and I really was curious about the Nam Khao Tod Salad (crispy rice salad?!), but I decided getting a rice salad wasn't exactly what I was aiming for.  The yum pla krob kept jumping out instead.

I had no idea what this salad would be like however, but, I knew there would be herbs (which I thought would be the dominant ingredient ...), and some fried little fishes?  I couldn't picture it, and I think that made me even more interested.

What I really wasn't expecting was a hot dish though.  I guess it makes sense that it was hot, cold fried little fishes doesn't really sound that appealing now that I think about it, but I was surprised to open my order and find a hot salad.

A tasty hot salad.  Definitely my surprise favorite dish.  But not exactly the lightness nor vegetables I was looking for.

The whitebait were the star attraction, battered in really well seasoned coating, and super crispy.  They were intensely fishy, in a good way.  Crispy fried flavorful little fishes.  Definitely not for everyone but I happen to adore anchovies and sardines, so these were right up my alley.

The "salad" mix did have plenty of herbs, lots of eshallot, mint, and coriander, plus of course chilis.  Oh, and cashews for more crunch, although they weren't needed really at all given the crispy fish.

It all was soaked in some kind of dressing, a bit sweet, a bit sour, and I think fish sauce based.  Extra fishiness.  Very, well, thai, in that there were lots of flavors that were playing together in fascinating and actually balanced ways.

Overall, I enjoyed this, found it totally fascinating, and did really like the crispy fish.  I *did* want some fresh salad though, and ended up pulling baby kale out of my fridge and tossing this with it, and liked it considerably more that way.  I also kinda wanted a mayo or aioli drizzle ... but that is just me really liking fried food and mayo based dipping sauces these days.

My favorite dish, although I preferred my modified salad version.  ***+.

I saved the leftovers, and enjoyed all the non-fish bits cold the next day, they really soaked up the flavorful spices, and the batter on the fish was actually *very* tasty at that point, although soft and soggy.  As I suspected, the cold fried leftover little fishes weren't good, but I may have sucked off a bunch of the batter, and really enjoyed it ...

Green Curry, Vegetable. $18.

"Traditional green chili curry with Thai eggplant and pork blood jelly."

For my curry, I kinda wanted the red curry.  I kinda wanted the yellow curry (I had a fantastic yellow curry a few days prior that I couldn't get out of my head).  I was tempted by the special duck curry.  But I went for green curry, fascinated by the addition of "pork blood jelly".  Is that ... traditional?  I had no idea.

I knew I didn't want chicken or pork, and although I like beef it isn't my top choice for green curry.  I almost splurged (+$7) for the seafood, but I actually often dislike calamari in Sydney, and wasn't really sure what was included in the seafood mix.  The prawn option was also $7 and I wasn't excited by it, so, veggie I went.   I often find that I somehow eat very few vegetables when I'm in Sydney, so this also seemed like a good thing.  Plus, veggie soak up curry well!

I didn't realize that veggie mean tofu, so I was sad when I saw the big triangles of tofu (I don't like it), but, I hope it also had more interesting vegetables in it than the others?  It did have a decent assortment:green beans, carrots, button mushrooms, and other mushrooms, in addition to the thai eggplant.  The veggies were all cooked fine, nothing mushy, nothing too crisp.  I can't say the veggies were remarkable or interesting, but nothing wrong with them.

The curry was ... spicy.  As I expected.  I knew Spice I Am is known for being authentic, and they don't have spice levels, so, spicy I expected.  The visible red chilis were only part of the heat.  The coconut milk and strong aromatics in the curry helped balance the heat though, and I didn't find it overwhelming. There was plenty of lemongrass I believe?

As you can see, it was fairly oily, which wasn't pleasant to see, but it didn't actually taste oily.

Overall, it was fine.  Spicy, well prepared, and I really did like all the herbs and fragrance to it. It didn't strike me as remarkable though, and to be honest, I liked the green curry I had a few days prior elsewhere more.  My least favorite dish.  I appreciated that this was packaged with additional plastic wrap around it to not make a mess. **+.

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