Eating Out in Newtown!

Whilst I could make a pretty extensive list of the things I don't like about uni, here are a couple of things I do like

1. Not having to do certain subjects I don't like *ahem* english *ahem*

2. Being able to finish early on some days (even if I don't get home until much later....)

3. Meeting some pretty awesome new friends :D

4. The clubs and societies, which are pretty interesting (oh...and the free food!)

5. The location of my uni

Let me explain. Despite the long trip to uni, I do love the fact that my uni is situated near some pretty interesting suburbs I'd read about before (on food blogs of course!) but had never any idea as to where they were. Being slightly adventurous, I headed off to Newtown for lunch with a friend (in the second week of uni), a suburb which I'd heard many wonderful things about. Not knowing exactly where it was, we caught the train to Newtown and wandered along the big street until we passed many thai restaurants, eventaully settling for this one, as it was already busy. Pad Kee Mao- $6.50

Inside, it was incredibly busy and loud with the chatter of the many groups of uni students amongst the background of the roaring kitchen. Most of the tables are already taken, and we were ushered to a small table. Luckily, the waitresses were too busy to take our order quickly- so I had plenty of time to choose what to order. The lunch special menu, which was incredibly cheap ($6.50), was also quite extensive with everything ranging from curries to stir fries. I settled for this Pad Kee Mao- soft rice noodles, stir fried with chilli and basil. It's a very generous size for its price, and I love the sweet sauce which coats the noodles- it's terribly addictive.

Black Rice Pudding

Half way through the meal, the waitresses offered us dessert, which we hesitantly took, not knowing whether or not we had to pay for it. This small serving of black rice pudding- a delicious combination of cooked black rice, mixed with coconut milk- was the perfect way to end the meal. Being a huge fan of coconut, I loved this dessert, and could have easily gulped down a few more servings!

Pad Kee Mao- $6.50

A week later, I find myself back at Newtown, this time with another friend who I've managed to find with the same break as me (yay!). Making sure to check the map before wandering off, we avoided the lengthy train trip and walk, to find that simply walking here from uni it much much quicker. This means we do arrive quite early- earlier than the restaurants open, which is why we find ourselves in this restaurant- which opened its doors a little earlier than the others.

After spending quite a while deciding over what to order, I settle for the Pad Kee Mao again, in hope for a similarly satisfying dish as last time. The dish arrives superfast, and looks promising, though quite different from last weeks- and it tastes so too. It uses less sauce and so it drier and has much less of a sweet flavour, with the emphasis more on the chilli and the basil. Though I do prefer the previous one better, I do enjoy this one too and would happily order it again.

Deep fried pork with rice $6.50

My friend's order of deep fried pork comes as a surprisingly large dish which looks so good I probably would have ordered it if I'd seen someone else eating it :) And it tasted as good as it looked- big pieces of pork, deep fried with a crispy crumbed batter were served with a sweet chilli sauce, along with a big mound of rice. My friend didn't manage to finish it all herself- I had not problem helping her out!