Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy

Dragon fruit

This is one of the many crazy fruits I can find at the farm stands in the Central Market. This is a dragon fruit, and their bright magenta and green colors always catch my eye. The inside is white with black seeds, and it has the texture of kiwi. But it tastes quite bland, just slightly sweet. It has a sort of indistinguishable flavor. Oh, and just a warning. There was actually no dragon on the inside of this fruit at all. Liars.

The insides of the dragon-less fruit.

According to the net, this is also called pitaya, and is popular in Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Southeast Asian countries, which is probably where mine came from. The fruit actually comes from a few different species of cactus. To eat, chill the fruit, then slice in half and scoop out the insides. Oh, and just a warning?it may turn your pee colors. Could be a plus if you like peeing your name into the snow. I?m just saying. ~LTG

We’re excited for curry!

Curry goodness.

Can’t…move. Curry…slowing…muscles…down…

Warning: Mass consumption of especially delicious curry may cause excessive bloating, slowed reflexes and an uncontrollable desire to cuddle with slightly obese kittens. ~LTG

The reason why South Aussies are so happy, the frog cake.

Hey there, remember me? Brown girl, cute, a bit too interested in food? Yup, I?m still alive, but just barely. In 13 days, my 15,000 word dissertation on food blogs is due. In 17 days, I move back to Chicago from Adelaide, South Australia. I also happen to have less focus than a meer cat on meth. But hey, at least I still have an appetite. Read the rest of this entry »

Caramelized sea scallop and house-cured pork sausage with minted peas: here to rock your world a little bit more.

Urban Bistro is good. Really good. Like, rock my world-good. Like, lick my plate and stab the waiter if he tries to take it too soon-sort of good (sorry). Read the rest of this entry »

I love this place.

Once upon a time, I went to a tiny little church in South Australia near the ocean. It was on a side street I never would have happened upon had I not known about it. A mammoth cat and two llamas greeted my arrival. Inside, I was served some amazing local food and it rocked my world a bit. It tasted fresh, delicious, complex and thoughtful, and that was only breakfast. So I went again, this time for dinner. Of course, this was even better than the first experience, so I was hooked. When my second ever surfing trip took me near the tiny church (what a coincidence), of course I had to go a third time. Some might say I had planned the entire event as an excuse to eat at the Hundred Eaves. Ignore those people—they’re drunk. And jealous. Read the rest of this entry »

One of our recent assignments was to write three different restaurant reviews, and my friend Joanne chose to cover the Belgian Beer Caf? in Adelaide. Sure, they have food, but what fun is that? Thus, we sampled the finest and strangest beers they had available. Yup. School is hard work. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether it?s steaming hot street cart elotes or a warm, fresh stack of homemade corn tortillas topped with guacamole and queso fresco, I love me some Mexican food. Which makes sense, since I come from the United States. The U.S. is so close to Mexico, we are lucky enough to be blessed with their amazing cuisine. In my hometown of Chicago alone, supermercados abound, taquerias are on practically every corner and are a welcome sight for the 4am drunk munchies, and of course, who could forget the Maxwell Street Market every weekend, home to some of the best tamales this lady has ever tasted. Even in the major national grocery store chains like Jewel, you will find a decent representation of Mexican ingredients at your disposal. Salsa recently topped ketchup as the number one condiment in America! It’s almost impossible to ignore the Mexican influences on food in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

The partner and I got surprised with a random FREE trip to a local restaurant, the Apothecary 1878. It’s a wine and tapas bar/restaraunt on Hindley in Adelaide, and we’ve been wanting to try it for a while. Never one to turn down a good free meal, we went. Not a lot to say. The food was pretty good, but for the price, didn’t really blow me away. I forgot to get a picture of the antipasto plate we started with, but I have a feeling their tapas are especially good. Read the rest of this entry »

I will admit it?ever since eating at Eros, I have been craving Greek/ Mediterranean/ Lebanese food something fierce. And since I obviously can?t afford to eat at Eros every day, I?ve been forced to find to suitable alternative. This week we decided to try to Al Amir, a restaurant not even two blocks away from our house that boasted large, appetizer styled menus. It’s nothing fancy, just some tables, a bar, big windows that look down on the busy street below, and some strobe lights that made up the dance floor. And apparently, the Lebanese dig their dancing. Read the rest of this entry »

I was reading a local food writer in a free alternative paper here in Adelaide, and she had enthusiastically promoted a Lebanese restaurant called Quiet Waters in Adelaide, over on Hindley Street in the City Business District. I?ll be honest?the review itself seemed?well, over the top. Only so many kinds of food can ?take your breath away? or ?leave you breathless?, and yet it seemed to happen to this reviewer every dish. But I wanted to give the reviewer the benefit of the doubt, and I love Lebanese food, so we went to try it out. Read the rest of this entry »

Throwing a wedding and moving to another country within four months can certainly do a number on your bank account, but occasionally, I will treat myself to a nice meal. This was one of those times. I live in the heart of city of Adelaide, right next to a large outdoor mall and the East End area of restaurants. Most of the surrounding restaurants are a bit pricy, but we finally got a chance to eat at one of them, Eros Ouzeri. Read the rest of this entry »

On the suggestion from a local Aussie pal, the partner and I hit up Burger It in North Adelaide this past weekend. It was described as a nicer burger place, hip even. And my Mom doesn?t call me the hippest girl she knows for nothing, guys. Its time I put all that hip to good use? of the burger kind. Read the rest of this entry »