Tag: Newtown

Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown, revisited

This is our second time at Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown. Last time it was us and Rachel as her husband couldn’t make it because of an emergency operation. This time though, we all made it. Eventually.

Gigi Pizzeria is one hip vegan pizza place in Newtown and their pizza is quite a hit even among the meat eaters. Well, they must be doing something, right?

This was their special for that particular day and I have no idea what the ingredients were but it was quite tasty. That’s all I have to say about that.

I know what this one is because we had the same one last time. It is called Funghi e Radicchio (Swiss brown mushrooms, garlic, dairy free blue cheese, parsley, radicchio, & roasted walnuts, extra virgin olive oil).

As for the dolci (desserts), we had:

Tiramisu di Gigi (above). Coffee soaked homemade Savoiardi biscuits layered with plant based Marsala cream dusted with cacao.

Torta all’arancia (above). Orange almond & polenta sponge served with orange candy & fresh berries.

Pastiera di gigi (above) which is orange blossom whole wheat & candied citrus tart.

Restaurant Review: Bliss & Chips, Newtown

We have been wanting to try Bliss & Chips since they opened in 2015. On one of those days, we just happen to be in Newtown and were ready to have a late lunch. There it was: Bliss & Chips.

For those of you who don’t know what kind of a place Bliss and Chips is… It’s a vegan fish and chips place. I remember talking to a girl at Cruelty Free Festival one year. She told me that she had plans of opening a vegan fish and chips place but I doubt that this is her place. She was Eastern bloc whereas this place has an Asian feel to it.

They do battered faux-fish and seafood, deep-fried pizza, breakfast, burgers and desserts. There is a list of the sauces up on the menu because you order them separately. They have their menu on three boards on the wall as well as on the tables. The boards are in such chaos, it took us ages to decide what to order.

We had the ‘seafood’ basket (2 fish cocktails, 1 crabstick, 2 prawns, 2 calamari). I must admit, they were heavy, bland and all four-variety tasted pretty much the same to me.

We also had some extra ‘fish’ as seen in the photo below. They were no different to the other stuff in the ‘seafood basket’ at all.

You need to order your chips separately, like we did. And it costs $5 for regular size and $9 for large.

Our adopted daughter at the time had some quinoa tabbouleh and sweet potato wedges. She said the sweet potato wedges weren’t cooked properly. They had larger chunks in the mix and of course they were still hard inside after being cooked.

I must admit, everything has this tacky and cheap feel to it at Bliss & Chips like the menu (photo below) and the board. This is what I do not like about some of the vegan eateries. Because we’re vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean that we have lower standards. On top of that, everything—pretty much everything—is deep-fried; you never feel good afterwards.

While everything being cheap looking, the food isn’t. You pay for your sauces, chips and pretty much everything that is supposed to go together.

I wouldn’t go back to Bliss & Chips in a hurry but if you must go, Bliss & Chips can be found in this address:
215 King St, Newtown
NSW 2042
No website

Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown

Gigi Pizzeria is one hip vegan pizza place we have been thinking about going for a long time. I don’t know how many times we talked about it. In the end, though, it all came together when a friend from the area suggested to have dinner together at Gigi Pizzeria on a Saturday evening.

No reservations
They do not take bookings and the place is always busy, especially on the weekends. So, you queue outside until a table is available. We would’ve liked to sit at the entrance overlooking the street but ended up sitting so close to the oven. I would say we felt the heat, especially on an incredibly hot evening. You know how hot it gets in Sydney and you sweat in all kinds of weird places even without the help of a pizza oven.

Food at Gigi Pizzeria
Well, everything is vegan here. They use the traditional Neapolitan method of pizza making. Their pizza oven is a wood-fired one with a stone base. All of their pizza is same size: 13 inches in diameter.

Here’s what we had at Gigi Pizzeria:
Funghi e Radicchio (below)
Swiss brown mushrooms, garlic, dairy free blue cheese, parsley, radicchio, & roasted walnuts, extra virgin olive oil.

Cavolo (below)
Cauliflower puree, artichokes, pine nuts, capers, currants, garlic & parsley, extra virgin olive oil.

This was quite an experience with vegan pizza and we are actually thinking of going back to Gigi Pizzeria again soon.