Four Friends - Meeting with Katze 2013

There was a Buddhist story about four friends including a bird, a rabbit, a monkey and an elephant, they then work together towards the benefits of all...

On the particular summer afternoon, "My Hunger will go on" was invited by Nicola from Polkadot PR to meet up the owners Katze and Jimmy of "Four Friends" at Crows Nest. It was indeed a wonderful and memorable experience for us.

Before you start reading more, we'd like to share a story with all of you. This is an ordinary yet beautiful story behind the creation of "Four Friends", and "My Hunger will go on" was very glad to have the opportunity to hear it from Katze (Apologies about the background noise as there were other customers there on the day).




Now let's have a look at this small yet unique café that's full of love, joy, and sweetness...

We found this café straight away with its banner displaying the animals from "Four Friends". The café was actually opened at end of 2012, and it was owned by a lovely couple Katze and Jimmy.

We were greeted by friendly staffs and a whole selection of Chocolates behind the glasses. The variety was so colourful and it certainly did grab our attentions.

We noticed they had some products made for the upcoming Christmas, and these will surely make a delightful treat for the kids.

At "Four Friends", they also have High Tea and it seemed just as amusing as its Chocolate selections :) I found the decorations at "Four Friends" very cheerful and fun, they almost reminded you of childhood, where things are so colourful and simple. We spotted this large print of the animals from "Four Friends", they seemed to have pointed out the direction of more features waiting upstairs.

Before we headed upstairs, I have noticed these Macarons, again they were colourful.

Also we couldn't stop admiring this box that's full of Chocolates with amazing designs, and it seems to be a cute Christmas gift for someone you love.

After heading upstairs, we realised the area was actually quite spacious. There were sofa, chairs and tables, and they all had piles of magazines on them for people to read. The back area had 2 smaller chairs and sofa, dedicated to the lovely kids who visit here with their parents.

Guess what this is? (Yes, it's the wall!)

We saw Jimmy first where he offered us to try their milk Chocolate drinks, they were soon delivered by the staffs in luxurious-looking cups and plates that came in golden stripes. Katze later told us she wanted them to catch people's eyes, they definitely have!

Here was our tasting plate at "Four Friends" for the day, and it was called "The planet" according to Katze. There were different desserts on the plates, some big, some small, they all came in different shapes and colours, yet they were all sweet and aimed to bring happiness. Katze believed this reflected our world and our planet, regardless of the differences in us, we shall be considered as one (A larger tasting plate is also available called "The galaxy"). Katze also emphasized on the importance of being stress-free and eating healthy these days, hence she strives to create their products with organic and natural ingredients.

See the lucky cat on the left hand side? Katze encouraged us to try it after we had a go on all the other sweets. Honestly, we didn't expect what was inside, and it turned out to be the biggest surprise of the whole plate. The inner core was covered in pieces of popping lollies, something to remind all of us of our innocence and happiness back in our childhood days.

Katze said the most important thing in life is "Happiness", where we shall stress less, respect each other, be ourselves, be grateful of what we have, and love and support the world we live in. She has seen so many busy people nowadays who perhaps already forgotten how to smile. Thus she wanted to create somewhere people can sit and relax, and somewhere calm and peaceful, somewhere just like home. She believes "Four Friends" is somewhere unique like this, somewhere she hopes to bring others happiness.

"My favourite animal is elephant", Katze said it when we talked about the four animals, I asked why. Her answer was very simple, as she sees elephant as the most gentle and peaceful animal in the world.

Next time you pass by Crows Nest, perhaps you shall stop by "Four Friends". Perhaps you shall sit there and just breathe in the friendly air, and forget all your worries and anxieties. Sometimes happiness is all about simplicity, so clear your mind and just pause for one moment. Then perhaps, you will feel the efforts that this young couple has put into "Four Friends" and learn to appreciate little things again in life.


Thank you so much to Katze and Jimmy for sharing their inspiring story with  "My Hunger will go on", we will certainly look forward to seeing them again sometimes in the future.

PS: WISH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!


Address:
5/29 Holtermann Street, Crows Nest NSW

Phone number:
0415 068 881

Opening time:
Mon - Fri 7am - 5pm
Sat 9am - 5pm


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Batch Burgers & Espresso

There's something fascinating about the traditional American diner style, the New-York themed café and its giant sized burgers. With half of the area inside "Batch Burgers & Espresso" being occupied by the kitchen and constant sizzling aroma crawling to the street outside, the friendly waitress showed us our high bar seats right in front of our chefs for the night.

The menus were almost like they were stamped onto the tables, displaying their impressive list of burgers with familiar names such as Brooklyn and the Miami, and as well as a whole range of side dishes. The workers smiled and greeted their customers, occasionally having a small chat about foot ball and Saturday night drinks. Multiple numbers of takeaway bags filled up the kitchen tables, lining up and shuffling in the speed of light. The chunky mince patties flashed right before our eyes, accompanied by a whole bunch of fries dancing in the frying spots. It was hot, and certainly appealing for a Saturday night dinner along with lively American Hip Hop beats on the background.




Snacks - Chilli Fries $7.00

We had never thought fries could come in this form, where it's covered by small and chopped up pieces of mince along with cheese and spicy sauce. The mixture turned out surprisingly zesty, and every mouthful was full of flavours. Bun loved it, so there goes 3/4 of the bowl. I would certainly recommend this, and it's probably more enjoyable when shared with someone.





Burgers - Spicy Mexican $14.00

While we sat there, I think we heard about 3 others ordering this same burger, so it got to be GOOD! This humongous burger contained chilli mince, smoked cheddar, tomato, Spanish onion, Jalapenos & sour cream with hot taco sauce, so it was an absolute masterpiece I must say. The burger was so big that I found it very difficult to fit into the bite of my little mouth, so I had to slice it apart and watched the precious cheese and mince fell and splat on the plate. The buns has done a good job trying to hold each layer properly in place, despite the obvious observation that the chunky mince patty wanted to shoot out desperately. The Mexican flavour has immersed into this burger perfectly in every single way, and it was just so satisfying to chomp it all down and enjoy that flame left in your mouth.





Very unfortunately, I was way too full after 3/4 way of the burger, and I felt so sad to leave that very little piece behind. We laughed at the mess that I have made on my plate, with bits of cheese and mince tangled together and looked as if they'd come alive in any minute and start wiggling. We were satisfied, more than 200%.

This place will be awesome to come with a bunch of friends to have a quick catch up before heading down to the town for a big night, and you can even start your pre-drinks here if you want. I imagined this place will probably be in a totally different atmosphere if you come for breakfast or lunch, and we have to say the breakfast menu looks pretty welcoming! (NEXT TIME!! ho hum)


Address:
2/3A Broughton Street, Kirribilli NSW

Phone number:
02 9929 8883

Opening time:
7days 7am - 10pm


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Chanoma Cafe

We first noticed the beautiful vine hanging down the window, and the light green chairs that appeared gently in the eye sights. So here we are, at this small but crowded Chanoma Café.

We heard this café had a lot of Matcha (green tea) related food, so we decided on this visit to try out their beverage and dessert. The café itself make you feel like you are outdoors, and somewhere near a secret garden.



Matcha Latte $4.50

I couldn't resist the sound of Matcha Latte, the craving for a combination of green tea and milk allowed me to make the decision in less than a second. I enjoyed that vegetal taste initially, with that freshness from the natural green colour. Then the bitterness hits in, with that milky mixture and tiny bit of sweetness. The taste lasted about 10 seconds or so, and I quickly took another sip without much hesitation. If there was something to be noted about, it had to be the amount of bubbles appeared on the surface of the Latte...




Matcha Anmitsu $6.50 (Agar jelly, Matcha soft ice cream, sweet red bean paste, rice cake and brown sugar syrup)

This was a bowl of dessert that Bun had ordered, and he was anticipating the soft ice cream. I loved how chewy the mini rice cake was, and the adorable taste after soaking it in the brown sugar syrup. Bun didn't like the Agar jelly as they had absolutely no taste except for its coldness, so we added those into the syrup as well. The soft ice cream remained a little bitter than the green tea ice creams we have tried elsewhere, but it mixed well with the sweetness of the red bean paste. There were also some small pieces of fruits inside, which compensated the lack of sweetness for Bun.


We felt it was a nice café with quite a fair range of Matcha related desserts and beverage. We actually quite regret that we didn't try the parfait, after seeing the next table ordered a huge one with fancy toppings. If you are not so much of a sugar fan, their soft ice cream can be a quite pleasant afternoon treat.



Address:
501 George St, Sydney (Regent place)

Phone number:
02 9767 5465

Opening time:
7 days  9am - late


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