17 September 2011

Signature - Adelaide, South Australia

There's an awesome new coffee shop in Adelaide called Signature. It's located on Charles Street, which is the alleyway between David Jones and the DJ's carpark. The lady who owns it used to own the Blue Lemon baguette place on North Terrace, but sold that and started this new venture. Without any real advertising, Signature is already off to a great start.

Signature: A Fusion of Coffee

As a fusion coffee shop, it's pretty clear that they're serious about their coffee here. It's smooth and rich with a fully developed crema. These people know what they're doing. They also sell all kinds of fancy coffee beans, machines and accessories for those who want to try to replicate greatness in coffee at home.

Half Latte (latte with half the milk)
half latte

Since I don't actually drink coffee myself, I consulted the opinions of others regarding the actual coffee at Signature. I can safely say this is the place where you should buy your coffee in Adelaide. But if you're like me, it's where you should buy your hot chocolate...

Hot chocolate dog

This stuff is so good you will feel like you're drinking a bar of good quality chocolate. It's not overly thick, it's just delicious and blows most other hot chocolates out of the water. I've had way too many weak, powdery and sickly sweet hot chocolates in my time. Signature hot chocolates are everything I've been looking for. Plus, they're good value. $3.20 for the standard size or $3.90 for the large. To add further brownie points to their growing tally, they have loyalty cards which offer the 6th drink free. Just get 5 stamps on your card and you're a winner with a free drink waiting for you on your next visit. If you're after something different, I can also highly recommend their chai latte. They've got two choices for chai - spiced or vanilla. I found the vanilla to be quite plain but the spiced is awesome. Perfect mix of spices, sweetness, and milkyness.

Large Chai Latte (spiced)
spiced chai latte (large)

There's one more thing I have to tell you about this great little coffee shop. Not only do they make great drinks, but they serve up some pretty amazing food as well. The young chef is a genius who makes tarts, quiches, croissants and other magical creations fresh on site. Some of them are located in the display case to the right of the register calling your name. The chicken and leek pie ($9.50) is without a doubt the best chicken and leek pie I've ever had. It comes with a little fresh salad on the side.

Chicken and Leek Pie
chicken and leek pie

I predict that before too long, Signature is going to outgrow its current location. So get over there while you still can and make the most of it.

Signature on Urbanspoon

04 September 2011

The Crepe's Story [CLOSED] - Adelaide, South Australia

Adelaide has an exciting new crepe place in Rundle Mall. It's called "The Crepe's Story" and it's a one of a kind, having no connection to similar crepe places you may have seen in Melbourne or Sydney. With its bright pink decor, it is pretty hard to miss if you're walking down the King William end of Rundle Mall.

New crepe place in Rundle Mall #Adelaide

A closer look at the display case reveals plenty of choices for fillings. Everything from strawberries, cheesecake, mango, bananas, nutella, Hershey's chocolate syrup, apples, peaches, and so on. Crepe prices range from about $7 to $9 depending on your choice of fillings and whether you want cream or ice cream. Ice cream generally costs about 50 cents extra.

Crepe Display

They even have some savory options such as Chicken Teriyaki, Ham Cheese, Seafood Mix, Chicken Salad, and Chicken Curry (pictured bottom left). I haven't had any of the savoury options yet so you'll have to let me know what you think if you try one.

bottom left is Chicken Curry crepe

If you're on a budget like me or you can't decide which crepe to try, you are in luck. They have a daily special written on the board above the glass display case. The price is usually about $5.50 for the daily special with ice cream. My favourite so far has been the Kiwi Fruit with ice cream. Once you've ordered, you can watch the girls in pink make your crepe and wrap it into a cone.

wrapping the crepe

Here's the finished product (this is Mandarin Ice Cream). To eat it, just tear the wrapper out of your way and dig in!

Mandarin with Ice Cream crepe

It's great to have a place in Adelaide that specialises in crepes. I think their prices are a dollar or two more than they should be, but the special of the day is a definite winner. If you can't make it to Healthy Sweet in the Central Markets Food Court (better value), The Crepe's Story is a delicious alternative with plenty of options.

The Crepe's Story on Urbanspoon