Meet Fresh meet ZenQ

Hmm... more competition - great for the consumer, more choices.  I have heard about ZenQ which opened their first outlet in Chatswood but have not tried it.  Just last Tuesday, I read that ZenQ has opened another outlet at Macquarie Center next to Boost Juice - yippee!

Decided to try it after lunch today to see which is better... Meet Fresh or ZenQ?  Both are successful Taiwanese dessert houses but herein lies some slight differences.

Meet Fresh provides you with pre-customised mixes for their herbal jelly or taro balls i.e No 1 is... No 2 is ... etc etc... ZenQ on the other hand provides you with the option of selecting your base eg grass jelly, red bean, glutinous black rice and to that you can add your toppings for extras.  This is a plus as sometimes you might not like a certain thing and would be good to have a substitute.

The other specialty on the ZenQ menu is their "toast"... I saw the other tables ordering a Strawberry Toast ($16.80). It looked scary, huge (not sure what is inside) but not for the small eater or sugar hater.

Now for the taste test.  Personally I prefer the desserts at Meet Fresh.  More so as I like the idea of the shaved ice under all my toppings as opposed to just a scoop of shaved ice at ZenQ.  What this meant was that even though you ordered a cold dessert, as it was only a scoop of shaved ice at ZenQ, your dessert is not cold enough... Furthermore, I thought the shaved ice had a funny taste and smell (albeit subtle).  I also think the servings at Meet Fresh is more generous and slightly cheaper than ZenQ.

Oh well, so much for this... am glad that there is a Meet Fresh franchise opening soon in my neck of the woods which means I do not have to trek to the city for my grass jelly fix.

ps... 25/10  Here is the write up for ZenQ Chatswood...
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/the-sweet-spot-20111020-1m8n0.html

Takeru, Chatswood

I should not be surprised to find a branch of Takeru in Chatswood.  Having been to their outlet in the city (Sussex Street), I was quite happy to try this outlet which is tucked away towards the end of Victoria Plaza, Chatswood.  I think the menu is quite similar, although might be a tad smaller than their city outlet.

What's different is that you place your order through the touch screens and your order is picked up directly by the kitchen staff.  This is also a very child-friendly restaurant and has a play area for the kids.

Their lunch bento boxes is very good value @ $12.90 and includes rice, miso soup, croquet, tempura prawn agedashi tofu and your choice of main course.

Lunch Bento box - good value

For those with a small appetite, there is also a half size option for around $5.90.

Good and ample menu and quick service.

Espresso Organica

It is not often one finds some proper "organic coffee" cafes in the suburbs.  Walking along the Majors Bay Road in Concord, we saw quite a few "nice" cafes.  "Nice" in the sense of lay out / appeal to the eye and also the food / cakes that are on offer.  So, it was very hard for us to decide where to stop for a good cuppa.

What drawn us to Espresso Organica was the fact that the cafe looked like it was "serious" about their coffees.  There were so many blends along their walls and their cakes selection was great... it was hard to make a choice.

Furthermore, they also had a good menu for breakfast (all day menu) and drinks.  Ahh.. this is what I call a great cafe!

We finally settled on our coffees and an orange and almond cake and an almond biscotti.  Hmmm... the coffee tasted like "real" coffee while the orange and almond cake was really moist.  It was definitely not a good idea for us to share this piece of cake.... !