Yummies Kebab, Westfield CBD, Snag Stand, Via Del Corso, etc

Sydney has all the traits of a big city. With this comes the hustle and bustle of the city life, in which can be redeemed by some good comfort food. An important element about this is that good food needs to be fast. For this edition of what to eat in Sydney, I would like to share with you guys three main places in which you could get something to eat within five minutes, but notice the title? It's cheat day everyone, so put aside your healthy thoughts and of course, your weight scale!

Alrighty, the first place is a place very close to my heart, and my house. It's a simple kebab place, very small, but in the most central location of the city. I am referring to the one and only Yummies Kebab Pizza Pede on Liverpool Street just opposite World Square. Yes, that is the actual name of the place, and you will come to realise that finding a place thats serves kebab with a nice name in Sydney is very far and few. Anyhow, this place makes a good kebab for a very simple reason: they pay attention and don't overlook things. Some ingredients a kebab is of course a toasted pita bread, the meat of your choice, the sauce that you'd like, cabbage, tomatoes and onions. The thing is, when these ingredients are put together into toasted bread, the whole kebab is bound to become soggy. This is a given, but what's worse is that some kebab places don't spend enough time toasting the bread for you. This will result in a super soggy kebab, but not here. I've been a regular for a long time and I would say that this place is the most consistent.

Kebab aside and since we're on our cheat day, why don't go off out and get this: a box full of french fries then topped up with grilled kebab meat of your choice. You could select from chicken, lamb or beef, but I always go with chicken. I don't really like the smell of lamb meat sometimes so if you have the same concern then I would recommend that you avoid it. The french fries are fried as you order, so you will need to wait a bit for the end product, however I am sure you'd rather wait for fresh fries rather than get them in a minute and have them all cold. So you have a bed of chips then a thick blanket of meat, then you get to pick what sauce, or sauces you would like. My friend figured out that the best combo for him - something that I also took on board for myself - is BBQ & mayo. Just imagine these three layers working together to give you a box of guilty pleasure, yummy!

If you're not up for kebab or this box of goodness, then you can also choose from Turkish pides and pizzas. They have a deal for pizzas for $10, and you will get three big slices. Essentially the three slices are then cut into half, so that makes for 6 pieces for $10, not a bad deal! They also have full size pizzas that they can put into the oven as you order, so that's another choice you could take up.

While you're here, you may be tempted to get something sweet to wash away your box of fries, meat and sauces. They don't have too much to offer in terms of sweets, but they do have the one and only, baklava. I love them and the only thing that gets in the way of me getting these everyday is the price (and of course the calories, but remember, cheat day! ). One little block of baklava goes for $2. 5, which is frankly quite expensive since you finish it in three bites. Unless you would really like to be elegant or conservative of it, then maybe I'll give it five bites absolute maximum. But point is though, that it's really good. I'm not sure as to whether they make these baklavas in house, but they're really sticky and crispy and just very good.

So now that your trip to Yummies Kebab could be one meal, say lunch, that leaves just one more spot to have another feast before your cheat day ends! We'll be heading off to more posh place, in a nicer building, with air conditioning and all that. Walking towards Circular Quay along Pitt Street and you'll end up at Westfield Shopping Centre. From here, head to Level 5. But how do you get to level 5? Well, on the walk street just on the side of Zara, but further down the street, look up for a massive escalator. This super escalator will take you directly to level 5, or the posh food court. You'll find so many things to eat here, from cafes to bakeries to bubble tea shop, to so much more. Since we should keep on track with good food for fast, I would like to share with you an American favourite hot dog place, called Snag Stand.

The thing it's unfair to say this is an American place just because they serve hot dogs, so let's just refer to it as a snack stand. They basically just have a bunch of fast foods here, like hot dogs, burgers, french fries and onion rings. At the moment, they have about 15 different types of hot dogs on their menu! But how can a place actually so many variations of what is a hot dog, or sausage in a bun? Well, the credit goes to the creative minds behind the menu, so let me name a few :

• Spicy Chorizo Spanish : The order of the words make no sense as it should probably be Spicy Spanish Chorizo, but wait until you hear the ingredients. So in this Spanish fiery fiesta, you will get grilled Snag Stand's premium haute dogs with semi sun-dried tomatoes, chipotle aioli, Spanish goat's cheese and baby rocket leaves all teaming up in abrioche roll. Wow, sounds good.
• Toulouse of Pork, Garlic and Wine : This one is clearly a French inspired hot dog with same premium haute dog, but with sautéed onions, fresh rosemary mushrooms then sauced up with truffle aioli, resting in a brioche roll. Other than the name I have no idea what connection this particular hot dog has with the French town of Toulouse, but that's beside the point I suppose. Wow, trop bon!
• Backyarder : this one is quite different from the other two, since we've graduated from the haute dog to the grilled wagyu sausage with rich and creamy coleslaw, cheddar cheese and their smokey bbq sauce, and no, not in a brioche bun again since that's boring, but in a rustic roll this time. Wow, just like a backyard bbq!

So those are the three that I would order if I was to be on Level 5 of Westfield in front of Snag Stand at this very moment in time.

Otherwise, you may also want to keep it simple, like I did the time I ordered my American Classic. It's a much more simple version compared to the ones I mentioned, since it only has a wood smoked frankfurter, drizzled with American yellow mustard and tomato ketchup sauce, spooned in with onions and sweet relish all tucked inside the comfort of a brioche roll. Sometimes the best things are not necessarily the most complicated, as the American Classic proves! I must say that one downside to Snag Stand is that these hot dogs and burgers don't come with a side of chips. These are all under the added Sides options, in which they have :

• Chips here are made from the finest Tasmanian Russet potatoes, cooked in oil that is free in cholesterol (oh wow, that's a plus considering that it's cheat day! ), then seasoned with natural sea salt. These chips come in two sizes, regular for $3. 90 and a smaller snack version for $2. 90. You might as well go full on and bring the bog boys since it's cheat day, right?
• Chilli Cheese Fries, which sound exactly as they are. These are fries covered with spicy chilli beef sauce, then topped with cheese, chipotle aioli and sprinkles of paprika. They come in one size and I assume that it's big (it better be) since it's $7. 90 an order.
• Onion Rings, come as they usually are, so that's beer-battered and deep-fried in the same healthy cholesterol free oil as with the chips. A portion of these will cost you $4. 90.

That should really wrap it up with your trip so Snag Stand, unless you would prefer a burger.. but go ahead and check out their website just on the link down below for their locations, up to date menu, as well as any other offers.

All in all, this snack stand (no pun intended) is a cool spot to get something a little bit different. Other than this place, it's quite hard to find hot dogs around here, as opposed to if you were to be in New York City. People eat quite well here and even their ''snacks'' are quite elegant, like these premier hot dogs, as well as the Vietnamese pork rolls that I shared with you all earlier! For more information on that, check out my posts on Mr. Crackles and the famous Vietnamese Pork Roll Stand at the bus stop on George Street - opposite World Square!

Now that you're satisfied after your quick fix at Snag Stand, walk a bit further down and you will see an ice cream shop, called Via Del Corso Pasticceria E Caffé. You will easily recognise this place as its like a 360 degrees counter of ice cream display window, kind of in the middle of the food court towards the other set of escalators. This is a place that you could grab an ice cream, a gelato, or a beverages like hot chocolate or a cup of coffee. I used to grab an ice cream from here after work since it was on the way home, so I could guarantee that it's quite good. What really stands out here is the amount of flavours that you could choose from. Just to name a few, they have lychee, passion fruit, mango, strawberry, coconut & kaffir lime, death by chocolate, sticky fig honeycomb, dark chilli chocolate, black sesame and ferrero rocher. Trust me, what I've just mentioned do not even make up to half of what they have!

Just to attract you even more, I have a photo of one of the unique flavours here, the black sesame. I know that black coloured foods don't always look appetising, but wait until you give this bad boy a taste. The ice cream still holds all the yummy characters of black sesame, which made it a really creative and delicious treat. If you'd like something else other than ice cream, you could also get various cakes, crepes, macarons and chocolates. This is really like one of those sweet places that you could find here in Paris, but it's just that finding one of these in Paris is quite difficult.

If you're still feeling hungry or adventurous, I can point out that there's a famous cafe just a floor or two up, called Max Brenner Chocolate. Here, you could really satisfy your cravings for all things chocolate. What I like to get here, is their hot chocolate with crunchy waffle balls. If you'd like to grab a bite with a few friends, I would recommend getting the pizza, but with chocolate of course. The Choc-Banana Pizza combines melted chocolate with caramelised pecans, bananas and drops of marshmallows. I would not get the pizza to myself since it's best to be shared. If you feel like having something cold in the hot summer months, then I would recommend a few of their shakes. Their Peanut Butter Iced Chockie is an interesting one since it feels like you're drinking peanut butter. This is probably not the best beverage if you're on diet, but this super sweet, thick and sinful drink is a must try. Otherwise, just go for the Salted Caramel Milkshake or a more childhood-inspired Bubblegum Milkshake. Like many of the bigger chains here in Australia, you can find Max Brenner is quite a few locations, so to find out about the one closest to your area, be sure to visit their website for more information and the menu.

And there's nothing else to further talk about after visiting all these places for a day of eating like there's no tomorrow. Unless everyday is a cheat day, I would try to go to these places every once in a while, as hard as that may be after you've tried them once!

Snag Stand Sydney CBD

Via Del Corso Pasticceria E Caffé

Max Brenner Austarlia

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