Alex: After being ill for a few weeks, getting out of the house was like a God send – so myself and Bianca decided to venture to the Eastern Suburbs. The weather was temperamental but for the most part the rain held off. So some hearty food was just what we needed!
Our first stop was ‘Panama House’, positioned discreetly (to us anyway) on Bondi road, offering a fusion of American and Mexican dishes that brought back some pretty vivid memories from our recent trip to the US.
The restaurant/cafe is quaint and while you might be within close quarters to other customers, in this circumstance I think it adds to the charm of the place.
Bianca and I sat on some stools that looked out the window onto Bondi Road, yes the seats were uncomfortable, probably best to sit there if you’re just having a coffee and not eating, let alone taking hundreds of photos of your food and then having nowhere to put your camera, my mistake.
As we perused the menu we had noticed that many of the options that we had seen online were no longer on the menu, like the Po-Boys, the Mac & cheese and the onion rings so it took us a while to get our bearings and re think our situation! Eventually we decided to share the ‘Panama Burger ‘- hanger steak patty, grilled swiss cheese, house pickles on a soft bun with Parmesan Fries $19 and a new addition to the menu, the ‘Fajitas’ w. fried chicken, pulled pork, guacamole, cabbage, and black beans $22. To accompany the fajitas we were brought different salsas from mild (far left) to hot (far right).
The fajitas were a bit of a hit and miss for me. The guacamole was almost perfectly seasoned, I just think it needed a bit more tang to give it some oomph and the pulled pork was fairly flavourless, even when combined with all the other elements on the plate. The fried chicken however was delicious. The skin was perfectly crunchy but still had the soft texture once you bit into it. I would’ve gone all fried chicken if I could’ve! Oh and I went for the tomato salsa, I chickened out on trying the really spicy one but Bianc did…and it was funny.
The Panama Burger…wow, I think it’s safe to say that this is definitely up there for one of the best burgers in Sydney. The patty to bun ratio (very important) was perfect and the cheese flavour was evident but not too overpowering. My favourite addition was the crispy onion rings creating an added texture to the burger that stole my heart. The parmesan chips were also a knock out. Incredible smoky flavour from the chunky chips that was balanced so well with the hint of parmesan and yes we slowly moved all of the pickles out-of-the-way and left them so we could make way for the chippies! Now Bianca loves her burgers, so if she piped down after taking her first bite we knew we had a winner.
A great addition to the Bondi scene and once summer hits I will definitely be back to get the burger after a tiring day at the beach of doing nothing! If you really have some extra room go for a takeaway coffee with one of their freshly made cookies or muffins!
For us though, some coffee’s weren’t gonna cut it. A quick stroll up the road from Panama House is ‘Le Maison De L’éclair’. A place that is so delightfully dangerous, it’s almost impossible not to be tempted by all the beautiful eclairs. Flavours range from the classics, Espresso, chocolate, to the ‘W.O.W!’ collection including Lemon Meringue, and salted caramel, there is literally a flavour for everyone. They even do savoury temptations and croissants.
We got a bit carried away, but these are the eclairs we took home to live with us:
–Bounty
-Raspberry
-Salted Caramel + a mini one
-Snickers
My favourite was surprisingly the raspberry, but all of them were delicious, it’s impossible for me to say anything bad. Bianca loved the Salted Caramel. They weren’t sickly or overly sweet, and there was a clear distinction between each flavour which was the best thing about them. So now enjoy some photos of these babies!
Clearly an eventful day of stuffing our faces, but hey what else is new?
Until next time!
Alex
V.B.A
I’ll keep that in mind when I’m in the mood for burgers followed by eclairs (which actually happens fairly often-I’m not being facetious!)
For some reason burgers and doughnuts are synonymous for me…a lethal combination.
B
Not sure how you actually manage to stomach all that, all the more power to you! It does all look delectable though.
To be fair, we shared the éclairs between Five people..Made us feel less like heifers 🙂
B
Strength in numbers!
Love La Maison’s salted caramel eclair! Gotta try the other ones. Will definitely have to check out Panama House.
You won’t be disappointed 🙂
-A
Oh my! How cute are these mini éclairs?? 🙂 Love a good burger but haven’t been to Panama House… Must go 🙂
Those eclairs look amazing! I wish I went over East side more often so I could indulge…on second thought, it’s probably safer for my waistline if I don’t!
haha, you’re probably right!! I’m scared to venture back!
– A
the panama burger looks good but im all for the sweets, salted caramel eclair pls!
The raspberry was better!