This place is delightful. It is a little more expensive than some of the cheap and cheerful chinese eateries on gouger, but that's because of the great service, lovely decor and atmosphere, and general elegant and comfortable feeling. It's still very reasonably priced though!

The menu is great, I am still getting to know it. I love their e-shand or red pepper anything. My friends and I sometimes like to pick anything we haven't tried yet. I think there was a tasty shredded beef dish last time I went.

It's great when you know a place does everything well; you don't have to stick safely to their signature dishes or one part of their menu. East taste is that sort of place.

Very much worth visiting.

First off, let me just say, I've had friends book their birthdays here and it's gone ok, and I've had others, including myself, book events here and it's gone down like a lead balloon because ying chow doesn't really need the custom and they don't put a lot of effort into the experience, so you could end up in the worst possible table feeling awkward as hell.

But if you are after a great dinner, amazing food, pretty decent atmosphere, and some pretty average customer service, with a group of 6 or less, then Ying Chow will hit the spot!
I love the chicken mushroom claypot or seafood claypot, the garlic prawns, the bbc, the red pepper anything or eshand anything, even though the heat is usually too much (I'll cope when the food is this good!!) And in winter, the regional dumplings in soup and in summer, the cold Su rolls.

I love love love ying chow food so much. And the prices are great too. I recommend sharing some dishes and some wine!

Approximate cost: $20-30 per person for a lot of food and drinks!

La Sing: everyone ends up there at the seedy end of a brilliant night. It always spans the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good:
Amazing food - it's crazy that you can order delicious noodles or snacks like spring rolls so late at night and they taste fresh and appetising.
Great cheap cocktails.
And a fantastic sing along or ten with friends, or new friends you made that night, dancing until your feet feel like they will fall off, all the amazing people who seriously should be on Australian Idol (and it's not just the booze talking), the crazy nights you'll never forget!

The bad:
Sometimes, if it's empty or just flat, the place has a weird, grungy, depressing vibe.
Staff who forget to play your karaoke song, until you harass them, or who tell you to get out of the vip area you booked if you don't start ordering drinks (even though you will end up spending hundreds on birthday drinks!).

The ugly;
your hangover!

But! La Sing is sometimes just the most amazing place and an unique experience. Tourists and out of towners, take note!! It's a mixed bag, but can be the most social, and the seediest, and most unique experience.

Are you nervous about getting a wax? Are you hirsute, or sensitive skinned? Never fear, Let's Make Up is here!

Jackie, the lovely owner of Let's Make Up, restored my faith in the good old wax. I actually had a terrible experience elsewhere and then had a mild skin condition (long story - something a bit like eczema) which meant I couldn't get it done for ages. So going back, getting on that painful bike, was a bit scary!

But she was incredibly gentle, friendly and quick. She's also super cheap, which surprised me. XX was only $20 (I figured I'd take it in stages) and I was done and smiling in 15 minutes.

Merry Christmas to my boyfriend!

Approximate cost: $20 xx, approx $30 xxx

This store is an adelaide institution, because it's one of the longest running second hand and vintage stores around. I remember as a naughty 14 year old visiting the store when I should have been at school!

These days, the stock isn't super surprising, but it always has some staples and something interesting, and some of the second hand clothes are great, as if you transplanted something from a friend's wardrobe to your own.

If you love vintage and quirky indie style, and you haven't visited irving baby, you're missing out.

Approximate cost: $10-150

This place has some lovely gifts. It can vary from month to month - sometimes you want to buy everything in the store and sometimes you can't find anything super special. But that's the best thing about bimbo; rather than walking into one cookie cutter store in a chain of predictable stores, you're walking into an unique gift place where it's obvious things are hand picked, with a variety of quirky homewares, wearable and bizarre jewellery, notebooks and gorgeous cards.

Approximate cost: $2-200

This essential beauty is much better than the Adelaide location but it's still not the best place to go for a wax. The staff are cheerful enough but there's no real customer service and you get the feeling you're just a number.

The problem I have with essential beauty is it is very much drive-through service but the cost is quite high. I would go here again if I was super busy and couldn't find anywhere else but it's a bit pot luck, where you can have one girl be decent and proficient, and the next wax you get from another girl in the same shop is rushed and painful.

My family goes nuts over sushi train. There is, as the name suggests, a revolving 'train' in the centre of the bar - style table setup, where you can pull sushi, sashimi and desserts from.
It's expensive but it's a lot of fun. Some people prefer a more authentic sushi experience but if you're after something quick that still gives you heaps of choice, or after a more novel eating experience, the Sushi train is great.

There are also other menu choices, like noodles with teriyaki chicken and the like. I prefer not to eat these as they often come hastily made and not too tasty. It's often the case that a restaurant's speciality dishes are the ones you should stick to and Sushi train is best for, well, sushi!

This place does the best Pho. (That's rice noodles in beef soup, with delicious fresh slices of beef in it that arrive undercooked but then become cooked by the soup, so they taste incredibly juicy and delicious! They are served with a side of fresh bean shoots, coriander and asian basil to put in your soup, making an amazingly delicious taste!)

Vietnamese people regularly dine here, including my friend who put me on to this place. Before discovering this gem, I ate pho from a foodhall, but they were packed full of MSG where as these ones don't seem to be.

Thanh Thanh also serves traditional drinks like the lemon soda and coconut juice, that are such a treat on a hot day.
Another fantastic secret tucked away in one of the side streets near the markets that more people should know about!

Approximate cost: $9-10

The service here is great; friendly, smiling staff always ready to help. The cafe itself is cute too, and I love the second floor. I always come here for a gossip or a catch up.

I can't recommend anything to try because it's ALL amazing. The cakes, the chocolate, the flavoured hot chocolates which are rich and heady.

If you haven't been here before, I urge you to visit, and if you're from out of town wondering where the atmosphere is, this little cafe can provide some!