Rockmelon Smoothie - Beetle Juice

For something different, I tried a smoothie after my lunch, in order to wash down the dryness of the bread from MYO. The rockmelon baby from Beetle Juice, is a standard smoothie. Rockmelon, banana, and a few other fruits/fruit ice creams/juices are blended together for a beverage.

Beetle Juice have recently (past 3 months) come under new management, and since then the speed with which you are served has drastically got slower. The new manger has had a sign saying that the new menu is coming for the last 4 weeks now, and we're still not any closer to having any idea as to what it is.

The shop has a loyalty program that gives you every 5th smoothie free (assuming you grab a card and get it stamped). Also selling fruit juices, blends and some muffins, yoghurt, other drinks and average coffee, Beetle Juice is a favourite of many for the 'red bull smoothie' it serves for that extra caffeine hit.

Presentation: 7/10 It's a drink in a cup, not much you can do with that.

Size: 8/10 A large smoothie I can walk down two blocks, back into the office and drink it down over the next hour, getting my sugar fix and keeping me awake after a big food court meal.

Value for Money: 6.5/10 for an extra dollar you get another 250mL or so in the cup for the upgrade to large. Timeliness is an issue, I'd be happy paying what I pay for a drink made a minute or so faster, or for one with fresh fruit in the same amount of time.

Quality: 5/10 Mostly frozen fruit or icecream is used, In my fruit drinks, I have a preference for fresh fruit (which would take a little longer to prepare, but the final quality in my opinion would be worth it).

Overall: 6.5/10 Sometimes you just need a liquid pick-me-up.

Mr Bird's MYO - Meat & Salad Roll

MYO gives you a great chance to make just the roll or sandwich that you've been wanting, without having to go to the shop and purchase 15 different ingredients. Today I chose a meat-heavy deal, which is not unusual.

I went for a brown roll with no margerine, topped with chicken, ham, salami, pastrami, cheddar, mozzerella, eggplant relish, avocado sauce, tomato relish, sun dried tomatoes, jalopenos, tomato and english spinach.

Presentation I'm reluctant to give a score for this category. Mr Bird shouldn't be penalised just because I make a dodgy looking sandwich.

Size You really can fit quite a bit into a roll if you plan ahead and pack it in well. 8/10

Value for money A bit disappointing being charged $8.50. There is a base charge of $6.50 for a roll, and then extra charges if you exceed a certain weight. It turns out I paid for the extra meat and relish I piled on. 5/10

Quality I think the roll could have been fresher (it didn't taste like it was baked fresh that day), and the jalopenos were a bit dry and bland. Otherise the meat and salads are fresh, and there is generally good variety with the selections, although a few more cheese options would be appreciated. 7/10

Overall If you're too lazy / disorganised to make your lunch at home, or if you want the luxury of hand picking from a large selection of sandwich ingredients without needing a fridge full of tupperware, then this is the place for you. It's a healthy choice in a mostly unhealthy food court, but I wouldn't do it every day. 6/10

Who wins - kebab or meat & salad roll? Iron Chef Kebab

MYO - Make Your Own!

Today, branching out from the standard food court fare, I chose to make my own roll at Mr Bird's MYO (weblink). This obviously gave me a much healthier meal than I would have had, and yet, somehow I still can't quite come to grips with paying for a meal that you make yourself. For $7.50 I had a wholemeal roll, with roast chicken pieces, avocado sauce, ham, cheese, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, sundried tomatoes and mayonnaise. Yes, you're paying for the convenience of having a smattering of different toppings, fillers etc to choose from for your lunch without having to do the preparation or cleaning, but with a bit of pre-organisation I don't see why you can't do the same thing at home.

Presentation I can't give a score for this category. The self-service nature takes the responsibility of presentation away from the proprietor, even if they do wrap the sandwich/roll up and put it in a bag for you. If you stack it too high it's your fault your roll falls apart.

Size When you choose what goes in the roll, or sandwich, and you choose the bread, how much you put in, size doesn't matter. 8/10

Value for money Large quantity of decent-enough food for only $7.50. However, the way they work out the cost is a $6.50 flat charge with every X grams after that paid for. It would be cheaper to make your own at home, but then you need to do the preparation, the cleanup, and have the large range of choices. 5/10

Quality About what one would expect. The bread had been sitting out in the baskets on display, ready cut to make, so it was a bit dry. 6/10

Overall If you're going out for lunch, you don't want to go here every week. Once every so often will be more than enough to get a fix for a few of the things you don't make in your own lunch at home. 6/10

Who wins - kebab or large combination? Kebab takes the gong for this week.