The Food Book

Buffet breakfast at Swissotel JPB Restaurant, Sydney CBD

2012-01-29T21:43:00.000+11:00

I have always maintained that one of the best parts of being on holiday is enjoying a buffet breakfast. There is just something about having a spread of breakfast food before you, first thing in the morning that ensures you start your day off right. So when you haven't been on a holiday in a long time, one way to feel like you're on holidays is to get yourself to a buffet breakfast.

The buffet breakfast at JPB Restaurant in the Swissotel Sydney costs $35 per person or $25 if you are staying as a guest. As it so happened, we had booked a night at the hotel for fun so we were able to enjoy the discounted rate.

The buffet spread includes the usual juices, pastries, fruits, cereals and hot foods. There is also congee and a chef who will make you eggs or pancakes.

What I had:

Chicken sausage, veal sausage, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, hash brown and bacon

Two pancakes with watermelon, rockmelon, poached pears, butter, cream and honey

Omelette with everything - ham, mushrooms, capsicum, cheese, onion etc

To my readers: what is your favourite buffet breakfast in Sydney? I am hoping to try the Glass Brasserie at the Hilton next : - )

Jamie's Italian, Sydney CBD

2012-01-22T16:17:00.000+11:00

In the time since Jamie's Italian opened in Sydney in late 2011, I have lost count of how many times I have been there. Hazarding a guess would put the count around seven or eight visits.

Before you start to think that I'm a crazy Jamie Oliver fan, let me explain. Jamie's Italian is about a two minute walk from my work - it is literally down the street. And when you are looking for somewhere to go for lunch everyday and there is good, reasonably priced food nearby - before you know it, you've tried half the menu and the waiters start to recognise you.

This is a post about one of my visits during a Friday lunchtime. Yes, you heard right - arguably the busiest lunch day of the week and we dared to venture to Jamie's which only takes bookings for more than six people?

The solution was to have an early lunch. Very early. Jamie's opens at 11.30am and we were there at 11.45am. Within 10 minutes after we arrived, the seats were filled and we could see a small line forming out the door. Of course we smiled at our good fortune and permanently hungry stomachs which meant we could eat lunch at a time when most people are still digesting breakfast.

For those who don't know, there is complimentary bread available. However, the waiters do not always offer it so be sure to ask if you feel like having some. It comes in a small tin with some olive oil and balsamic vingear.

We decided to start off with the salad of the day after our waitress declared that it was called the 'sexy' summer salad and waxed a spiel that would have made anyone salivate.

Special salad of the day ($14.00)

San Daniele prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, peaches, rocket with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

The prosciutto was divine - so soft that it almost melted in the mouth and I loved tearing apart the small balls of mozzarella with a fork.

The fresh pasta at Jamie's is made in the front window and watching them make the pasta is a good way to pass time if you're stuck in line.

The pastas come in both entree and main size, with the main sizes about the $20 mark.

Mussel Linguine ($20.00)

Scappato (runaway) mussels with garlic, chili, anchovies, parsely, black olives and breadcrumbs

I like the mussel linguine here because they are generous with the mussels. There is the slightest kick from the chili and sweet cherry tomatos are found in the dish as well.

Lingurian fish stew ($27.00)

Responsibly sourced fish served with crunchy crostini, ripped herbs & wild garlic aioli

At the moment, the Lingurian fish stew is my favorite item on the menu. At $27, it is a bit pricy for your average lunch but it is chock filled with fresh seafood. The stew is not like a soup, rather it is a light broth that is filled with flavour and quite shallow on the curved plate. There are also two large pieces of bread, soggy after soaking up the stew and easily torn apart.

My favorite dessert here used to be the pannacotta. But after my last few experiences with dessert at Jamie's, I'm not sure if I have a favorite anymore. The first time that I tried the pannacotta, it was delicious. We shared it between three and I couldn't get enough of the smooth, creamy vanilla flavour. The next time I tried it, we shared it between two and both of us agreed that it was grainy, not smooth like the first time and also stuck to the bottom of the plate. The last time I tried it, we each ordered one and both of them were horribly grainy and gritty in the mouth. Yuck!

So this time, we chose to try the ice cream.

Three scoops of ice cream, served with your choice of any two of seasonal fruits, honeycomb, butterscotch sauce or nuts and seeds ($8.00)

There is no polite way to put this. This was the ugliest bowl of ice-cream I have ever had the misfortune of eating. The small tin sundae cup was no match for the ice cream which had been hazardly scooped in. There was sauce and fruit bits dripping off the side onto the table and I saw that the poor fingers of our waitress were also coated in the sauce.

Unsurprisingly, it did not look appetising and I knew my face was screwed up with distaste as I forced myself to pick up the spoon and try to get some out without causing more spillage.

It tasted ok but nothing special and I wouldn't order it again.

We finished off our meal with tea and coffee.

Flat white ($4.35)

English breakfast tea ($4.25)

Jamie's Italian is a fun place to go for a weekday lunch. The waiters are friendly, there is a buzzing vibe and the food is great (except for the desserts, which I'm not convinced on anymore). The only thing you need to do is carefully time your visit so that you don't have to wait in line. I've found that the best time to go for lunch is either before 12pm or after 1.30pm - and it is much easier to get a table for two than any other number.

deVine Food and Wine, Sydney CBD

2012-01-17T22:54:00.000+11:00

I have walked past deVine Food and Wine many, many times and never even noticed it. Despite being on the busy intersection of Clarence and Market St, this cosy wine bar has a relatively unassuming brick façade which made me think that it was an ordinary pub.

Until one day, a friend took me there for a Friday night drink and I discovered that it was in fact, a very charming wine bar with a small restaurant in the back.

It was quite busy and we squeezed into two seats at the communal high counter table. This was far from being the best seat in the house as there was hardly any space for others to walk behind you to get to their own seats if your back was to the wall (as mine was) - but what can you do.

After ordering some wine, I was feeling peckish and ordered a favorite snack of mine - duck liver pâté .

It was an incredibly generous serving - that ball of pâté was easily the size of a large ice-cream scoop. Yum!

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on how you look at it), my friend doesn't like pâté and I ate that ENTIRE ball - slathered over the crunchy thin slices of crouton that you can see in the background. At the end of the meal, I felt a bit grossed out that I had basically consumed the poor duck's entire liver and it was sitting in my stomach.

But that didn't stop me from wanting to go back again! What a great discovery and it's in such a convenient location too. I would recommend making a booking as deVine is quite popular and worth the effort to secure a coveted seat (i.e. not having to squish like we did ;)

Pho An, Bankstown

2012-01-02T00:32:00.000+11:00

So Pho. So Good.The first time I saw Pho An's slogan, it cracked me up so hard. It's funny!

Pho An is located in the bustling suburb of Bankstown. Visitors to Bankstown will immediately notice how many Vietnamese restaurants there are, resulting in many choices to get your pho fix. It is testimony to Pho An's popularity that so many people choose to have their fix here.

Pho An only serves pho and beverages. That's right - you can't get your pork chop rice, vermicelli noodle salad, rice paper rolls or any other Vietnamese dishes here. Your choices are basically pho, pho or more pho. So don't come here if you're not in the mood for pho!

You don't even get a menu when you sit down because their basic menu is up on the walls. A speedy waiter will sit you down in the cafeteria style seating area and take your order with an electronic pad. Within minutes, your pho will come out.

At a cost of approximately $12 or so for a medium sized bowl of pho, it is (relatively) a fair bit pricier than the other Vietnamese places serving pho in Bankstown. Is it worth it?

Personally, Pho An doesn't do it for me. My tastebuds like their pho, there is nothing wrong with it but I don't experience that special zing which recruits countless diners to declare Pho An as serving the best pho out there.

I do think they have the best slogan though.

Bills, Surry Hills

2011-12-29T19:24:00.000+11:00

How many times have you heard Bills being referred to as a "Sydney institution" for brunch?

Never?

Well you must be living under a rock. There is a 90% chance that Bills will be referred to in a foodie article about brunching in Sydney.

Okay, I made that statistic up but it seems like a fair estimate to me!

As with most places that receive such high praise, it is with good reason.

We ventured to Bills in Surry Hills one week when there had been a constant stream of wet weather in Sydney. Yet we were lucky on this day to enjoy a rare day of (cloudy) sunshine and readily soaked up the good atmosphere at Bills.

Due to its 'Sydney institution' status, Bills is very popular. They do not take bookings for brunch and we were lucky to nab the last table available upon arrival although I noted that about half an hour after we sat down, some more tables freed up so it seems like there is good traffic flow.

The one thing that hit me immediately upon sitting down was the warmth and glow of the sunshine coming through the windows. It streamed through the large windows on the side of the restaurant and everyone was basking in the light. This amazing light just made everything look so good! The furniture, the food, the people. A PERFECT brunch setting!
I started off with a Flat White.

Bills own organic coffee by Single Origin Roasters ($3.90)

Like all Single Origin coffees, it was very smooth and went down well.

As you may know, articles about Bills always seem to mention his signature ricotta hotcakes.

Ricotta hotcakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter ($19.50)

What can I say? They are delicious. You receive three light and fluffy hotcakes with little pieces of ricotta buried in the batter. Banana and honey is a classic combination for breakfast and you just can't go wrong with these! Yum yum.

Bills' sweet corn fritters are another breakfast dish that is often cited in articles.

Sweet Corn Fritters with roast tomato, spinach and bacon ($18.50)

On this occasion, I found them to be a bit dry and wished for some sauce or extra tomatoes to cut through the fritter batter.

There was still a warm glow coming the windows when we finished our meal. As we paid and left, it felt like we were leaving Brunch-land and entering back into reality where somehow, the sunlight just wasn't as nice as it was inside Bills.

Adriano Zumbo Patissier, The Star

2011-12-26T00:28:00.000+11:00

You know you have hit the big time when your name is in giant lights. And you are a pastry chef.

Seriously - is there another pastry chef who has their name in giant lights like this? The hot pink is amazing and those lightbulbs throw some major bling! Watch out Hollywood!

Adriano Zumbo's new store at the revamped Star City is extremely different from his venues in Rozelle. By comparison, the Rozelle venues appear almost traditional when you look at the fitout and design of his newest store - which many have said resembles a Willy Wonka factory.

Let's have a look at the creativity in this store. It reminds me of a scientist's factory!

The individual cakes on offer are displayed in big lamp-shaped jars at the front of the store.

Each cake is displayed with a small card indicating the components of the cake and the price:

When you go inside the store, the current macaron flavours are displayed in cute little glass alarm cases. There is also a mini self serve section for croissants, danishes etc. It was afternoon when we visited, so this might have contributed to the pastries looking a bit lacklustre as though they had been sitting there a while....I'm sure they would have still tasted delicious though :-)

I was saddened to see that the lychee macaron flavour was unavailable - I had already marked this flavour as one I wanted to try!

This store also has a different ordering system available. A staff member hovers around the store with a notepad, ready to take your order for macarons and cakes. After you have recited your order, they will pass the order to the kitchen. When your goods are ready, your name is called out to collect and pay at the cash register.

I restrained myself to a select number of goodies.

I chose three macarons - Lime & Mint Mojito, Sweet Corn with a hint of Mango and Watermelon & Orange ($2.50 each). My favorite out of these was the Lime & Mint Mojito. It was packed with flavour and did indeed taste like a Mojito!

I have always wanted to try Zumbo's famous V8 cake but unfortunately never had a chance to before they stopped producing it! So I was extraordinarily pleased to discover (thanks to a tip-off from Mobblees) that Zumbo was producing a Christmas version of the V8 cake.

Christmas V8 cake ($10)

8 layers -Cinnamon Creme Chantilly, Morello Cherry Jelly, Pain D'épices, Toasted Nougat Brulee, Vanilla Chiffon Cake, Vanilla Ganache, Pistachio Crunch and Pistachio Dacquoise

All I have to say is - wow. If you get a chance to try this cake, I highly recommend it!! Usually I'm not a fan of cherry in my desserts but the thin layer of cherry jelly worked well with the seven other layers in this cake. There was a variety of texture in every bite - crunchiness, smoothness, density - you can tell a lot of work has gone into designing this cake. The flavour was incredible too - you could taste some spice, vanilla, pistachio, nougat, cherry . It was so yummy!

Adriano Zumbo's new store at the Star is unlike any other patisserie that I have seen before. Props to him for daring to step outside the boundaries and also a big thanks for creating a store in the city!

District Dining, Surry Hills

2011-12-20T21:34:00.000+11:00

District Dining is a new favourite restaurant that I discovered this year. In fact, I cannot believe that it took me this long to try it! Tucked away right next to Central Station opposite the Devonshire Street exit, it is unbelievably convenient to get to by public transport.

District Dining has one of those menus where there are at least ten different things that I want to try because everything just sounds so good! The first time we visited, I was bitterly disappointed to hear that the school prawns had sold out for the day. I stared at the waiter in disbelief before shaking myself back to reality and had a consolation prize of the crispy quail eggs with tarragon mayonnaise instead. They were nice, but they were no school prawns. On this same visit, I tried the steak tartare and mandarin brulee - it was delicious and enough to convince me to come back again.

During this second visit, I crossed my fingers and prayed to the food gods that the school prawns would be available.

This time, I started off with a crisp pear caprioska.

All District Dining cocktails are $17

It was refreshing and exactly what I needed on a Friday night.

After studying the menu for a long time (again, there were too many enticing options and there had been some seasonal menu changes since the last visit), we waved the waiter over. I ordered with baited breath and the waiter didn't blink an eye as he wrote down the order for school prawns. Phew!

Crispy school prawns with lime mayonnaise ($16)

District chicken wings with chili caramel ($12)

The crispy school prawns were amazing! So delicious. Each prawn was chomped down whole, with the head and body deep fried to a crunch. The bowl of prawns seemed bottomless, it was a generous serving size for the mere $16 paid. I especially liked the bigger prawns as they had the most prawn-y flavour.

The chicken wings were also yummy with the clear standout being the finger-licking chili caramel sauce.

Roasted spatchcock, succotash, lime sour cream and tortilla ($29)

When the spatchcock arrived at our table, I was surprised by how BIG it was! The spatchcock had been carved into quarters and seemed about the same size as a small chicken. I could only eat about half of this and handed over the rest to my dining companion.

Duck confit, sweet potato, pomegranate, ras el hanout ($27)

This photo doesn't really do the duck confit justice. It was crisp yet moist and the sweet potato added wonderful flavour to the dish. About half the size of the spatchcock.

There were only four dessert options on the menu but it was still so hard to choose!

Chocolate mousse, hazelnut brittle ice cream and hazelnut crumble ($14)

Cookie sandwich, coconut and chocolate, honeycomb parfait ($14)

In hindsight, we should have gone for the creme brulee because the two desserts that we did choose were very similar and ended up being a bit overly sweet.

In the week following this meal, I kept dreaming about the crispy school prawns and would begin salivating at the thought of them. District Dining has awakened the crispy school prawn monster in me!

Quarter Twenty One, Westfield Sydney

2011-12-19T00:36:00.000+11:00

I really, really like the new Westfield Sydney. I can forgive the months of ugly construction that it took to build the shopping centre. But not because of the shops - instead, the charm of this Westfield comes from its food!

I have been slowly building up a post for the different things that I've tried in the food court.

In the meantime, please enjoy this post about a recent lunch at Quarter Twenty One - one of Justin North's restaurants conveniently located on the same level as the food court.

We arrived for a three-course Friday lunch, eager with anticipation to try this new place as none of us had been here before. Although the restaurant is right next to the food court, it is a different world once you step inside. The furnishings are plush and the noise levels inside are surprisingly quiet.

We started off with some bread and a dollop of light, airy butter.

Then we selected two entrees to share. It was difficult to pick just two because they all sounded so tempting!

Confit Petuna trout, bone marrow, broad bean persillade, leek & lemon pith puree ($26)

Tartare of beef with grilled toast, quail eggs & mustard ($12)

The plating of the Petuna trout reminds me of the plating style at Justin North's other restaurants. So pretty, with a splash of colour on the plate.

Beef tartare never used to interest me in the past but it now catches my eye on any menu. This rendition was simple and tasty. The gooey centre of the quail egg didn't fail to disappoint.

Our waiter was extremely helpful and assisted us in choosing our mains. Coincidentally, we each ended up with a main off the 'From the Oceans, Rivers & Lakes' portion of the menu! Clearly he did a good job talking up Quarter 21's seafood dishes.

Roast skate wing, scallop and crab, stuffed courgette flower, fennel, noilly prat ($38)

Steamed Cone Bay barramundi

The next picture is my main - I'll admit that it looks just like a bowl of foam with some prawns peeking out but don't let that fool you. Our waiter informed us that it is one of Quarter 21's most popular dishes - a light seafood broth that is filled with fresh seafood. Of course I had to choose it and I wasn't disappointed - I had to ask for a spoon so that I could sip the delicious broth!

By now our stomachs were stuffed but it isn't a meal unless there is dessert!

Granny smith apple mille feuille, tea soaked grapes and brown butter ice cream ($16)

Souffle du jour ($17)

I was intrigued by the description of 'tea soaked grapes' with the mille feuille but the reality was a let down. The taste of tea was a bit too subtle - they looked and tasted like prunes! The mille feuille looked very pretty on the plate but I would have preferred a more traditional one i.e. with some creamy custard sandwiched instead of just apples because it was a bit dry.

Quarter Twenty One seems like another success story for Justin North. The restaurant also offers cookery classes and sells a variety of products and cookbooks. What more could you ask for?

Cafe Cre Asion, Surry Hills

2011-11-27T22:13:00.000+11:00

While some may say that the macaron craze is over, the relatively new Cafe Cre Asion shows that it is still alive and kicking.

Located in a small street in Surry Hills, Cafe Cre Asion is a bit tricky to find but lazy people will be pleased to know that it is still a convenient five minute walk from Museum station and Liverpool Street.

Once you discover the tiny cafe, you will be rewarded with this glorious sight:

Isn't that amazing macaron storage? So pretty! Possibly the best macaron display I have seen in Sydney.

The cafe is absolutely tiny - the open kitchen takes up half of it and the other half is taken up by about ten miniature stools and tables.

The kitchen half

The stool half

I'm not sure how I feel about the teeny tiny stools. I felt a bit ridiculous trying to fit my bottom onto the chair and then trying to precariously place my coffee and sandwich on the table. I would have preferred bar stools lined up against the window facing outside! Then again, it's not my cafe so who am I to judge :-)

Flat white

My flat white had an adorable swirly heart on the top. I love coffee art!

Jamon serrano with Tasmanian gruyere on toasted sourdough

The jamon serrano with melted cheese was so wicked with its oozing cheese and oil marks on the napkin....naturally it had to taste amazing. My fingers became so oily while chowing it down but every bite was sooooo good.

Macarons ($2.70 each)

Flavours - black sesame, dear chris, green tea and jasmine

Unfortunately the macarons got squashed in my bag but they still tasted great! My favourite out of this lot was the jasmine, it was so sweet and fragrant. Must return to try some more flavours - and to have that delicious ham and cheese again!

Sushi Hiro, Beverly Hills

2011-11-20T22:13:00.000+11:00

I want to share one of my favourite restaurants with you - Sushi Hiro.

Sushi Hiro is a small, cosy Japanese restaurant situated towards the station end of the Beverly Hills strip. The sushi chef prepares food behind a counter that takes up half the restaurant and the staff are usually quite friendly, if a bit slow. The food is delicious and very reasonably priced, with a range of salads, sushi, tempura etc. All the usual Japanese suspects!

Sushi and Sashimi combo ($19.30)

The sashimi is always fresh and generously portioned. In this combo, the salmon and kingfish sashimi are standouts for me.

Chasoba salad ($8.90)

Green tea noodle salad with home made soy dressing

The salads here are an absolute winner! I don't know what they put in their dressing but it is so yummy. This chasoba salad is one of my faves, as is their sashimi salad. The chasoba salad comes in a big bowl with veggies and an onion soy dressing. Highly recommended!

It's a good idea to make a booking on a Saturday night because it's quite popular with the locals. Worth it though, I've been coming here for years!

Sushi Hiro
498A King Georges Road
Beverly Hills 2209
Ph 9580 8219

ps. It's closed on Monday's.

Etch, Sydney CBD (3)

2011-11-05T16:26:00.000+11:00

Long time loyal readers of this blog will remember that Etch is one of my favourite restaurants. (You can read about previous visits here and here!)

So when a Travelzoo voucher popped up - a 3 course dinner for 2 people at the sum of $85, I quickly snapped one up and made a booking on the same day. The voucher was valid for lunch or dinner, Monday to Friday so I quickly made a coveted Friday night booking on the day of buying the voucher.

Upon arriving at Etch, I was pleased to see that it was the same as my last visit - dim lighting, cosy atmosphere and just general plushness in decor.

The Travelzoo voucher entitled you to pick from a selection of items taken from their normal menu. Considering that prices for mains are about $30+, this was really great value. I've put the normal price of the dishes with the photos below so you can get an idea of pricing (and therefore savings!)

We ordered some drinks to start (not included in voucher) - my cocktail was delicious! Somehow our drinks order got lost and after following up with the waiter, he apologised profusely and said that the drinks would be on the house. [Unfortunately when the bill came, we were charged for the drinks but since it had been a lovely meal, we didn't want to ruin the night by questioning the charge :-) ]

Entrees:

Confit Petuna trout, smoked scallop, radish and wasabi ($25)

One of the things I love about Etch and Justin North's restaurants generally is the presentation of the dishes. They are always so pretty.

Pea risotto with Swiss brown butter ($23)

We ordered a side of potatoes (not included in voucher)

Provencal potatoes, aged prosciutto and garlic mayonnaise ($9)

Not exactly the most attractive dish, but it sure was yummy. The flavouring of the potatoes reminded me of Kettle chips! Embarrassed to say that I ate almost all of the potatoes because my dining companion had a shrinking stomach.

Mains:

Chargrilled veal rump, Sarladaise potato with malt vinegar jus

Baked snapper, scallop and squid, cauliflower bhaji and curry emulsion

Desserts:

Brillat Savarin cheesecake with Champagne and mandarin sorbet ($16)

Caramel date tart, Earl Grey tea syrup and burnt butter ice cream ($16)

The desserts were amazing and possibly my favourite part of the meal.

By now we were stuffed but the voucher also included tea or coffee with petit fours.

English breakfast tea - served with a charming glass milk jug

Petit fours

The petit fours looked like offerings from the Etch lolly tray which I had not tried before. The peanut brittle was extremely yummy, as was the chocolate brownie like item next to it.

What a meal! What a voucher! I love dining on good vouchers - who can resist when you're saving money?

Cheeky Chocolate, North Strathfield

2011-10-30T22:36:00.001+11:00

When I heard that there was a new chocolate cafe where the menu had been designed by Adriano Zumbo, I knew I had to check it out.

Cheeky Chocolate is located on the busy George Street strip of North Strathfield. I was amazed to discover the number of restaurants here! They have converted the old Arnott's biscuit factory, renaming it the Bakehouse Quarter and filled it with a bowling alley, restaurants and supermarkets.

We visited Cheeky Chocolate shortly after it had its grand opening. It was a Saturday night and all of the tables were full so we waited about ten minutes for a table.

After we were seated, service was a bit haphazard and very rushed. The waiters were speed walking around, a bit disorganized and it wasn't the peaceful setting that I had been hoping for. We also felt a bit rushed to pay for the bill instead of lingering over our desserts.

We each ordered a tea to have with our desserts (when I ordered mine, the waitress questioned "Is that on the menu?" and I had to point it out to her! )

The teapots came out and we had to try flag down someone to bring out milk and sugar.

We decided to order three cakes from the enticing glass cabinet to share.

This mango one was my favourite!

This chocolate hazelnut dome came in second place.

And this raspberry meringue tart was last place - too acidic and the meringue was neither hard nor soft. Just kind of semi- crumbly.

So I wouldn't mind coming back to try more desserts - but maybe when the store is more settled and the waitstaff are more organized :)

Watergrill at Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford

2011-10-02T21:31:00.000+11:00

it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and we found ourselves in the Haberfield/Abbotsfield area. My friend suggested that we visit the Rowing Club for a bite to eat, promising an amazing view. The sun was just beginning to set over the water, which meant that I couldn't get a good photo of the view without the glare off the water but true to my friend's word, it was a marvelous view.

I managed to snap one shot to the side of our table. You can surmise the rest of the atmosphere - relaxed outdoor dining where you can chill out and look across the boats and water.

For once, I wasn't feeling hungry and neither were my companions so we just ordered some nibblies to share.

Mezze plate of grilled haloumi, chorizo, marinated olives, hummus, babaganoush and turkish bread ($18.90)

The mezze plate was surprisingly good. The squeaky cheese had been fried to a golden brown and the chorizo was piping hot.

Bowl of chunky fries and aioli ($5.90)

The fries were a generous serving but a bit bland. Still, it's hard to complain when you're relaxing by the water and munching on fries!

Adriano Zumbo, Rozelle

2011-09-25T20:25:00.001+10:00

It's a Zumbo day, a Zumbo day!

It was finally time for my second visit to Zumbo ever. With my previous trip being back in 2009, I was not surprised to see that there had been some changes since then.

One such change was the closing of the old Zumbo cafe near the patisserie and the opening of a new cafe on Terry St in Rozelle.

Zumbo cafe on Terry St

The new location is great because there is ample parking in the surrounding residential streets. What I don't like about this cafe is the limited amount of seating. There are 9 coveted barstools in the cafe for dine-in's where you can perch to sip your coffee and eat your sweet treats. Oh - and you can peak into the kitchen...

And spot Zumbo!

Through a combination of miracles and a family leaving, we managed to score two seats at the window and shamelessly papped some shots of Zumbo with his crew in action. The kitchen is quite large and there are a lot of people bustling around, baking and stirring.

View inside from the barstool

We also have a direct view of pre-orders waiting to be picked up. I wonder who was the lucky recipient of these macarons?

We also noticed a lot of V8 cakes being picked up by people. (Side note: immediately after this visit, I proclaimed that I HAD TO HAVE a V8 cake for my upcoming birthday in November. Unfortunately, since this visit, the cake has disappeared from Zumbo's website! No longer able to be ordered! Whyyyyyyy...oh the agony of being so close to buying a V8 cake and gobbling it up on my birthday...now the dream has been destroyed into smithereens.)

First to be tried was the pear danish. Recently I discovered my love for a good pear danish - sweet slices of pear, nestled in rich creamy custard and placed in a bed of flaky pastry. I'm pleased to report that Zumbo's pear danish was delicious. Yum. The pastry flaked off and I was tempted to lick the sticky pear from my fingers.

Pear danish ($4.50) and a flat white

Despite the fact that it was 11am in the morning, we also tucked into Sugar Lips, a heavily sugared raspberry jam donut.

Sugar lips ($4.50)

There is no way that you could eat this without sugar smothering your lips. We cut it into half and somehow I ended up with half that was crammed with raspberry filling. It became a bit too tart for my liking and I had to scoop some of it out to avoid a permanent screwed up 'sourface' with every bite.

Of course we also had to get some takeaway treats!

Ultimate chocolate brownie ($5.00)

Macarons - coffee creme brulee, mandarin, salted butter popcorn and butterscotch caramel ($2.50 each).

I loved the little box that the macarons came in! So sturdy and cute. At the time of our visit, the Zumbo website was still displaying the Eurasian macaron flavours as being current in store so I was kind of hoping to try them instead. As it turns out, the macaron flavours had completely changed but but these ones were nice too.

After our little morning snack at the cafe, we decided to walk across to the patisserie on Darling Street....and pick up some more goodies.

Don the Pandan Man (bottom) and Enter the Dragon (top)

They were both delicious and looked too pretty to eat. Don the Pandan man contained all of my favourite flavours - coconut, pandan and rice pudding. I was in heaven.

Enter the Dragon consisted of toasted white chocolate mousse and peanut caramel, with some additional savoury flavours like coriander and chilli.

I really enjoyed my second visit to Zumbo and am already planning a third!

Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

2011-09-18T21:35:00.000+10:00

After lunch at Brown's Siding Café and a trip to Logan Brae orchard for some apple juice, we decided to finish off our Blue Mountains day with afternoon tea at Lilianfels.

Lilianfels is a resort and spa located near Echo Point and the Three Sisters.

The Lilianfels lounge was just as I had remembered. Lots of plush chairs, cushy furnishings and a pianist playing softly in the background.

Last time I was very impressed with their scones so naturally gravitated towards ordering the Devonshire tea again. Disappointed to see that the price has jumped to $19.50 now - still cheap by Sydney standards but last time it was only $15!

Scones with cream and raspberry jam

The scones were nice but I would have preferred strawberry jam instead of raspberry jam.

Assam tea served with the scones

It was a nice relaxing end to a great day! (Stomach was also bursting with fullness at this point)

Brown's Siding Store and Cafe, Medlow Bath

2011-09-11T21:52:00.000+10:00

We recently took another road trip to the Blue Mountains and discovered that what used to be the Whisk & Pin cafe has now been renamed Brown's Siding Store and Cafe!

Their website tells us that when the owner of Whisk & Pin sold the brand, she kept the store and renamed it.

I'm pleased to see that everything inside the cafe is still the same, with a bunch of wares to browse before we take a seat for lunch.

Inside the store

It was raining hard outside, with large claps of thunder. The electricity went out a few times and the cafe would plunge into darkness before switching back on again. I held my breath each time it went out - I didn't want to venture back into the cold and rain, not without eating first!

Some hot drinks to warm us up

I ordered a coffee and my friend ordered some tea which came in a cute little teapot.

Most of the lunch dishes are around the $17 mark and we each ordered something different.

Fillet Steak Sandwich

served with fresh beetroot, caramelised onions and wholegrain mustard mayo

What a monster of a sandwich! It came out on a massive plate and took up the entire plate, with onions and beetroot spilling out everywhere. The fillet steak was cut into small strips and generously spread out along the sandwich. Although it was ginormous, I would try something else next time because the meat was a bit too tough for my liking.

Pumpkin and Pepita Fritters

with a warm cous-cous, date and pistachio salad

Reuben sandwich

Slow cooked corned beef on rye with Swiss grilled Cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing

The Reuben sandwich was another monster sandwich. The beef was sliced thickly and was thicker than the bread. A few days after we went to this cafe, I was pleased to see their Reuben featured in SMH's 'Sydney's best Reuben' article here.

Of course, the best thing about eating in a store/cafe is that you get to leave with some goodies! I restrained myself to buying a slab of Whisk & Pin's chocolate brownie, made with Belgian chocolate. This lasted ages and was only $14.50 :-)

Sushi Hotaru, the Galeries Victoria

2011-09-04T13:32:00.009+10:00

There is a new sushi train in town and everyone is excited!

1. It's cheap
2. It has touch screen ordering
3. The train is REALLY long (novelty factor)
4. Both times that I have been so far - funnily enough, both times on Friday night, we have had to take a number and queue (much like Ichi-ban Boshi upstairs) but haven't had to wait all that long.

I read about how long the sushi train was, but it didn't hit me until we were ushered to our small booth table at the back of the train and three wait-staff tag-teamed in showing us to our seats.

If you sit at a booth table, you can pick plates off the train or order from the touch screens mounted against the bottom of the train.

I am a big fan of touch screen ordering. It's so efficient and you can peruse the menu for as long as you like.

To start with, I ordered a green tea milk with red bean ice cream - YUM! The big scoop of red bean ice cream was so good, perched at the top of the drink and I happily mashed it around.

Green tea milk with red bean ice cream ($5.50)

I am always very hungry on a Friday night and tend to order anything that I want, as a reward to myself for reaching the end of the working week.

We quickly discovered that the tables of these two person booths are very small and it soon felt like we were jostling for premium table real estate in re-arranging plates around.

The sushi plates are $3, except for gold plates which are about $7 - namely the sashimi. There are also side dishes that you can order which vary in price.

Grilled scallop

Grilled salmon

Soft shell crab roll

Crab claws

These balls were really disappointing! On another food blog, a food blogger had ordered these and they were the ones that I like, with stringy insides.

The ones that we received, were literally giant balls of solid seafood extender.

:-(

Tuna, kingfish and salmon sashimi (gold plate)

Another plate of salmon sashimi (gold plate)

Tuna hand roll

Scampi

You can imagine how hard it was to find room for all these plates - plus the plates that my companion ordered! We stacked them high but at times, several plates came out at once and we didn't had to reshuffle.

All in all, a great new sushi train that is in a convenient location.

Mecca Espresso, Ultimo

2011-08-28T13:49:00.002+10:00

Where Mecca Espresso sits on a corner of Harris Street, there used to be a Gloria Jeans. Dare I say, this is a much better use of space?

Mecca Espresso recently won the Cafe of the Year award in SMH's inaugural Good Cafe Guide.

We make plans to visit for a Saturday brunch but unfortunately JUST miss the breakfast menu. And by just, I mean, on my watch, it says we are on time but according to the friendly staff, it is a minute past and they're onto the lunch menu now. Boo!

We order at the counter from the limited lunch menu (choice of five sandwiches or four salads) and take a seat amongst the no-frills tables and chairs. There are a lot of people there, including some families with small children.

The coffee comes out and is very good.

We all ordered sandwiches and when they arrive, they are big! Served on stainless steel plates, the fillings are spilling out from underneath the sourdough.

Smashed chickpea sandwich ($10.50)

with roasted eggplant, tomato and parsley

Roast chicken with lettuce sandwich

The chicken sandwich is plain but good. Cold roast chicken and crisp lettuce is a good combination with the soft sourdough and I quickly polish it off.

Would definitely return and this time, early enough to try the breakfast menu!

Sydney Fish Markets, Pyrmont

2011-08-06T15:28:00.002+10:00

Another trip to the Sydney Fish Markets? Yes please!

We went a bit overboard with enough food to feed 10 people rather than just the two of us. But that's okay, just meant more to eat and leftovers to take home!

First up were two insanely huge seafood platters

The first platter had scallops in the shell, grilled squid, calamari ring, salt and pepper squid and prawn cutlets

The other had about seven soft shell crabs piled up to form a small mountain

I love eating the bodies of the soft shell crabs and having that distinct flavour of the 'mustard' suddenly fill your mouth along with the crab meat and crispy coating.

Sydney rock oysters

The oysters were delicious and fresh with a quick squeeze of lemon across the top.

Salmon and tuna sashimi

I was a bit annoyed that they gave me two packets of wasabi instead of the two packets of soy sauce that I asked for! Too lazy to trek back to the store but it meant that we had no sauce for the sashimi (and I don't eat wasabi). Next time I'll check the packets before leaving!

After consuming as much as we could and packaging the rest for my friend to take home, amazingly enough, we had some room for dessert.

I've never paid much attention to the deli inside the fish markets but we had a good browse around and it is a treasure trove of gourmet goodies!

Including some Maggie Beer ice cream which made for the perfect dessert.

The fish markets never disappoint.

Museum of Sydney Cafe, Sydney CBD

2011-07-31T21:23:00.002+10:00

Not too long ago, we purchased a voucher from Spreets for 2 high teas at MOS cafe. It seemed like good value as it worked out to be just under $20 per person.

On the day of the booking, we were greeted by a friendly waiter at the door who said 'Spreets vouchers? Over here!' They had reserved certain tables for those with vouchers and we picked the best one left. Looking around, it seemed like everyone was having the high tea!

From the tea menu, I ordered T2's Assam tea, hoping that it would have a really strong assam flavour which I like.

Unfortunately it just tasted like a strong English breakfast and didn't have the malty flavour I was looking for.

The sandwiches were lovely, with three varieties of egg, smoked salmon and cucumber. I kind of wished they had four varieties instead of an extra serving of cucumber!

So I guess with a voucher, I'm not expecting much but I was disappointed with the scones. They were served on a plate with some mini quiches (which were quite nice).

The scones weren't like any scones I've had before. They were about the size of a 20c piece (possibly even a bit smaller) and rock hard on the outside with the tiniest bit of dough on the inside. I struggled to hold the scone in my fingers and put cream on it without getting the cream onto my fingertips!

The dessert tier was cannoli, chocolate dipped strawberries, a mini lemon tart and a mini chocolate cup.

Despite the bad scones, it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon and still good value for the voucher!

Gumshara, Chinatown

2011-07-17T22:16:00.000+10:00

Social media has well and truly worked in Gumshara's favour. What surely used to be a ramshackle ramen store in a rundown, partially underground foodcourt is now a booming business success and it seems like every second person wants to try its famous thick broth made from fresh pork bones.

Such was the case with The Chief, who begged me to take her to try it out. I was initially reluctant because I hadn't been impressed with my first and only visit to Gumshara, approximately 3 years ago. I found the broth to be too thick, so much so that it became gluggy towards the end and I couldn't taste the flavour anymore.

But I remembered how beautiful the eggs were and was happy to give it another try.

So off we went on a weeknight and although it was close to 7.30pm, there was a steady crowd at Gumshara, waiting for their ramen.

We both ordered the Pork Spare Rib ramen with an extra egg.

Pork Spare Rib Ramen ($14.50) and egg ($1.50)

Just as an aside, there is a small note underneath the Pork Spare Rib ramen saying that only 20 bowls per day. Is this true? Because as I said, we went quite late in the day and given the crowds/constant queue and the fact that there's only a choice of six ramen's or so, I can't imagine that we 'snagged' the last bowls of the Pork Spare Rib...

Anyway! That is neither here nor there. I was happy to get the bowl and it was quite good. Having learned my lesson from my first visit, I only took a small sip of broth with each mouthful of noodles. The pork spare rib was deliciously meaty and I chewed it to the bone. Unfortunately for The Chief, she found her pork to be too salty. When we compared the two, hers was a lot darker than mine - I'm not sure what that means in terms of cooking but we figured that it must have had something to do with the different taste!

The eggs were amazing. They are soft with a runny semi solid yolk and are the best soft boiled eggs ever!

I'm glad that I gave Gumshara another try because I would happily return again!

Baroque, the Rocks

2011-07-10T13:32:00.003+10:00

Baroque is a modern French bistro located in a great position at the beginning of George St in the Rocks. It has been on my 'to-try' list after having drooled over other food blogger's pictures, so when I saw that Travelzoo were promoting Baroque with a $78 lunch for two, I quickly snapped it up without worrying about who my dining companion would be - after all, who wouldn't want to share in such a great deal?

When I called to make my booking, I wasn't surprised to learn that there were a limited number of bookings each day for Travelzoo voucher users. Luckily that was fine for me since I wasn't too fussed about what date I wanted to go, but limited bookings is always something to keep in mind when buying a coupon!

It was a beautiful winter's day when we finally made our visit. Our waitress was absolutely lovely and quickly brought over menus and table water for us.

The voucher was for two entrees, two mains and a shared dessert tasting plate with tea or coffee. You could choose whatever you wanted from the menu.

Fresh bread was brought over which we swiped into the little pan of olive oil.

We both ordered homemade iced tea (not included with the voucher), however we were both a bit disappointed when it arrived. The colour of my friend's iced tea was significantly lighter than mine, and upon tasting, hers tasted a bit like cordial. Very strange! We concluded that they might us a pre ready syrup or mix and diluted hers a bit too much.

Homemade iced tea

For my entree, I chose the grilled scallops.

Grilled scallops, shitake confiture, fried pine nuts, Jerusalem artichoke, butternut pumpkin (normally $22)

My friend chose the calamari for her entree.

Fricassé of calamari, saffron cracker, crab cream (normally $20)

After tasting her dish, I have to confess that I had a moment of food envy. The calamari was delectably soft and the surrounding cream had the beautiful flavour of crab infused into it.

I was satisfied with my choice of main though, which was delicious (and personally, I thought it was tastier than my friend's choice!)

Grilled Angus flank steak, triple cooked chips, eschalotte and watercress salad, béarnaise sauce (normally $35)

I was charmed by the small pot of béarnaise sauce which our waitress used to dollop the sauce onto my plate while serving. The flank steak was cooked just how I had asked (medium) and the sauce was thick and creamy. The triple cooked chips were just a bit too much for me, they were extra crispy and crunchy so I offered these up to my companion who loved them.

Risotto of butternut pumpkin, puree of brown butter, sage, chestnut served with scallops (normally $33)

The colours of the scallops and risotto reminded me of my entree! I had a small taste and the risotto was nice and not gluggy like risotto can sometimes be.

Lastly and finally....the pièce de resistance....the dessert tasting plate!

I let out a little gasp when it was placed reverently on our table and couldn't resist snapping a few extra photos. It was so pretty!

A selection of four macarons, three small cakes, a petit four and scattered chocolate curls restiing on a bed of crumble and gold flakes. Amazing and I loved it!

My favourite was the chai macaron, a flavour which I haven't tasted anywhere else before. It was dense and so packed with chai flavour, I was tempted to grab some from to go!

After the meal, we were both full and realised we had been there for about two hours, slowly eating our way through the relaxing lunch. It was a great voucher experience - delicious food and wonderful service, I would definitely buy the voucher again if it came up!

Spice I Am, Surry Hills

2011-06-05T20:56:00.001+10:00

Spice I Am on Wentworth Ave does not take reservations. On Saturday night, it opens at 5.45pm so Rehactor and I optimistically aimed to get there at 5.45pm on the dot. We arrived there at 6pm and managed to snag the last table remaining, inwardly sniggering at the people waiting outside in the cold and praising ourselves on our good luck.

Menu cover

Unfortunately the table that we've snagged is in a bad location - right in front of the cash register where there seems to be a never ending queue of people standing next to our seats and in the middle of waiters rushing around.

We each order a drink - Thai Milk Tea for me and Coconut Juice for Rehactor.

The Thai tea is deliciously sweet and exactly what I was after.

You might think I'm a little bit stupid for going to a restaurant called Spice I am when I have a very low heat tolerance threshold. Anything that is remotely spicy seems to register like a ten on my tastebuds and I can't eat it!

It was only AFTER we ordered that I even thought about the potential spice of the dishes. Oops.

Lots of patrons were ordering this impressive looking red duck curry served in a hollowed coconut so we followed suit.

Red duck curry (approx $25)

Wow, this was hot! Way too hot for me, the overpowering chili made my tastebuds numb and I couldn't taste any of the flavours of the ingredients.

Mussaman curry (approx $17)

This was much better for me - I love mussaman curry. The beef was soft and fall-apart. I would have preferred more potato instead of just one big piece of potato (awkward for sharing!).

Soft shell crab papaya salad

This was another impressive looking dish.......but the spice factor defeated me once again! There is chili scattered everywhere in the salad and not even the fresh zing of the papaya can help me to eat this.

As we finish off our meal, the waiters come along and quickly clear our table to usher us out, eager to fill our table with waiting patrons.

Lesson learned - next time I must ask for everything to be mild!

Salmon with Dill & Lemon served with Potato Bake

2011-05-29T17:59:00.000+10:00

For Mother's Day, I decided to cook one of my mum's favourite fish - salmon. I used a recipe for baked salmon fillets with fresh dill and lemon.

As a side, I made green beans and potato bake. I love potato bake! Such a great winter comfort dish, and so easy to make.

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com for the salmon here but changed a few of the ingredients after reading the tips from reviewers, including using fresh dill instead of dill weed.

For the potato bake, I followed a recipe from exclusivelyfoods here but added sliced mushrooms, onions and cheese in between the layers as well. I also parboiled the potato slices before layering them into the tray - this helps the potatoes to cook faster when in the oven.

Menya Mappen, Town Hall

2011-05-15T22:45:00.000+10:00

When I first read about Mappen, I wasn't interested in going. I like tempura, but I don't love it. And this place seemed to be solely focused on tempura.

Months later and it's a cold/rainy Friday night. Mobblees, Rehactor and I were meeting up for dinner and Mobblees loudly proclaimed that she felt like noodles. Well whatever Mobblees wants, Mobblees gets!

I suggested Mappen, a place that I vaguely knew was somewhere near the George St cinemas, where you could pick your own tempura buffet style. We agreed to check it out and trudged down George St, easily lead to the right building by the smell of deep fried batter wafting out onto the street.

There was a long line inside winding between the tables where diners sat with their noodles. A stern sign warns you to not mind seats until you have your food (which is valid enough since the seating is limited). Yessir!

After about a ten minute wait, it was our turn to order.

Line of people at the counter

At the ordering counter, there was a one-woman show going on. She took your order, dunked noodles into this big boiling contraption and then passed you the bowl of noodles for you to move along the line and choose your tempura.

Selection of tempura

I ordered the ontama udon, which had little soup but a nice egg on top.

Ontama udon (small bowl - $4.90)

From the tempura buffet, I chose the giant kakiage, which claimed to have chicken and prawns but I neither see nor taste either of these. It was huge and I would recommend sharing this with someone rather than getting a whole one for yourself. I also chose a prawn tempura and a chicken tempura. The chicken tempura was delicious! It reminded me of a KFC crispy strip, and gave me some much needed protein that was missing from my kakiage...

The tempura cost about $2 or so each, and the meal in total came to about $11 or $12.

Next time, I would get the udon with more soup and add an egg, and some chicken tempura. Yum!

Oh and the best part of the meal - when we had paid and received our food, we turned around from the counters only to discover that there were no seats free! Before we could even express our outrage at people blatantly disobeying the 'no seat before food' rule, a staff member went up to the people minding seats and made them get up so we could sit down with our food. Hooray :-)

And no, I felt no remorse at sitting down in their recently vacated spots to enjoy my udon.

Masuya, Sydney CBD

2011-04-30T18:37:00.000+10:00

Sometimes when I have to work late and subsequently eat dinner at my desk, I choose to have a takeaway bento box from Masuya on O'Connell Street. It's fast, fresh and yum. So I tend to associate Masuya with quick bento box meals but once in a while, I sit down for a meal inside the restaurant.

On this occasion, I was there with a friend and we were both STARVING. We ordered a veritable mountain food that the waiter cautioned us. He was afraid that we would not be able to eat it all but in the end we did, and ordered dessert too ;)

We started off with some drinks, which are the same ones on offer at the sister restaurant Musashi.

Shanghai Berry ($6.80) - Strawberry, raspberry and blueberry with Earl Grey Tea

Makiko's Mango Pretty ($7.80) - Mango, Tasmanian Honey and Lime Juice

I had the Shanghai Pretty and it was so delicious! Sweet and fruity with the distinctive flavour of Earl Grey.

Masuya's Tuna Salad ($13.80)

Lightly cooked tuna with boiled egg, kalamata olives, lettuce & a soy ‘thousand’ dressing

The salad dressing was served on the side, which is why the salad looks a bit naked in this photo. It was served in a large bowl and we polished it all off. The seared tuna pieces tasted great with the dressing.

Beef Tataki ($13.80)

subtly grilled rare grain-fed beef sliced sashimi style served with ponzu-soy citrus dipping sauce

The beef tataki was very fresh, but I would have liked more flavour in the ponzu dipping sauce.

Tempura King Prawns ($14.80)

Lightly battered tempura style prawns with dashi dipping sauce

I thought the serving size of this dish was a bit small but the prawns were coated in a nice tempura batter. Nothing to get hugely excited about.

Sushi O'Connell ($19.80)

combination of traditional & modern sushi nigiri and sushi rolls

Yum. Just looking at that sushi collection now is making my mouth water! The sashimi and sushi at Masuya is always fresh and this platter was no expection. My favourite was the grilled salmon, closely followed by the grilled scallop.

As I said at the beginning of this post, we were very hungry when we ordered so....yes, we got two sushi dishes.

California Roll ($14.80)

The California Roll pieces were big. My astute readers will have noticed that there was California Roll sushi in the previous sushi platter. They were exactly the same as the pieces on this plate, very big. So I will admit that I was a bit sick of California Rolls at the end of the meal!

I feel like I need to reiterate that we were starving at the start of the meal as we also ordered the next platter. Remember, this all this food was just for two hungry girls (who clearly have no self restraint when ordering)!

Sashimi Deluxe ($32.80)

Selection of catch of the day local fish, scampi, two kinds of tuna, salmon and kingfish & assorted of local fish on ice

The sashimi platter was a sight to behold, packed with fresh sashimi carefully placed on the bowl of ice. Including one of my favourites, scampi!

So after that huge feast, we were stuffed to the gills. Our waiter actually only brought out two of these dishes at the start (the california rolls and salad ) and waited to ask us if we still wanted the rest of the food we had ordered. We stared disbelieving at him because we had just thought the kitchen was really busy that night and that was why our food was delayed!

Last but not least, we both ordered the same dessert.

Black sesame ice cream ($4.80?)

Two generous scoops of black sesame ice cream with fresh fruit. The perfect ending to an incredibly huge dinner!

Khan Baba, Auburn

2011-04-23T21:46:00.001+10:00

Whenever I read about local places that are supposedly adored by famous people, I immediately want to try it. It doesn't matter if I don't even know who the famous person is, such as in this case, where I read on smh here that a famous cricketer loves to go to Khan Baba in Auburn.

Side thought: I'm not sure why I feel the urge to try these places, after all, shouldn't the opinion of a random cricketer (mind you, I don't even know the rules of cricket let alone watch it, let alone know who the players are) be equal to the opinion of a friend or family member? Surely a famous person doesn't have more refined tastebuds than our everyday companions. But anyway, I digress...

I don't usually eat Indian but whenever I do, I always wonder why I don't eat it more often. And again, that was the case after visiting Khan Baba.

We arrived on an early Saturday night, and were the only ones in the restaurant. As the night grew later, the restaurant slowly filled up but for a while, we were the only two there. Heehee

I ordered a mango lassi, a traditional Indian drink made from yoghurt. It was fetched from a ready supply in the fridge and was great - cool, slightly sour and thick.

Mango lassi ($3.50)

From the menu, we ordered a number of things to try. Each dish came out piping hot and it was a great feast to be had!

Plain naan ($1.90) and Garlic Naan ($2.50)

The naan was sooooooooo good. Hot, fresh and a little bit oily, I loved tearing it up into little bits to dip into the sauce.

Rice

The rice was huge and more than enough for the two of us.

Tandoori prawns (entree - $15.90)

Shelled tiger prawns marinated in tandoori sauce and grilled in a clay oven served with lemon garlic sauce.

The tandoori prawns were pleasant, a bit spicy, nothing to hugely rave about.

Chicken tikka masala ($13.90)

Boneless char grilled chicken cooked in a wok with capsicum, spring onion, tomatoes, green herbs and garnished with fresh ginger.

The chicken tikka masala was spicier than I expected. The mango lassi came in handy to wash away some of the heat in my mouth. Bear in mind, my tolerance level for spice is very low so you might not find it to be as spicy as I did!

The serving size was deceptive, the bowls look small when they are brought out but it was extremely filling.

Butter chicken ($14.00)

Chargrilled chicken fillet finished in cream, cashwenut and tomato sauce

Mmm....the butter chicken was delicious. This was the sauce that I loved to dip the naan bread into. Not spicy at all, just smooth, yummy sauce that tasted great with the rice too.

As you can see, the prices are more than reasonable. A great Indian dining experience and I would definitely like to return to Khan Baba to try some of their other dishes!

Becasse, Sydney CBD

2011-04-10T22:03:00.000+10:00

Becasse was where I went for the second of my two Sydney Fast Festival Feasts in January. Like with Est, it was my first visit and a perfect opportunity to try it out.

The restaurant is divided into two levels and we were seated on the upper level. It was quite dark, very hushed with elegant wallpaper lining the walls.

The Festival Feast was comprised of two courses for the set price of $55. However, I was delighted with some small freebies that were thrown in.

First there was the bread. The two round breads below were pumpkin and garlic. I'm not ashamed to say that I accepted the waiter's offer of a bread refill. I love good bread!

The accompanying olive oil and butter had a twist to it - see below, a little cube of olive oil and some whipped butter!

We also received the small canapes below - I cannot, for the life of me, remember what they were, but it had goat's cheese on top :)

The entree for the Festival Feast was Marinated heirloom vegetables with aged organic grass fed wagyu bresaola.

The main course was steamed barramundi with shellfish bisque, crushed potatoes and coriander

It was a small portion but incredibly flavoursome, I enjoyed it more than the entree.

A complimentary small dessert was provided to us in a snow egg-esque glass.

We also decided to share a dessert from the a la carte menu, the souffle of the day with creme anglaise!

The souffle was very sweet and fluffy. I was glad that we decided to share because I couldn't fit anymore after a few bites!

Summer Lovin

2011-04-03T18:58:00.000+10:00

To say bye to summer, we made a gorgeous fruit salad to bring to a BBQ. There's nothing better than some fresh fruit!

Est., Sydney CBD

2011-02-06T20:55:00.001+11:00

The Sydney Festival was on during the month of January. One part of the festival was called 'Fast Festival Feast' where you could have a set menu at participating restaurants with a glass of wine for a set price. It was on from Mon- Fri and you had to start between 6pm and 7pm.

The majority of the restaurants offered one course with a glass of wine for $30.

There were three restaurants (Assiette, Becasse and Est) which offered a Premium Fast Festival Feast for $55 - two courses and a glass of wine.

A few colleagues and I decided to try the feast at Est.

Fast festival feast menu at Est

It was my first visit to Est and I was impressed by the hushed atmosphere and attentive service. As we went straight after work, the fading sunlight streamed in from the large windows overlooking George Street.

The waiter came around with a basket filled with different types of bread. I selected the small french baguette.

Glass of Stoneleigh Pinot Noir included with Feast

With each course that was served, a choreographed number of waiters came striding out carrying each of our plates. I think there were five or six of us at the table that night so to have five or six waiters converge on the table and synchronize the serving of the plates was really nice!

The entree was a beautifully presented salad. The light colour palette and delicate curls of the vegetable made it almost too pretty to eat.

Salad of avocado, witloaf, pink grapefruit, radishes, mustard cress

I had no idea that avocado could taste so fresh. How did they get it to taste so fresh??

We also ordered sides of mashed potato to accompany our mains.

Dollop of mash

Crisp skin mulloway fillet, shaved fennel, green beans, preserved lemon, dill oil

The main was equally as delicious as the entree. The fish was soft and, just like the avocado, the green beans tasted extra fresh.

It was a great experience and I'm glad the Festival Feast series gave us a chance to try Est.

Stay tuned - I also tried the Festival Feast at Becasse!

Azuma Kushiyaki, Regent Place

2011-01-28T12:43:00.007+11:00

I never felt a strong desire to try Azuma Kushiyaki despite reading other blog posts about it. But one day, that changed.

It was all due to my friend Moose who told me about an episode of SBS Food Safari.....you may have read or heard about it before. When I googled Azuma and Food Safari, there were a sackful of hits for the famous seared tuna salad that was prepared by Azuma himself on the show.

Even if you hadn't heard of the Food Safari episode prior to entering Azuma Kushiyaki, it is a bit hard to miss. Everywhere that the seared tuna salad is mentioned on the menu, the words 'As seen on Food Safari' are written right next to it!

So of course I had to try it. If it's good enough to be on TV, it's good enough for me to eat.

My two dining companions (I might add, Moose wasn't among them so I tried it even before him! In fact, I don't think he has even tried the tuna salad yet...) were so impressed by the numerous Food Safari references, they also ordered the tuna salad. The waitress lifted her eyebrows and said, 'Three tuna salads?'

Well what do you expect when you scatter TV references all over the menu?

Seared tuna salad ($16.00)

Served with ponzu vinaigrette

Did it live up to the hype?

Yes! It was delicious! Each piece of tuna was perfectly seared. The dressing was light and tangy and I ate each piece of tuna with a bit of the shallots and radish that were generously scattered on top. I would definitely get it again.

Spicy miso soup ($8.80)

The soup came in a large bowl with cute quail eggs inside.

Inside out spider hand roll ($11.00)

I couldn't go to Azuma Kushiyaki without trying some kushiyaki! I ordered some to try individually from the menu.

Atlantic Salmon with Soy ($3.00)

The salmon was my favourite - I ended up getting another salmon after this one because it was so good. The fish had been cooked perfectly with a great charred flavour. I added some of the Himalayan Pink Rock Salt that was on the table (and which they sell instore), and bam! The flavour became even more delicious.

Sea perch marinated in soy, sake and mirin ($3.00)

The sea perch was my second favourite. It was soft, not too salty and once again, tasted great with the rock salt.

Wild scallop with soy and homemade garlic oil ($3.00)

Chicken thigh fillet with Kushiyaki sauce ($3.00)

These two were disappointing. The scallop was a bit overcooked - and I don't know if you can tell from the photo but the skewer consisted of 1.5 tiny scallops i.e. three halves of a scallop. It was not satisfying.

The chicken wasn't great either, just ordinary.

We also ordered some drinks, including lychee liquer with soda, and with orange - they were nice but very weak.

But all in all, a good experience and I would return!

Ichiban Boshi, Sydney CBD (2)

2011-01-23T13:49:00.001+11:00

Whenever I go to Ichiban, I always seem to order the same things. But for once, something else on the menu caught my eye.

Aburi Chashu-men.

The piece de resistance of this ramen are the large slices of fatty pork that have been charred to perfection. I think I have found my new favourite Ichiban ramen.

You can see in the below pic that I've added boiled egg (+$1) and there is a side of four pieces of karaage chicken (+$4). They normally put the chicken karaage in the ramen but I ask for it to be on the side so that it doesn't get soggy too fast.

Aburi chashu- men ($12)

And unlike the Tonkotsu ramen, I don't think they ever run out of this stuff! Yum yum yum.

Sir Stamford, Circular Quay

2011-01-19T19:03:00.002+11:00

This is the third time that I've been to Sir Stamford for high tea. Given the number of places that serve high tea in Sydney and those visits could have been used to try somewhere new, I'm sure you will appreciate that I must really like it!

Here are a few pics from this latest high tea. By the way, I realised that I forgot to take a teapot photo! D'oh! The essence of any post about high tea! (along with a good scones photo...)

Not that the teapot was anything special - if I recall correctly, it was just a small stainless steel pot. But I have gotten the same tea each time that I've visited - the Irish Whiskey. Mmm - it is SO good! Deliciously malty. Does anyone know where I can buy this from? I keep forgetting to ask them and I've googled it but to no avail.

First up, the scones. Yum. Soft on the inside, dusted with flour. Lilianfels still holds the place in my heart for the best high tea scones, but these are pretty damn good too.

Next tier, the savouries. I love the chicken sandwiches that they do here, they are delicious! I swapped my salmon for my friend's chicken so that I could have both chickens - plus she wanted both salmon's so it was win- win.

And lastly, the sweets! There were darling little vanilla cupcakes with some grape sugar violets on top, black forest chocolate cups, mini cannoli, strawberry tarts and the centrepiece - mango pudding with flames of hard toffee shooting up from the little cups.

Yum! Usually I can't finish everything in a high tea and I didn't this time either, but I came close!

Botanic Gardens Restaurant

2011-01-16T13:35:00.000+11:00

As you may have guessed, I am a bit behind in my blogging. I have photos upon photos languishing in my pictures folder without any time to write up posts!

We went to the Botanic Gardens Restaurant for our team christmas party last year. If you haven't been there before, it's located somewhere in the Botanical Gardens with outdoor and indoor seating. On this particular day, it was incredibly humid and someone commented that it was as though we were sitting in a rainforest with the leafy canopy overhead and the heat : \

It was a set menu, alternate drop and I don't recall there being a menu on our tables so you will have to make do with my sparse descriptions.

For entrees, it was either quail or king prawns.

Next up was the main. I can't actually remember what these were! I think it was barramundi or lamb.

And for dessert, creme caramel.

A nice relaxing lunch, at a place that I didn't even know existed. Did all of my readers have nice xmas work lunches?

Takeru, Haymarket

2011-01-09T15:32:00.000+11:00

In the past five years or so, I've walked past Takeru so many times and never once gone in to eat. Why? I'm not sure why, it just didn't seem special or worthy. But on this particular afternoon, Moose and I had walked very far to try Azuma in Regent Place, only to discover they weren't open yet. In a brief flash of inspiration, I suggested the nearby Takeru instead.

We nabbed some seats by the window as the place was fairly empty. The food came out quickly after we ordered.

Kaisen salad ($12.30)

The salad was a generous serving size and it was surprisingly good! It was just a big version of the side salad that was in the bento box, with some diced tuna, salmon and halved prawns.

Wafu style pizza ($9.90)

You can see the pizza slid around a bit during transit to our table. I don't really like rice cake on pizza but the bits of chicken were yum

Lunch bento box - grilled eel ($12.90)

Moose appeared satisfied with his bento box.

I would visit Takeru again, I saw they had a squid ink pizza that looks like it's worth trying...

Flying Fish, Pyrmont

2010-12-11T22:16:00.001+11:00

I had high expectations for Flying Fish - I had read a number of reviews and saw photos from others visits. The number one thing that I wanted to try was their seared tuna.

Flying Fish is located at the end of Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, right next to the water. We found easy street parking nearby but it took us a while to find it because google maps on my iphone lead us the wrong way!!

When we finally found it, I was ready to collapse at the bar with a drink.

Cocktails at the outside bar lounge

After hanging at the bar for a while, we were soon ushered inside and upstairs to our table.

The view of downstairs from our table upstairs

You can see the Harbour Bridge from the window (unfortunately half blocked by a pillar in this photo!)

It was Sunday lunchtime and the restaurant was busier than I thought it would be. Almost every table upstairs was occupied.

Upstairs dining area

Our waiter came around with the bread basket and asked us which bread we would like - white bread or soy with linseed and corn. Then he said those magic words 'or you can try both'.

Of course I want to try both!

The bread was warm, which in turn meant that the butter melted when it was placed on the bread.

Omg, the butter on the left side is possibly the best butter that I have ever tasted. It has carbonized salt (I think that's what the waiter said it was...), the salt has been charcoal-ed and gave the most amazing taste to the bread. I'm not ashamed to say that I ate the entire ball of that butter.

Anyway, since it was the most lovely weather outside, we had decided to go to the fish markets after Flying Fish. Hence we restrained ourselves on the ordering.

The only thing that I really wanted to try was the seared yellowfin tuna. It is on the menu as a starter but I asked for a main size.

Seared yellow fin tuna with ruby red grapefruit, sweet crackling
pork & black pepper caramel ($42)

It was a nice dish, but I wasn't blown away. I think I was expecting something amazing. The sauce was sweet and the grapefruit segments made the dish even sweeter. The tuna was thinly sliced and fresh. Presentation was very pretty.

I couldn't help but wonder though - if this was the main size, what did the starter size look like - two pieces of tuna? :\

Pan roasted blue eye trevalla with hazelnut, Pantelleria capers,
white balsamic potato, green grape, & beurre noisette ($44)

The blue eye was beautifully cooked, and fell apart with a slight prod of the fork. I also liked the hazelnuts and the creamy little potatoes.

Green salad that comes with the main

We also ordered some chips to nibble on.

Hand cut chips ($10)

They were good chips indeed.

So it was a good lunch, but I probably wouldn't head back anytime soon - too many other places to try! I think it's a great location for drinks though, especially with good weather.

After Flying Fish, we headed off to the Fish Markets for some more delicious seafood. My idea of a perfect day!

Sydney Fish Markets, Pyrmont (2)

2010-12-06T21:52:00.002+11:00

There was surprisingly good weather in Sydney this weekend (surprising because if you have been reading the news, we're supposed to get a miserable summer filled with rain and cold) which meant that it was a perfect occasion for.....the fish markets! yayaya!

Just the other day, I had been thinking how much I would like to go again and the perfect spontaneous opportunity arose. This was our second lunch so we didn't get as much as I would normally eat, but still had some good variety going on.

By the way, these pics were taken with my new iphone 4! What do you guys think? I've had a bit of trouble uploading the pics and sizing them but hopefully can figure it all out soon.

First up, salt and pepper squid and calamari rings!

Next, some fresh Sydney Rock Oysters with lemon ($13.99 per doz). They were plump and fresh, delicious!

Then an old favourite - kingfish and salmon sashimi with soy sauce (approx $6). The salmon tasted even more fresh than usual and melted in my mouth.

And lastly some scallops ($2.50 each)....

It was such a great afternoon to sit by the water and chill out with the seafood. Favourites were oysters and sashimi, I just can't get enough of them!

Has anyone else read about the cheap lobsters that are supposed to be in abundance right now? I want to get me some of those too!

Pho at Flemington

2010-11-14T18:32:00.009+11:00

Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the place that we went to in Flemington for pho! If you know Flemington, then you will understand my problem. I rarely go there ( I think this visit was the first time in years) and there are countless pho places.

So you will just have to enjoy the pictures.

Our condiments by the window

Rare beef and beef balls pho ($8

In this pic, the beef balls have risen to the surface :)

Rice noodles with spring rolls and lemongrass chicken

Dipping sauce that came with the rice noodles

At the end of our meal, we noticed some people had just come in through the doors but there weren't any empty tables . Undeterred, the waitress came to stand next to our table and pointed to us, loudly calling out to them, 'These people are about to leave!"

I guess that was our cue! We paid our bill and left, having a small chuckle - naturally the high number of pho places in Flemington is to meet demand, and business is booming!

Taste of Shanghai (2), World Square

2010-11-02T18:53:00.003+11:00

I know, I know - I'm a bad food blogger! Sincere apologies for my absence - but the silver lining is that I have a few posts to catch up on.

I had previously been to Taste of Shanghai in World Square and was satisfied with their food. Moose and I decided to revisit for a late Saturday lunch. We walked from Sydney Uni and by the time we arrived at World Square, we were both starving. I distinctly remember my stomach grumbling and wanting to gnaw my own arm off in hunger.

Dramatics aside, we let loose on the menu and ordered four dishes to share.

1. The old staple, xiao long baos

2. Another old staple, the pan-fried pork buns

3. A new addition - Shandong chicken! I think it was about $16.80. Although you can see some lovely pieces of breast meat at the top of the dish, I'm sad to report that most of the chicken underneath was random mish mash of bones and miscellaneous chicken parts. The sauce was nice though.

4. Fried rice! Now, I can't remember exactly what the menu options were, but there were three or four different types of fried rice. I asked the waitress for help and she recommended this one, saying that it was the preferred fried rice of the Shanghainese. When I questioned what were the ingredients, she couldn't really answer. Her English wasn't good but we followed her suggestion anyway.

The rice was about $10 and it was a huge serving! There were two girls sitting at the table next to us and they asked their waitress what we had ordered. Funnily enough, their waitress didn't know and had to come over to look at our order docket :)

Later, we saw them with their own small mountain of fried rice.

We had ordered a lot of food for two people and didn't end up finishing it. Instead, we got a takeaway container for the rest of the fried rice! (which was actually quite good).

Well-Connected Cafe, Glebe

2010-09-13T20:39:00.004+10:00

Someone told me that this used to be an internet cafe.

Located near the start of Glebe Point Road, it definitely isn't an internet cafe any longer! Instead it's a funky, cosy cafe that was exactly what I was looking for on a cold and rainy day.

I started off by ordering a hot chocolate (about $5) and it was soooooooo good!

It came in a large, tall mug and tasted like the best hot chocolate that I've had all year. There was a thick foam on top that seemed endless. Delicious! I even momentarily contemplated ordering a second one, it was that good.

But I didn't, because then our food arrived!

This was one of their breakfast options but it was still available at 4 in the afternoon. Yay! Approximately $15, it contained 2 pieces of sourdough, scrambled eggs, two roasted tomatos, mushrooms and beans. Also came with a glass of orange juice. Phew!

The beans had a great flavour to them and I was starting to feel very full.

Last but not least, chips with aioli.

Another generous serving and the chips came out piping hot. Yum!

Well-Connected is a hidden gem that I've probably been slow to discover but I'll definitely be back for more!

Random snaps

2010-08-30T22:11:00.005+10:00

Apologies for the lack of proper post this week! Work has been eating me alive so that I'm just a wrung-out dish rag by the time I finally get home.

So this is just a mishmash post of some random food!

Grilled salmon, tuna and kingfish from Kagaya at Hurstville. This looks a lot better than it tasted. It wasn't melt in mouth and had been flamed just a little bit too long.

Chicken laksa from Happy Chef in Hunter Connection. This was yum! I used to get laksa from the Happy Chef in Market City all the time when I was still at uni and this tastes exactly the same. The only downside is that it's a small store with limited seating and gets busy during lunchtime.

Jasmine pearl milk tea from Chatime. This was okay. I like how they offer upfront the choice of no ice/half ice and half sugar. I got no ice and normal sugar but if I got it again, I would probably get half sugar because it was a bit too sweet.

Green tea ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Yum! Spot on matcha flavour.

Packet of snow pea crisps from the asian grocery. They looked so cool on the packaging!

And then the reality. They tasted like those JJ snacks and were light, powdery. Would not repurchase.

Taste of Shanghai, World Square

2010-08-22T18:30:00.008+10:00

It has been a while since I have visited Ashfield for some Xiao Long Baos and one Saturday when I was in the city, it suddenly became a craving. Want xiao long baos now!

I was with my friend Moose and he told me that there was a (relatively) new Shanghai place in World Square that was the same as one of the Ashfield places. We decided to go check it out.

Of course, World Square already has the famous Din Tai Fung. I've only been to Din Tai Fung once and although it was great, I knew that I couldn't afford to go there on a regular basis. *tear* Hence why I started venturing to Ashfield for the dumpling fix.

Taste of Shanghai is located on the underground level of World Square, next to the two dollar store. It is fairly large with spacious seating and we were quickly seated by an eager staff member lurking near the entrance.

View from our table out into the shops

Inside the restaurant

Complimentary tea and menus were brought out to us as soon as we sat down.

Tea

Glossy-paged menu with extra large pictures

I flicked through the menu and saw lots of interesting choices but we decided to stay with what we had already planned to order.

There were a number of staff members wandering around the floor and I automatically assumed that this would mean good service. However, I was surprised when our xiao long baos came out - the waiter just plonked them in the middle of our table without even bothering to unstack the two tiers!

So we unstacked them ourselves to reveal the two types of dumplings that we ordered - pork and crab meat.

Shanghai steamed mini pork buns ($8.80 for 8)

Steamed mini pork buns with crab meat flavour ($10.80 for 8)

As you can see, the prices of the dumplings are only a dollar or two higher than those available in Ashfield. They were delicious. None of them had burst during transit and the hot soup flowed into the mouth after biting into them. Both the pork and the 'crab meat flavour' (as per menu description!) were great.

There were only two of us so we had 8 dumplings each, I was feeling full after devouring my share. Still, there was one more dish that I always have to have and it rounded out our tri

Shanghai pan-fried pork buns ($9.80 for 8)

These had been pan-fried for just a little bit too long as the bottom had turned black and had a burnt flavour.

Despite this, they still tasted good. Each bun had a decent serving of hot soup in the middle and they were toasty hot.

I'll definitely revisit the next time that a xiao long bao craving hits while I'm in the city!

The Argyle, the Rocks

2010-08-15T20:20:00.003+10:00

One sunny Friday, not too long ago, a colleague and I went for a walk during lunchtime in search of somewhere that had some seating in the sunshine.

Somehow, we ended up all the way over at the Argyle! It does have a great open-air courtyard but we hadn't intended to walk that far.

In any case, we were there and hungry.

The menu is fairly standard. It consists mainly of pub-style dishes with a fancy twist added - meaning, of course, that the price is a little higher than your normal pub dishes.

There weren't that many people there, and our food came out quickly.

Club sandwich ($18)

Toasted triple decker with chicken thigh, lettuce, tomato, bacon and our Chef's secret sauce served with French fries

My colleague ordered the club sandwich and while it was a generous serving, it didn't seem particularly special

Wagyu beef burger ($18)

Char-grilled 200g Wagyu burger, lettuce, tomato & all the trimmings served with wedges

I ordered the Wagyu beef burger and it was also nice, in a plain kind of way. There was an unusual addition though.

Check out that fuschia coloured sauce! I think it was a substitute/new fangled way of having beetroot with a beef burger. There was another small twist of deep fried onions. On a whole, the burger was satisfying but not note-worthy.

Where are your favourite places for a lazy Friday lunch?

Quay - for the Snow Egg!

2010-08-08T22:08:00.000+10:00

If you were one of the 3.96 million Australians who watched the Masterchef finale, then you know about the Snow Egg. It was the last round of the finale where Adam and Callum had to recreate Peter Gilmore's dessert.

My curiosity had been aroused after watching the finale and I was delighted to discover that Quay's three course lunch is actually quite reasonably priced (in my opinion). It is $75 for 2 courses, or $95 for 3 courses. Of course, the Snow Egg is one of the dessert options.

So we made a booking for a weekday lunch - absolutely decadent for a lunchtime during work hours!

For those who don't know about Quay, it is a 3-hat restaurant located at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay. It has been awarded 3 hats for eight years in a row! It has also won Restaurant of the Year numerous times and even places on world restaurant rankings.

Suffice to say, I was super excited and made sure to charge my camera batteries in preparation for some snow egg photos.

The weather was beautiful and we were seated on the upper floor of Quay where an amazing view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House awaited us.

View of the Opera House

View of the Harbour Bridge (and my drink)

The menu was placed in front of us and we pretended to peruse it as though we hadn't already decided two days ago what we wanted.

Complimentary bread and butter were brought out and the bread was generously re-offered throughout the meal.

I was charmed by the placing of the knives, blade down on the table.

The first item to come out was the amuse bouche.

Tuna tartare with horseradish cream

Aerial view

The flavours packed into this small glass were amazing. It was a great start to the meal.

For my entree, I had decided to have the sea pearls. After seeing so many photos of the sea pearls, I knew what they would look like and they did not disappoint.

Sea Pearls
L-R: crab, octopus (the little white balls are egg-white!), scallop, tuna sashimi

Each sea pearl had a different filling. Here is an example of what was inside the mud crab pearl. It was covered with tiny tapioca pearls.

My colleague ordered the mud crab congee.

Mud crab congee
Hand-shelled mud crab, palm hearts, Chinese inspired split rice porridge

She said that it tasted delicious.

We had ordered a side of potato puree. When it came out, I couldn't help but admire how it had been artfully spooned into the bowl.

Potato puree (additional $12)

The potato puree was deliciously buttery and silky smooth.

For my choice of main, I was previously undecided between the fish or duck. Fish or duck. Duck or fish. Ah, the tough choices we have to make in life....

Since I often lean towards meat, I chose to swing against the grain (is that a saying? Or did I just make that up....) and went for the fish.

Roasted Yamba Mulloway
smoked butter and celeraic cream, green garlic, fennel, leeks, young greens

The dish with an addition of potato puree

The fish was lovely and soft, falling apart with a slight press of my fork.

However, my colleague went for the duck, and after having a taste - I think I made the wrong choice.

Crisp pressed duck confit
winter melon, hasuimo, garlic chive buds, sea scallops, duck juices

Because the duck was AMAZING! The meat was piping hot and fatty. I didn't try a scallop but she assured me that they were cooked perfectly. I wanted more bites but had to restrain myself to finishing my fish.

There was a slight lull in the meal while the staff cleared the table of crumbs. Throughout the lunch, we had noticed numerous snow eggs coming out and were anxious to try the famous dessert ourselves.

We had strategised beforehand - only one of us would order the Snow Egg so that we could taste another dessert as well.

Note: the Snow Egg on the menu was different from the one made on Masterchef! Instead of a guava and custard apple snow egg, it was a jackfruit snow egg on offer. :(

Anyway, without further adieu.....I reveal the Snow Egg!

Jackfruit snow egg

My colleague leaned forward in anticipation as I lowered my fork to crack into the egg. And yes, it did make a satisfying crack!

The inside of the egg

How did it taste? I am reluctant to say this but I always write what I genuinely think about the food so - I wasn't blown away. I wouldn't order it again. The Snow Egg was beautifully presented and makes for pretty photos, but it wasn't to my taste.

It was too sweet. The tuile which forms the protective bubble sticks to your teeth with every mouthful (although some people might like that!). Maybe it was the fact that it was jackfruit? I've never tasted jackfruit before, and the flavour in the Snow Egg was slightly bitter.

Eight texture chocolate cake

This was the other dessert that we selected off the menu. Isn't it pretty? The waiter poured on the liquid dark chocolate that's on the top of the cake after he set it down on the table.

The cake was unbelievably chocolate-y. Exactly as you would expect from an 8-textured chocolate cake! Definitely made for sharing - or it could be polished off alone by the diehard chocoholics out there. Very more-ish indeed.

All in all, Quay was a great experience. Service was impeccable and the harbour views were amazing. I am tempted to go back again - just so that I can have the pressed duck confit for myself!

High Tea at Sofitel Wentworth Lounge

2010-08-01T22:34:00.001+10:00

It's that time again.....time for high tea! Yay!

Goodness knows, I love myself a good high tea. It is a great way to unwind and relax on the weekend. Perusing the tea menu, choosing which tea you want, lounging around to eat the tiny treats....simply wonderful.

High tea on this particular Saturday afternoon was at the Sofitel Wentworth Lounge. It was a spontaneous trip and we arrived at 4pm without a booking. High tea is served here until 5pm so the server checked whether we could still have it - the answer was yes - so we were soon seated.

The lounge is nicer than I expected. It has a variety of seating available, including some armchairs that looked quite comfortable. We chose to sit near the window and I took the seat lined against the wall which wasn't nearly as comfortable as it looked.

The lounge is decorated in soft, muted tones and immediately we begin to relax.

Each table had a small tealight candle holder and as the sky turned to dusk outside, the candles were lit by a waitress.

The candlelight holder - pre-lighting up

The tea selection isn't as large as other high teas - there are two short pages of black and herbal teas. I choose Assam, which was described as having a malty flavour. Unfortunately I couldn't taste this maltiness in the tea!

The teapot also could have been better. The waitress carried it out with small napkins wrapped around the handle. We quickly figured out why - it was because the entire teapot was burning hot because it was metal! This made for awkward pouring as we tried to adjust our teapot-handing so that our fingers didn't accidentally brush against the pot.

I love sugar cubes but even just one of these made the tea exceedingly sweet.

The Assam tea before I added milk

A point in the Softitel's favour - iced water was brought out to us without having to ask.

Almost immediately after the tea and water were brought out, our tier arrived! Perfect timing.

Our low table was a bit small so it was difficult to take the plates out of the tier stand for photos. Hence the shadows. Sorry! I was also feeling incredibly hungry this afternoon and didn't take the time for individual food photos, only by tier.

Let's start from the bottom

Savouries :

This tier consisted of:

Chicken, Preserved Lemon and Almond Sandwich - delicious.

Smoked Tasmanian Salmon, Rocket and Fried Caper on Brioche - the bite sized brioche had a small mountain of smoked salmon on top. I thought this was very generous considering that some high teas seem to think that only tiny portions are permitted.

Goat’s Cheese and Mushroom Profiteroles - also delicious. Biting into the profiteroles to find the savoury filling was a pleasant surprise. I think these, and the chicken lemon almond sandwiches were my favourites from the savoury tier.

Aged Brie, Cranberry and Cucumber on Mini Baguette - this was a nice spin on the usual cucumber sandwich that you find at high tea.

Photo of the goat's cheese profiteroles and smoked salmon brioche with the chicken sandwiches in the background

And then the scones, a necessity for any high tea.

Not the best scones that I've had, but not the worst either. You received two plain scones, and two raisin scones. The cream and jam came in little sauce dishes - I've realised that I much prefer when these condiments come out in small ramekins, like at Lilianfels. It makes for easier slathering!

And lastly, the sweets:

From left to right:
Almond macarons, chocolate eclairs, Raspberry Opera Slice, Wentworth cheese cake, Peach meringue tarts

On this tier:

Raspberry Opera Slice
Chocolate pastry with layers of almond biscuit, raspberry ganache, soaked with framboise
liqueur, garnished with fresh raspberries

The Rasberry Opera Slice was very, very sweet. They are the cubes on the right hand side of the picture that are topped with a raspberry. It reminded me of the limited edition Tim Tams in Raspberry Love Potion flavour! Unfortunately this was too sweet for even my sweet tooth and I left most of mine untouched.

Pistachio Macarons
Soft almond meringue infused with pistachio oil, filled with pistachio ganache

The almond flavour of the macarons was quite strong and overpowered the pistachio flavour.

Wentworth Cheese Cake
The original recipe since the inceptions of Afternoon Tea at the Wentworth. A light jocund
pastry layered with cream and cream cheese

This cheese cake was lovely. At first my friend didn't think that it was a cheesecake because of the light sponge-like cake that sandwiched the cream cheese. She didn't like it, but I did.

Chocolate Éclairs
Freshly baked choux pastry filled with Belgium chocolate mousse, glazed with dark chocolate

The chocolate eclairs were nice but not outstanding.

Peach Meringue Tart
Sweet tartlets filled with white peach curd, topped with scorched meringue

I was SO excited when the waiter announced the peach meringue tart. What a great twist on the traditional lemon meringue tart! This was actually the first treat that I took from the dessert tier because I was so eager to try it and they looked so cute with their perfect meringue tops.

And then...noooooo. They were all wrong! Neither of us could taste the peach flavour. The meringue was a soft meringue and then the bottom had an orange coloured filling, with a strange 'a bit harder than mush' texture. It tasted a bit soapy. Quite odd.

Would I go back to the Wentworth for high tea again? I thought the savouries were outstanding but although the sweets look divine (10/10 for presentation), the taste was a let down.

I don't think I've done a review of high tea at the Stamford Circular Quay before but at the moment, it's ranking as my favourite Sydney high tea : )

Sydney Fish Markets

2010-07-29T18:41:00.000+10:00

LOVE the Sydney fish markets. I just love them. Where else can you get fresh sashimi for a quarter of the price that you would pay at a restaurant? And it's so easy to get to! You can catch a bus, walk from Central (okay, it's about a 20 - 25 minute walk but it's good exercise!) or if you're feeling rich, catch the light rail.

I am always up for a trip to the fish markets and this one was a cracker.

I like walking around the markets to peruse which store has the best priced and freshest-looking seafood. And also just to ogle what's on sale.

For example - check these out:

The sign reads 'Alaskan King Crab Legs - Cooked'. They must be some delicious tasting legs! And what happened to the rest of the crab???

I also had a chuckle when I read this sign:

In case you can't see, it says 'Do not look at the price, quality is the important!'

Hehe.

Usually in food courts, I steer clear of the seafood in bain-maries but for some reason, it looks delicious at the fish markets.

Soft shell crab, prawn dumplings on skewers etc

Garlic prawns

Barbecued octopus

So what did we end up eating?

Firstly, I had already decided that I was finally going to try the Lobster Mornay.

Half lobster mornay from Doyle's ($19.00)

Secondly, I always have to get sashimi - kingfish and tuna.

Sashimi Bar

And lastly, oysters!

Pacific oysters - $14.99 doz

After disbanding to collect our food, we managed to score some prime real estate seating by the water.

And then time to dig in!

Half lobster mornay -$19.00 (with some fish also in the box that belonged to my friend, Moose)

Close-up

After all my build-up, the lobster mornay disappointed. The sauce and cheese lacked zing but it wasn't very meaty :(

There was some good flesh in the tail though, and I devoured it in two bites. Yum.

Salmon sashimi and kingfish - approx $16 (salmon at 44.99 per kg; kingfish at 49.95 per kg + 20c per soy sauce packet)

You just can't get better sashimi than at the fish markets. It is so smooth and fresh. This looks like a huge amount, and it was, but Moose and I polished it off. Don't forget that the sashimi bar charges 10c per set of chopsticks and for soy sauce as well so think about using your fork from other places if you feel like saving some pennies ;)

Pacific oysters -$14.99 per doz

Mmm. Fresh, plump oysters with a dash of lemon. Delicious. Moose said that he had one that was a bit gritty but I lucked out and all of my half doz were perfect!

After wrapping up this post, I'm hungry for some Fish Markets again! I think it's time to plan another visit.

Pyrmont Grower's Markets

2010-07-24T21:05:00.005+10:00

Given that the next Pyrmont Grower's Markets is coming up (first Saturday of each month!), I thought that I would show my readers a glimpse of my visit there last month.

Ever since I started working full-time, I cherish my weekend sleep-in's. I can think of nothing better than being able to go to sleep the night before, without setting an alarm clock.

However, the Pyrmont Grower's Markets are open between 7am - 11am. This means getting up bright and early, but with the promise of fresh food and goodies as your reward.

Luckily for us, the weather was bright and sunny despite it being the middle of the coldest Sydney winter. We even managed to find street parking that was a 2 minute walk away = score!

We arrived at about 9.30am and there were so many more people at the markets than I originally expected. It was also larger than I expected - stores lined the stretch beside the water, and there were many more stores on the grassy park area. There were some of the stalls that I had previously seen at the Eveleigh Markets, but many more that I hadn't.

Stalls lining the boardwalk

People lining up at a popular stall

More stalls set out in a circle along the edge of the park, with tables and chairs in the middle for eating

There were stalls selling fresh fruits, meats, cheeses, honey, olive oils, flowers etc. After walking around and making a few purchases, we decided it was time for breakfast!

There were a few stalls with grills on, cooking bacon, eggs, sausages - all with long lines! We went to one stall and unfortunately the charming young man warned us that there may not be any food left by the time we reached the front of the queue. Boo!

So we popped over to another stall and both got a smoked salmon with egg bun.

Smoked salmon and egg roll ($6?)

Inside the roll

It was quite good, the egg was piping hot off the barbecue.

After the savoury part of breakfast, it was time for some sweets! I noticed earlier that Whisk & Pin from the Blue Mountains had a stall and were selling some cookies and brownies. I purchased two to try.

Fig, Ginger and Macadamia nut cookie ($3.50?)

Choc - chip cookie ($3.50?)

They were just okay, they looked better than they tasted.

My friend purchased some sweet treats from another store.

Close-up of the berry & marscapone tart

She said that they were absolutely delicious!

So the next Pyrmont Markets will be on the 7th August and it is located in the park opposite Star City. Don't forget to get there early so that you don't miss out on the hot foods like we did! :)

David Jones Food Hall

2010-07-18T11:03:00.000+10:00

This is just a quick post to show the great quality sashimi that I recently ate at DJ's!

The box was $11.95 which is comparable to prices at sushi take-away stores and cheaper than if you ate in at at a sushi train!

There were five pieces of salmon, two pieces of tuna and three pieces of kingfish.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the temperature of the sashimi was a bit too cold - the fridge that they're stored in must be set at an arctic temperature!

Sushi Tei, Sydney CBD

2010-07-11T09:00:00.000+10:00

Sushi Tei is a three minute walk from my work and it is nice for a slightly more upscale lunch. It is a large restaurant with a small sushi train and normal seating as well - including booth seating.

This visit was the first time that I'd been back since a year ago. What happened was that every time I went, they would take FOREVER to bring out the food. This wasn't practical for a lunch during work hours. Additionally, the food was fantastic enough to warrant the frustration.

It looks like it's gotten a bit better though. On this occasion, the food came out fast and it was easy to get the attention of staff.

We were handed a large bundle of papers, including a menu that is hardcover and bigger than A4 size!

Sample menu

There are a lot of items on the menu to choose from and this is what we ordered:

Hodaka (8 kinds of sushi) - $14.80

This was quite nice. The good thing is that I was with an easy eater so we didn't have any trouble divvying up the sushi - great for me because my least favourites are the prawn and the eel!

Aburi salmon roll - $15.80

These were delicious! Grilled salmon on top with soft shell crab in the middle and generous lashings of mayo on the plate. I could have gobbled up the whole plate.

Salmon chasoba ($10.80)

Light soy dressing that comes with the chasoba

I liked the noodles but the salmon was fried and unfortunately it was dry and hard. Imagine if the salmon had been grilled, what a difference that would have made!

Green tea (complimentary but you have to order it)

So my mind has been changed about Sushi Tei - I'm willing to go there for lunch again, as long as they keep up this good service!

Sushi Tei is right across the road from Bacco but this time, I was far too stuffed to get a dessert afterward!

Uccello, Sydney CBD

2010-07-06T21:18:00.009+10:00

Merivale are doing their winter feast deals again! Except this time, they're calling it 'Feast for the Senses'. Same thing, different name.

If you haven't heard of it before, basically it's a deal where you choose 2 or 3 dishes from a set menu for a set price.

At Uccello, it is $39 for two courses or $49 for three courses. Given that the dessert menu didn't look that great (which was disappointing!), we decided to order an entree and a main each.

It was my first time to Uccello and I was pleasantly surprised by the decor. Located inside the Ivy Complex, it was more modern than I expected. The restaurant had wonderful curved booth seating along the sides of the restaurant and normal seating in the middle. At one end, you could see the Pool Club out of the large windows.

A blurry photo of the interior

And of our table

It was a Friday night and I mentioned that we wanted to do the Feast when I was booking. They informed me that because we were doing the deal, we would have to leave by 8pm. That was fine with me since we were meeting straight after work, just after 6pm.

When we arrived, the restaurant was more or less empty. During the night, it gradually filled up a bit more.

Complimentary bread

We both chose the same entree to begin with.

Rotolo farcito
(Mozzarella rolled with San Daniele prosciutto, rucola, sautéed mushrooms, aged balsamic and olive oil dressing)

This was the best dish of the night!! It tasted fresh and had a great combination of flavours. I liberally swiped up the olive oil and vinegar with little bits of the filling. If I went back to Uccello, I would order this again.

We didn't have to wait long before our mains arrived.

Polenta pasticciata con salsiccie piccanti
(Spicy southern style Italian sausages with polenta, red wine and tomato sauce)

I didn't taste this but my friend wasn't overly impressed. She said that it tasted like home cooking. That isn't always a bad thing, but I guess on this night, she didn't feel like home cooking.

As for my choice, I was had preplanned what I wanted but the menu on the night was different from what is currently posted online. Originally, I had planned to order the Uccello lasagne but it wasn't on the menu that we were given, so instead I ordered the pasta.

This is where my memory fails me...I think it was a beef ragu pasta with parmesan on top?

I thought it was great. The sauce wasn't too heavy and it was a decent sized serving. I finished it all!

The reviews on Eatability for Uccello are not the best but I had a good experience and would be willing to return.

I'm not sure how long the winter feasts will run for but I hope to have time to fit in another restaurant before it's over!

Habibs, Bankstown

2010-07-03T21:41:00.000+10:00

Since I have tried El Jannah, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I tried its rival, Habibs.

Both specialise in charcoal chicken with a killer garlic sauce. Both with its loyal fans, travelling far and wide to Bankstown or Granville/Punchbowl to get their fix.

Which would reign supreme?

Habibs is located a short walk from the Bankstown shopping centres. It is no frills dining.

Clear plastic table covers, plastic plants

Ordering area

My dining companion had done a last-minute bail on me so I was left to try Habibs on my own. All the patrons were sitting down in groups and I didn't feel like sitting down by myself (Come on, I might as well have painted a LOSER sign on my forehead) so ordered take-away.

Take-away had slightly cheaper prices to make up for the fact that you didn't get the dine-in inclusions of lebanese bread, pickles etc.

I ordered a quarter chicken and chips, and a small garlic sauce.

Yup, those are grease stains on the top of the box, a sure sign that you're eating healthy :)

I opened the box to find.....

...a small mountain of skinny french fries.

I stuck my fork into the fries to forage for the chicken and emerged triumphant.

Small garlic sauce

The chicken was cooked well, the skin was charcoal-ed but the meat remained soft and tender. I remember the chicken at El Jannah being tougher and I much preferred this chicken.

Soft, white meat

However, the fries were way too salty. I am the first to admit that I am a lover of chicken salt but they had doused the fries with it. Combine the salt with the skinny-ness of the fries and I just thought that thick cut chips would be so much better with the garlic sauce.

Which do I declare to be the winner? El Jannah or Habibs?

El Jannah Punchbowl wins in terms of decor, hands down.

Habibs chicken is better.

El Jannah chips are better.

Garlic sauce is about the same.

So....the answer is, I don't know! What do you guys think?

Habib's Charcoal Chicken
24 Restwell St, Bankstown (near Bankstown Sports Club)
Tel 9708 2219

Encasa, Haymarket

2010-06-26T21:54:00.003+10:00

It feels like I've been wanting to go to Encasa for years and years. Each time that I've walked past, a delicious smell has wafted onto Pitt St and directly towards my nose. More often than not, there are people crowded around the entrance, waiting to go in so I knew that it had to be good.

So it seemed like a small miracle that I finally made the effort and gathered two friends to come with me to Encasa.

I made a reservation for Friday night and was told that they try to do dinner reservations in two sittings. I booked for the second sitting, at 7.30pm.

As it turns out, my friends were grateful that I made the booking since the line was out the door and it seemed like all the tables inside were filled.

In true tapas style, we ordered a number of dishes to share. Because I was running about a half hour late, my friends had chosen the dishes, which I was happy with.

We started off with a jug of red wine sangria which was really good!

Jug and glasses

And then the food came out and soon we were juggling for space on our small table.

Ensalada con Queso ($14)
Lettuce,roasted redcapsicum, goat’s cheese, olives

The salad was nice and it was good to have some greens to go with the heavy food that would follow. The serving size was generous, I think the plate that it arrived on was bigger than my head.

Patatas Bravas ($9)
Fried potato w/ garlic mayonnaise and spicy tomato salsa

The potatoes were one of my favourite dishes. The garlic mayonnaise was delicious and we asked for more of it, which was provided in a small dipping dish. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A definite winner.

Pinchos Morunos ($13.50 tapas, $23 main)
Prime lamb fillet skewers marinated in Moroccan spices

Although the photo only shows two, there were actually four lamb skewers. They were okay, the lamb wasn't too chewy but I probably wouldn't order them next time.

Pulpo a la Plancha ($13.50 for tapas, $24 for main)
Grilled fresh baby octopus

When the octopus arrived sizzling onto the table, my stomach leaped in excitement. I love the smell of grilled seafood and this smelled wonderful.

Unfortunately, it was disappointing. It was tough and hard to chew, while the tentacles had been burnt to little crisps.

Gambas al Ajillo ($13 for tapas, $24 for main)
Peeled king prawns in sizzling garlic oil and chilli

The prawns were average. Nothing more to say. They had that rubbery texture that comes from being frozen.

Vieiras en Azafrán ($13)
Scallops in the shell with saffron, shallot and cream sauce

The sauce used with these scallops were divine. I would have gladly eaten more than my allotted share.

Unfortunately I can't locate the above dish on the restaurant's online menu. It was calamari stuffed with rice. Like the beef skewers, it was okay. It looks a lot more unusual than it actually tasted.

Anyway, I'm glad that I finally went to Encasa and would definitely go back because the sangria was great and their menu has so many items to try! Plus I didn't have any stomach space to try dessert this time. As you can tell from this visit, I think the dishes can be a bit hit and miss but I've always been a risk-taker ;)

Encasa
423 Pitt St (closer to Central Station)
Tel 9211 4257

Chophouse, Sydney CBD

2010-06-20T02:04:00.000+10:00

When I think of bookshelves that smell of rich mahogany, I think of Chophouse.

It is a great place to go for an after-work drink if you're feeling swanky. On weeknights, the clientele is mainly suits who fill up the open air tables outside for a drink. Inside, there is a bar and further inside, is the restaurant.

The atmosphere is great but I found the dishes to be a bit hit and miss.

I only took pics of my own food because it was bit too dark to take pictures of my friends' dishes.

Soy and linseed bread

Sourdough

Butter

It is always so tempting to fill up on soft and warm bread before the meal!

I could easily get full just from eating bread before a meal. Embarrassing but true.

I ordered two dishes, which my friends and the waiter discouraged me from doing. They said I wouldn't be able to finish it.

In hindsight, they were partly correct but I was spurred on to prove them wrong (No one can tell me what or what not to eat! Take that!)

180g Wagyu beef burger with fries (ordered from the 'barside' section of the menu) - $15.90

The beef burger was a good size considering it was on the 'barside' section of the menu. It was deliciously cheesy.

Crispy pork belly and sea scallop salad - $19.50
Chinese cabbage, coriander, pea shoots & soy vinaigrette

Despite being a generous size, this salad wasn't great. The pork belly wasn't crisp, it didn't have any crackle. It was just fat, and lukewarm. The rest of the salad was just shredded vegetables and the flavours didn't mix as well as it sounded like it would from the menu. I left a lot of this untouched.

Potato puree (side dish) - $9.90

You can never go wrong with mashed potato.

I really like the atmosphere of Chophouse so I would return - but next time, I'm going for the red meat!

Chophouse is located at 25 Bligh St Sydney
Open: Mon- Fri from 12pm, Sat from 6pm
Phone: 1300 CHOP IT (1300 246 748)
Email: reservations@chophouse.com.au

Logan Brae Apple Juice

2010-06-15T22:32:00.000+10:00

As I write this post, I'm drinking a glass of Logan Brae apple juice.

You see, on our recent spontaneous Blue Mountains road trip, we made stop off at the Logan Brae apple orchard at Shipley Plateau

I was a bit skeptical as we walked into the dilapidated shed, but my friends assured me that this apple juice was absolutely delicious. So much so, that we bought ten bottles of 3L bottles between the three of us. Buying ten bottles meant that we got a discount so each bottle was $4.20 each.

The colour of the juice is much clearer than the apple juice that you buy from the supermarket, which is usually a light brown. The Logan Brae apple juice is almost clear.

So clear that you can see the counter through the juice!

And the verdict? It is very nice. After refrigerating the juice for a while, it tastes crisp and sweet.

The guy who served us was also quite nice, I wanted to buy an apple for a friend to taste and he gave me one for free instead! :)

Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria, Chifley Plaza

2010-06-12T00:01:00.000+10:00

Ever since I discovered Bacco, it has been very bad for my expanding waistline. Very bad. You see, they have a range of cakes and pastries. A gorgeous range.

Exhibit A

Yes, that is a giant macaron in the far left corner.

They have about ten different varieties each day. What I don't like is that only some of them have labels - why can't all of them have labels? :(

There is usually a small line and I feel like I'm holding up the line when I question what's inside the pastry/cake. Labels are much more efficient!

Example of one of their efficient labels

It reads: Blood orange curd with sweet capsicum jam and pomegranate with salted dark chocolate sable

Unfortunately for me, I work about a two minute walk away and have recently gotten into the habit of popping by for a dessert at the end of lunch. So far, I've tried about five or six of the one and have made it my goal to try them all!

They are all $6.00 each.

Here are two of the ones that I've tried.

Pretty cake box for takeaway

Rice pudding trifle with seasonal fruits (clearly this was one with no label!)

Cross section of trifle

This trifle was okay, not the best of their cakes. I wouldn't get it again. Having said that, I'm a huge fan of rice pudding and as such, the top layer was yummy.

The next one is my absolute favourite so far. I have gotten it twice, despite my 'try them all' goal.

Not as pretty takeaway box

It is a lemon meringue tart. Soooooo perfect!

The pastry is short and crumbly at the bottom. The meringue is light and fluffy, not hard nor crunchy.

The lemon is smooth and acidic.

I recommend sharing with a friend because eating the whole thing can be a little too sweet after your first few bites - or alternatively, you can save the other half for later ;)

They have a big version of this tart that has 'retrodaze's birthday cake' written all over it. My birthday isn't until November but I can't wait and am glad that I've found the perfect cake already!

Bacco is located on the ground floor of Chifley Plaza in the Sydney CBD, at the entrance that is opposite Sushi Tei. It has cafe seating or you can get take-away.

At night, it turns into a restaurant/wine bar. It's great for an after-work drink!

Ph: 02 9223 9552

Ritz Hotel Chinese Restaurant, Hurstville

2010-06-05T21:51:00.007+10:00

The Ritz Hotel Chinese Restaurant is a fairly new addition to the plethora of Chinese restaurants in Hurstville. I had never actually been inside before it was partly converted to this restaurant, but I believe the restaurant area used to be occupied by pokies?

Oops...bad picture light reflection, sorry!

After renovation, it has large windows looking out on the pedestrian street. Whenever I've walked past at lunchtime, it seems to be popular with patrons.

Dinner appears to be no exception. We were having dinner with my brother's new in-laws and it was a rainy Sunday night but the restaurant was full - unlucky for us, we didn't think to make a reservation but on the flipside, we only had to wait five minutes before a table was free.

Filled out

Seafood prices for the day (click to enlarge)

Perhaps because it is next to the Ritz pub, the restaurant had an extensive wine list compared to other Hurstville Chinese restaurants.

Sample page from the wine menu.

Sample page from mains menu

We ordered our food and waited for it to come out.

Complimentary soup

The complimentary soup arrived quickly enough.

However, it took FOREVER for the real food to come out!! About half an hour!

I was ready to chew off my arm in hunger.

Roasted pigeon

Small fast forward to the end of the night:

The story of this roast pigeon: when we ordered the pigeon, the waiter didn't state how much they cost each, which is what normally happens. When the bill arrived, the pigeons were a whopping $24 each! That comes to $48 for two small pigeons! The average price is about $16, although many restaurants frequently do specials, bringing down the price even lower.

Meanwhile, my father swore up and down that he had seen in the menu that it was supposed to be $x.

Of course we paid, but my father was very indignant and asked for the menu to be brought out again but couldn't find a price for the pigeon. He asked the waiter who confirmed that there is no price for the pigeons in the menu.

So no price in the menu and they also don't tell you the price when you order it? Hmm...

Anyway, back to regular programming:

So after the pigeons came out, we sat around and twiddled our thumbs some more. It seemed like dishes were being brought out to other tables so where were ours? And specifically, where was our crab???

Alas, another nail in the Ritz's coffin - the crab was not brought out first. The crab is ALWAYS supposed to be brought out first! Instead, it was brought out last? Not only that, when it was brought out, they didn't bring wet hand towels and we had to ask for them, and the cracker as well.

Two mud crabs with rice noodles

The crabs were a decent size and tasty enough. The noodles were disappointing, breaking off into clumps and dry.

It was also frustrating to let the other dishes go cold after the crab was brought out. Crab eating requires full attention and after we finished the pot, most of the other dishes had cooled down. Sigh.

Other things we ordered (which all came out about ten minutes before the crab):

Seafood and vegetables on tofu

Enoki and Chinese mushrooms with choy

Beef cubes with wasabi mayonnaise

The wasabi mayonnaise

Salt and pepper deep fried pork

Salt n pepper whitebait, calamari and squid

The food was okay. Not spectacular. But the service was shocking. Throughout the night, it was incredibly hard to get the waiters' attention. Once gotten, they didn't really do much. For example, when we repeatedly inquired about the crab.

When the bill arrived, the pigeon drama unfolded but there was also another discrepancy on the bill. The total amount on the register receipt had been crossed out and a new higher total handwritten on. We asked what this was about and the waiter couldn't provide an answer. He called another waiter over who also couldn't figure it out. Finally, they had a brainwave and decided to go ask the person at the register, who explained that a typo had been made when entering one dish and that was why the bill was amended.

It would have been a lot easier if they had just said that when they brought the bill over.

I was glad to leave, even if it was out into the pouring rain.

Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

2010-05-30T11:25:00.005+10:00

Lilianfels is located about a two minute drive from the Three Sisters. It is a hotel that also offers high tea.

Front entrance to the hotel

There is also a back entrance and it seems like guests and diners can wonder freely through the lobby and dining area.

Behind the hotel

Although there was lovely outdoor seating, it was far too cold to do anything but take a seat in the plush indoor seating.

Outdoor seating - would be perfect in the spring and summertime

Indoor dining area - high back soft chairs and grandma-type couches - much better for the chilly autumn weather!

The dining part of the hotel is called The Lounge.

Given that we had just eaten lunch about forty minutes ago, suddenly my stomach wasn't sure if it could handle an entire high tea.

Hence I was pleased to see that aside from the high tea, you could order scones by themselves.

We ordered a high tea to share, and two sets of scones.

Home made scones with clotted cream and jam ($15 for 2 pieces, including choice of tea)

I was very pleased indeed when the scones arrived! They were warm and nicely rounded, dusted with flour on top. The servings of jam and cream were generous - don't you hate it when you constantly run out of jam and cream, having to ask for more? This is coming from someone who loves to slather jam and cream onto their scones.

The price was a highlight as well - two large scones, jam, cream AND choice of tea for only $15?

I'm sold.

I'm even more sold when the tea is presented in such a cute manner.

Hot water, tea and milk

Each of us was given our own serving plate for the tea which meant that we had to get another table because it wouldn't fit!

High tea - $45 per person
(serving for one person in the picture)

There were two tiers to the high tea for one person.

Savoury tier

Sweet tier (four sweet treats and the jam/cream for the scone)

I had a few items to taste. The lemon meringue tart was delicious - the pastry short and crumbly.

We were all absolutely stuffed by the end of it.

I would definitely visit Lilianfels again, just for those scones!

Whisk & Pin, Medlow Bath

2010-05-22T09:56:00.011+10:00

I haven't visited the Blue Mountains since I was a kid so when my friends suggested a spontaneous road trip, I was all for it.

We carefully planned two meals for the day - lunch and afternoon tea, with some scenery in between.

Lunch was at Whisk & Pin in Medlow Bath, a great little cafe/store located near the Medlow Bath train station.

Entry to the cafe

We were greeted warmly and took a seat at one of the tables inside.

They have an open kitchen near the entrance so you can see your food being prepared.

The open kitchen

The interior had a cosy feel to it. A row of shelves lined the side wall, filled with various condiments, muesli, dressings etc available for purchase. It reminded me of the stock that you find at DJs food hall! I spied Tetsuya's stocks, Bitton's jams, plus they had their own homemade jams. Made for great browsing while waiting for the food to arrive.

We were all quite hungry yet also aware of the fact that we planned to have afternoon tea in about an hour!

The lunch menu (click to enlarge)

There were also specials written up on a blackboard (including some drool-worthy sounding desserts) but we ended up ordering from the laminated menu card and decided to share.

It took about fifteen minutes for the food to come out, during which we browsed to our heart's content in the store.

Pumpkin and Pepita fritters with a couscous, date and pistachio salad ($17)

These tasted lovely, in a subtle, organic way. The fritters were deceptively filling and the salad was a nice accompaniment.

Classic Fish Pie with smoked cod, barramundi and creamy mash ($19.50)

I was disappointed that the pie was served in a small dish without any pastry. The mash was very creamy and the inside had generous servings of fish but when combined together, it was a bit salty and some pastry would have really balanced it out.

Smoked salmon with crunchy potato cakes, fresh cream and greens ($19.50)

The crunchy potato cakes were a winner, like small hash browns that went well with the smoked salmon.

As you can see, the prices are a teeny bit higher than what you might normally pay for lunch in Sydney (depending on where you go, of course) but the atmosphere was great and the ingredients were fresh. If we weren't going to eat again very shortly, I would have had a coffee and dessert as well!

After all that browsing, it seemed inevitable that we would leave with purchases. I bought a jar of Blue M passion butter (which I have since used to make icing for a sponge cake = yum!), and was delighted with the bag that it came in. I love cute store bags, even though I shove them in a corner when I get home - into the bag pile - never to use again until I randomly need a bag for something.

Anyway, here is the delightful bag:

Cute, right?

Dragon Beard Candy, Chinatown Night Markets

2010-05-16T23:27:00.007+10:00

Dragon what candy? Dragon beard candy! Duh...

Or maybe, if you are anything like me, you wouldn't have heard of dragon beard candy before.

While walking through the Chinatown night markets, the stall caught my eye.

There was a small crowd of people standing around the store but they weren't lining up - they were gawking at the production process.

Two fast workers seemed to be kneading and stretching some form of noodle-like strips, dusting it, and kneading it into small elongated shapes, ready for consumption.

A small A4 piece of paper was tacked onto the stall front, explaining what dragon beard candy is.

It is a form of Chinese candy, made from spun sugar that is turned into threads and wrapped around a filling of nuts and sesame seeds.

My friend purchased a small box of three, for $6.50.

Upon opening the box, we discovered the candy, nestled like large silkworms side by side.

I couldn't resist giving one a poke and it was soft and squidgy. By this stage, I had sort of grossed myself out with all kind of maggot/silkworm imagery.

But my stomach is fairly adventurous and after all, it was candy!

So I picked one up and took a bite.

Spillage! Spillage! The nut filling began to collapse from the bottom but the candy was melt-in-mouth soft. You could feel the texture of the threads in your mouth.

They were quite nice and I would definitely try them again, although they are a bit pricey so they might become a 'once-in-a-while' treat!

PS. I just visited their website (http://www.dragonbeardcandy.com.au) and saw that Manu Feildel has visited their stall - cool!