Cru54, Surry Hills

I am in possession of an Entertainment Book this year. Last year’s edition sat on my bookshelf, forgotten and neglected until we discovered it whilst packing to move house earlier this year– the dust on it screamed waste. The deals are great (especially in today’s economic climate), but the main attraction for me, apart from the fact the money paid for it goes to charity/fundraising, is that it brings to mind places I’ve never even heard of and reminds me to step out of my regular dining bubble and simply try something new. Sydney really is a diverse pot of food and activity fun and the Entertainment Book is a fantastic guide for it.

As part of our EB journey for the year, we headed to Cru54 on Foveaux St for some Spanish/French tapas. Cute little restaurant; small, casual and intimate I found Cru54 remarkably unpretentious, a breath of fresh air for this city. The restaurant is quite small and most seating is placed lining the adjoining arcade. I’d recommend booking and reserving indoors. Herr Mouttarde and I were seated in the arcade and found it a little chilly, which I imagine will only get worse as we approach winter. In the event you can’t secure indoor seating, bring a jacket.

The menu is structured into 4 sections – Tapas, Tablas, Raciones and Desserts. We started the night with tapas, which come in bite sized individual portions and tried the homemade sangria.

Complimentary Bread

Marinated olives

Simple and tasty these take me back to my time in Barcelona, where I fell truly in love with the humble olive. I remember them being served everywhere, at restaurants as a side or starter or bars alongside your drink of choice – so much better than peanuts! In Barcelona, it was common to be able to choose your flavour (which added more time to the ordering process), but at Cru54, the olives are marinated with lemon zest and a touch of chilli and doused with peppery olive oil.

Sangria

The Cru54 take on sangria is bursting with fruit and simply divine. Generous pieces of apple and orange peek lazily through a pear infused concoction which was light and refreshing; had it been summer, I could have easily polished off a jug.

Tapas Plate (filled with tapas of choice)
Clockwise from bottom left: Piquillo pepper filled with morcilla and chickpeas, Jamon croquette with romesco sauce, 2 empanadas, salted cod brandade on toast, 2 caramelised goat’s cheese with onion compote

The piquillo pepper was full of strong flavours, the smoky piquillo making way for the hearty combination of morcilla (Spanish blood sausage) and chickpeas. I couldn’t quite make out exactly what the croquette was made of, but whatever it was, the deep fried shell encased a soft centre with tiny dispersed pieces of jamon, it was warm and comforting for the chilly night and went well with the accompanying romesco sauce.

Queso de cabra con miel - Caramelised goats cheese with onion compote

A small sphere of goat’s cheese, or as Herr Mouttarde says, in his native French, fromage de chévre, is drizzled with caramel and perched atop a modest mound of tangy onion compote, stabilised by a square of lavosh. Quite satisfying for a few reasons. Firstly it’s the perfect size for a single bite. Secondly, it takes advantage of the sensible matching of rich cheese and tangy compote. Lastly, the luscious cheese melts seductively slowly in your mouth, I’m sure all cheese lovers can imagine…

Salted cod brandade on toast

A generous serving of brandade, however I found it a little bland taste wise. The textures are lovely though, with the smooth, creamy brandade contrasting well with the solid crunch of the toast underneath.

Empanadilla filled with spicy eggplant, sundried tomato, fontina cheese and salsa picante (on the side)

The filling seemed to be dominated by sundried tomato on one end and then the fontina cheese on the other. Being small overall, the pocket for filling inside was even smaller and I don’t think there was enough of the filling to really get the intended flavour explosion.

Jamon Iberico - Acorn fed ‘pata negra’, aged 40 months, imported from Joselito

Paper thin slices of Jamon Iberico were served together with some cheese and French saussicon sec as part the tablas portion of our meal. Your choice of jamon is served with pan con tomate (tomato bread) and crispbread is provided for your choice of cheese…

Cheeses - Manchego, Blue

Solomillo con foie gras - Aged prime beef fillet and sautéed onions topped with fois gras

Our first raciones for the night, this was quite decadent with a slice of fois gras on top of some seriously tender fillet cubes. Full of strong flavours, the portion was definitely enough for two.

Pork with date and fig, quince aioli

One of the specials on the night we went, this was delicious. Succulent pork medallions stuffed with date and fig, again a sensible pairing of flavours, with the quince aioli adding a nice touch.

Cru54 - Patatas Bravas

Potatoes

Mojo paste and Aioli

Not what I was expecting at all! The Cru54 version of patatas bravas substitutes mojo paste for the traditional spicy tomato sauce and aioli for mayonnaise while potato slices reminiscent of potato scallops replace the standard potato cubes. The mojo paste, blend of cumin and parsley among other things was very good.

Service was impeccable that night; we were served by Catherine, the owner, who, apart from being stunning, is also a gracious and knowledgeable host. The warm and efficient service was a definitely a standout.

Naranjas valencianas y leche meringada con turron - Valencian burnt orange with homemade traditional meringue lemon and cinnamon sorbet with Spanish almond nougat

There’s always room for dessert isn’t there? We finished on a light note, with the leche merengada, and don’t quote me, since I am by no means a Spanish speaker, but this would be Meringued Milk? The description on the menu was a bit confusing but whatever it’s called, it’s a milk based sorbet like dessert flavoured with lemon and cinnamon, served over wedges of slightly burnt Valencia orange and sprinkled with turron, which Catherine tells me they import from the motherland. It’s beautiful, I would have loved more, or even better to be let in on their recipe!

So the entertainment book is serving us well! It’s a heavy brick of a book so I’m guessing it’ll have no trouble getting through the entire year.

Cru54
54 Foveaux Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Sydney Australia
Phone: +61 2 9281 1054
http://www.cru54.com.au/

Rosso Pomodoro Pizzeria, Balmain

While Dominos/Pizza Hut pizzas will always serve a purpose, I relish quality authentic takeaway pizza. Whilst enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon at JJW and Snow White’s house, Herr Moutarde and I realised we’d have to forgo dinner out plans :) We were due for an appearance at a housewarming party and there was simply no time - we’d spent most of it with relaxed drinks and conversation, some trashy pay tv (cue Exiled) and a cute little puppy called Pippie. Being out of our own little area, we decided to grab some takeaway pizza from Rosso Pomodoro, a perfect solution which meant we could continue being our social selves AND fit a meal in:)

After placing our order we quickly drove to get pizza! And who was to be the pizza mule? Me. Gracefully (as only I know how), I darted through the fat rain droplets, avoided a giant puddle/pothole (or did I…), and ended up in the doorway of Rosso Pomodoro, where I was greeted with a hearty “Ciao Bella!” I have to say, whilst I was only in the premises for a relatively short period of time, I was very taken with the staff. They were cheery and warm, with dreamy Italian accents and an enthusiasm I rarely see when popping in for some takeway.

Our pizza’s were freshly cooked and ready to go:)

Diavola
Tomato, Italian mozzeralla, hot salami, capsicum

I’m usually apprehensive about the Diavola whenever I get pizza because many a time, I’ve been left numb in the mouth from excessively hot salami – before I even get full! But this one had been recommended strongly to us by Snow White and JJW, and for good reason, it’s delicious! The salami was fiery without being overpowering, while the capsicum was juicy and tender.

Funghi
Tomato, Italian mozzarella and fresh mushrooms

Gorgeous meaty mushrooms made for a satisfying vegetarian option. A fresh zing added by the scattered parsley on top.

Herr Moutarde is notoriously picky with his pizzas. Having enjoyed homestyle Italian pizzas for most of his life overseas, he’s still searching for the perfect pizza here in Sydney. He often laments at the thick doughey pizza bases, piled much too high with a myriad of mismatched toppings, which seem to be ubiquitous here, even in supposedly “authentic” pizzerias. Not this time. The bases were superbly thin and crispy (and not in the Dominos thin crust way) and the toppings were simple, fresh and minimal:) This coupled with some simple rules including - NO half & half, ONLY Italian mozzarellla and NO corkage if you dine in, and the big one - “NO ham & pineapple” was enough to coax the seal of approval from Herr Moutarde, the pizza purist.

We’re yet to eat in at this little gem in Balmain, but we’ve been told aside from the delicious pizza, they also do a fantastic antipasto plate. Will keep you posted on that one.

Rosso Pomodoro Pizzeria
Shop 90-91
24 Buchanan St
Balmain (White Bay)
Phone: (02) 9555 5924
http://www.rossopomodoro.com.au/

Guylian Café, Circular Quay, Sydney

The story of Guylian (as I read from the wall of the café) is romantic. Belgian chocolatier Guy Foubert marries his true love Liliane and they set up a little chocolate factory in their home making truffles and pralines for local chocolate shops – they name the chocolates “Guylian”, a combination of both their names. How cute! Sorry, I’m a sucker for things like this…

So anyway, Goldilocks, Lady S, Chocchip, Daisy Moo and I are out for a quick morning tea to savour our last moments of freedom before we are all consumed by exam panic.

Seeing as we all love chocolate, the Guylian Café offers up a perfect destination. It was a bright day, nice and warm; we sat outside and the table was surrounded by summer dresses:)

Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Torte

Lady S had this yummy creation, which was served warm and gooey. Despite having a raspberry inside, it was quite rich, and she didn’t manage to finish it. Not that it went to waste, the rest of us were more than happy to help:) Everyone who has seen this photo has commented on the supposedly ‘evil’ face that the white chocolate flakes make, and his Guylian ‘bib’ lol. I think it’s hilarious.

Waffles with fruit and chocolate

Daisy Moo, Chocchip and Goldilocks all had the waffles - safety in numbers?. You can get 3 types of chocolate served, each with varying amounts of cocoa and all three of them had the “Asian”, which was 56%. I had a taste, it was really good. Daisy Moo commented that her chocolate had a red tinge to it – fruity??

Enjoy in

I had this pink beauty, which had a raspberry and hazelnut mousse on the outside, which enclosed a chocolate centre, all atop a crumb base and covered with raspberry jelly. Divine.

We had a looksee inside:

Goodies for sale

The fabulous chocolates

Goldilocks bought a couple and ate them before we even left, they were that good:)

Another dessert option

I’m trying this one next time I go:)

I really wanted this in miniature form, but couldn’t find it on the menuL doesn’t it look fabulous? I was salivating as I read the description lol.

Praline Cream Liqueur

The trademark seahorses, filled with chocolatey alcoholic goodness.

Apart from Antwerp, Sydney’s the only place that has a Guylian Café – how lucky are we? Eating delicious desserts 2 steps from the Opera House, with awesome company and views from the Harbour – is it really a surprise I had a lovely morning?

Guylian Café
East Circular Quay
Shop 10, Opera Quays
3 Macquarie St
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Phone: (02) 8274 7900
http://www.guyliancafe.com.au/

Thai Pothong, Newtown

The household hasn’t been out for a collective dinner for too long. Following some thai food nostalgia moments (initiated by Sindel and mainly about Thai Pothong’s Four Season Tofu), we all make our way to Thai Pothong.

There are so many Thai places on King St, but Thai Pothong is in my top 3, for multiple reasons:

1. They can always take large last minute bookings because of their huge space
2. The food is yummy!
3. The waiters/waitresses/waitstaff are fabulous
4. We play the ‘serve ourselves rice game’ when we’re there lol. More about this later.

As per usual, I make a last minute booking (don’t want to wait on a Friday night) and we are seated in the back section - a great view of the amorous paintings lol.

Entrée time!

Miang Goong

As soon as our Thai Pothong plan was hatched, Herr Moutarde had declared he was having Miang Goong. These pretty little things are served on an edible Betal Leaf and contain a prawn, some crunchy toasted coconut, bits of red onion and sweet chilli jam, topped with a cashew nut and some caviar. They can be a bit messy to eat, but are sooo good! The combination of flavours and textures is lovely.

I love communal/sharing courses and the entrees at That Pothong are perfect for it.

Four Seasons/Three Flavours Tofu (Tao Hoo Se Rod)

This dish was always known as Four Seasons Tofu but when we went back, it had been renamed Three Flavours Tofu and had switched from the regular to specials menu. Things Change… Never mind…. Sindel ordered this without hesitation lol. The tofu is quickly fried – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a sweetish, sour and slightly spicy red sauce drizzled on the top. had to have a piece!

Vegetable Curry Puffs (Garri Puff)

I am never one to turn down curry puffs. My standard “can’t decide what I want” drama for the night was that I couldn’t choose an entrée. The only thing that I felt strongly towards was the Four Seasons Tofu and I knew Sindel was already ordering that:) Daisy Moo offered me a way out – she wanted 2 entrees! I immediately took ownership of one – these curry puffs lol. They were fresh from the fryer (crispy!) and the filling was potato and veggies, served a clear vinegary/tangy sauce that had bits of cucumber and red onion in it. Yum!

Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)

Daisy Moo ended up ordering these, which came with the same sauce as the curry puffs, except with added crushed peanuts.

BBQ Octopus (Plamoukyang)

Unlike indecisive me, Chocolate Queen knew she wanted octopus from the start. The octopus had a smokey flavour and the sauce that came with it was surprisingly hot (chilli, not temperature). Chocolate Queen preferred the other entrees to her own, but I found these quite good, and happily ate the rest lol.

Sindel is a vegetarian (seafood and eggs ok) so I was really glad with this range of entrees – it meant we could all share:)

Mains Time:

Snapper With Coconut Milk & Chilli Sauce (Pla Lad Prik)

Daisy Moo and Sindel shared this gorgeous fish. It was deep fried (hmmm another deep fried dish lol) and topped with a tasty sauce. The fish was tender and flavoursome and despite the bright colour, the sauce wasn’t overwhelming. I think I’m going to have this next time. I snuck in this shot before the efficient waitress could carve him/her up:)

Green Curry (Gang Keaw Warn)

Chocolate Queen had the Green curry, which is made with chicken. She thoroughly enjoyed it:) My favourite part about this curry is that they put in little baby eggplants. Like the other curries here, the sauce was thick and packed with flavour.

Herr Moutarde had Red Duck Curry, which despite only having a ‘mild’ chilli rating, set our mouths on fire lol. Lucky we all like spicy food. The duck was tender and although it really was devastatingly hot, I’d still order it again. I couldn’t get a decent shot of it though, the lighting conspired against me lol.

Panang Duck Curry (Gang Panang Red)

I chose the Panang Duck Curry. The sauce was thick, nutty and creamy!! I love this dish:D

At Thai Pothong, they serve you unlimited rice from ornamental looking, silver rice holders, which look like big trophies to me lol. They sit at the end of your table and the instant you reach for a rice refill – a waiter pops out of nowhere to serve you rice! Many a time, we’ve tried to serve ourselves, waiting until no waiters are in sight…but we Fail Every Time. A game we have never won…

Thai Pothong
294 King Street
Newtown, 2042, NSW
Phone: (02) 9550 6277
Fax: (02) 9519 8050
http://www.thaipothong.com.au/

Flying Fajita Sisters, Glebe

I’ve been looking forward to a weeknight dinner with my girls, and this time we decided to head to Flying Fajita Sisters in Glebe for a night of Mexican themed fun.

We went on a Tuesday night, which is $3 taco and tequila night, and it was quite full, so I do recommend you make a booking if Tuesday is your preferred night.

Sindel, H and I decided to kick start the night with a tequila shot – why not?! Madam Saucy passed on the booze; reason given - tiredness..

Lemon and salt served with our tequila

Since none of us had been here before, we were all eager to try the Mixed Platter to start.

Mixed Platter

(clockwise from top left) – Salsa, Queso Fundido, Pepian, Frijoles, Guacamole, Crema.

The salsa was lovely, sweet with a hint of spice. The Queso Fundido, full of hot melted cheese was a dream for the cheese lovers around the table. My favourite was the green Pepian, which is a Mexican pesto made with green chilli and pumpkin seeds. Frijoles is another way of saying ‘refried beans’ and as a dip, it was served covered with melted cheese. The guacamole and sour cream rounded off the platter which was served with a large mound of tortilla chips – totopas!

Mixed Totopas

Here they serve yellow and blue tortilla chips. I think the blue is more of a purple, and they really don’t taste any different to the regular yellow ones, but still it looks pretty on the plate:)

Frijole Enchiladas

Sindel ordered the Frijole Enchiladas, which were served with rice, and black beans with salad. We all had a taste of the beans after she had finished with the rest – yum!

$3 Tacos

H and Madam Saucy took advantage of the taco deal which provides your choice of taco, served with cheese. Madam Saucy ordered some extra guacamole for a side – reliably eager for condiments :D

Burrito

I chose the Achiote Pulled Pork burrito, which was fantastic! The tender pork was reddish in colour and was teamed up with sour cream, a tomato salsa type thing some cheese. It was all served with guacamole and a corn salad. The corn was really good, it had a tangy dressing and little bits of capsicum in it :)

Hot sauce anyone?

Sindel and I chose a few offerings from the massive wall of hot sauces. We managed to squeeze in a few drops of each before our mouths went on fire…

After the bill was settled, we pondered a trip down the road for a post dinner chocolate hit at Chocolateria San Churro, but our full stomachs yelled NO! Meanwhile, I was eyeing off the 7-eleven for Monaco Bars…

Flying Fajita Sisters
Flavours of Mexico
65 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe,NSW, 2037
Phone: (02) 9552 6522
Fax: (02) 9552 6855
http://www.flyingfajitasistas.com.au/

Cafe in the House, Canberra

I admit I was long overdue for a Canberra visit – it’s been too long since I’ve seen K. My itinerary from Cairns to Canberra saw me waking at 3am, jumping onto 2 (poorly timed) connecting flights and entering Canberra at 11. Needless to say, by the time I arrived at the airport, I was a mess… K and Sindel greeted me at the airport and we promptly headed for some breakfast/brunch – I knew I turned down the airplane food for a reason!!

We head to the café inside Old Parliament House, originally named Café in the House.

Sweet Corn Cakes

K starts her morning with the Corn Cakes, being enticed by the prospect of spiced guacamole. If guacamole doesn’t tickle your fancy you can also have them with bacon, tomato and rocket salad.

Eggs Benedict

Sindel and I both had the Eggs Benedict. I was originally back at my usual Sweet vs Savoury breakfast dilemma, because I couldn’t decide between the Lemon Soufflé Pancakes and the above Corn Cakes, but at the very last minute (like always), I diverted to having the reliable eggs – runny yolks get me every time:)

I was really impressed with the meal I got that morning. The eggs were perfectly cooked, the salmon was delicious, the toast underneath was crisp and the sauce itself was rich but not sickeningly thick. I raved that they were the best Eggs Benedict I’d had in a while :D

So if you’re ever in Canberra, Café in the House do a lovely breakfast. The service was impeccable and coffee wasn’t bad either:)

Café in the House
Old Parliament House
King George Terrace
Parkes, Canberra, ACT
Phone: (02) 6270 8156
http://www.gingercatering.com.au/area.asp?aID=24

Waterbar and Grill, Cairns

I escaped the awful weather in Sydney with a short trip to tropical, sunny Cairns! Great weather also means…outdoor dining, so taking advantage of this situation, we headed to Waterbar and Grill, on the decks of the local wharf.

The atmosphere is relaxed, with one side of our table allocated a couch, and service is warm and friendly.

We started small, with a plate of dips to share.

Mixed dip plate

The plate consisted of roasted beetroot dip, hommous and a semi-sundried tomato pesto dips, toasted sourdough bread and slices of flat bread. The dips were rather small and the semi-sundried tomato tasted alarmingly similar to a bottled tomato salsa. Not that we minded too much, we were there for the next course – Meat!!!

The choices for our next course are dominated by Prime Rib Eye Steak :) At Waterbar and Grill, this a 250g piece of meat served cooked to your liking, with either chips or mash and a choice of sauces. All steaks come with a side salad – how health conscious lol.

Prime Rib Eye 1

Queen Bee accompanied her steak with the buttery mashed potatoes and Red wine and chilli sauce. She was very pleased with her choice, and rather impressed with her sauce, which was a yummy combination of sweet and hot.

Prime Rib Eye 2

I chose my to have Blue cheese and caper butter on top of my steak. It was divine, the capers cutting beautifully through the creamy blue cheese. I loved the mash too:)

Prime Rib Eye 3

Daisy Moo opted for the Porcini and Tarragon butter sauce with a baked potato. The baked potatoes are served with a large portion of sour cream, large enough for me to sneak some too! While the steak was cooked to perfection (medium rare), the sauce tasted nothing like expected. Despite many tiny pieces of what appeared to be porcini mushrooms, the overwhelming taste coming from the sauce was simply…sweet. Puzzled, I had a taste and I couldn’t taste any mushroom or tarragon either... Whatever the flavour was, Daisy Moo still enjoyed her meal and finished her steak the fastest!

Lamb Ribs

Chocolate Queen ventured out of cow territory to sample the lamb offerings with a rack of ribs. She thoroughly enjoyed the sticky ribs, which were generously basted with a sweet, smoky sauce.

T-bone

Mr D had the 500g T-Bone steak with pepper sauce and chips. After devouring the massive steak, he shared his chips – yum!

There were many scrumptious dessert offerings on the menu, but none of us felt like we could fit in anything more!!

I love outdoor dining, and eating by the water is a pleasure I will never tire of. I have no doubt I’ll be back here next time I’m in Cairns:)

Waterbar & Grill Steakhouse
Pier Point
Cairns, Queensland, 4870
Phone: (07) 4031 1199

Cooper's Arms Hotel, Newtown

Although I am not a fan of the ground floor of the Cooper’s Arms Hotel, I do appreciate the recent renovation to its top floor. With H finally returning from her backpacking adventures, it was up to her to choose the venue for our latest rendezvous. She suggested the top floor of the Cooper’s Arms, for a night of bar food and girly white wine. Sindel, Madam Saucy and I were more than happy to oblige :)

Flat bread and condiments

To start we decided to share some bread and dips. Some crispy, toasted flat bread arrived, accompanied by hommous, babaganoush, tzaziki along with some olives and feta cheese. I felt we could have used more bread (or a smaller plate!).

Fish and Chips Cooper's Arms style

Sindel and I weren’t particularly hungry (unusual I must admit), so decided to share a meal. Our battered barramundi and chips were fresh from the fryer! The batter was light and crispy, albeit a tad greasy and our chips were thick, crunchy on the outside and dense on the inside (the way I like them!)

Sindel and I commented on the fish:chip ratio. There was a very generous serve of fish - 3 fat chunks, however we ran out of chips very soon after we started eating lol. Now, I’ll never complain about getting too much fish ;)

Lamb Salad

H ordered the Mediterranean Lamb Salad. It was a colourful plate, full of fresh lettuce leaves and cherry tomatoes (a significant contributor to the recommended 5 servings of vegetables!), however H did lament at the lack of any form of dressing.

Madam Saucy on the other hand, had no complaints about her meal. She ordered the calamari rings, which were served with a tasty, thick creamy sauce, bean shoots and salad. She dove straight into her meal before I could take a photo! Although I did have a bite of a calamari ring and I can vouch for its tender deliciousness :D

We had an unexpected black out during the night, which added a creepy, mysterious vibe but overall we had a great time – the seats were comfy, it was well ventilated, and the bar was very forthcoming with wine!

Cooper’s Arms Hotel
221 King St,

Newtown, NSW, 2042
Phone: (02) 9550 3461