A WEEKEND IN ...... PARKROYAL PARRAMATTA

A Weekend In ..... Parkroyal Parramatta
Parkroyal Hotel

30 Phillip St

Parramatta, Sydney

The weekend away in your own city is becoming popular. With this in mind we travelled the short distance to do this in the heart of Parramatta - at the Parkroyal which was refurbished in 2010. It's close to everything so it proved the prefect base!

Parkroyals have a signature lemongrass scent - and it's certainly nice! Here they have live entertainment each Friday and Saturday night in Bar 30 - and as it was a Saturday we planned to drop in there later. The $10 cocktails on Saturday nights don't hurt either and there's even bar food available too.

The hotel is big - with 196 rooms in one of Parramatta's highest buildings. It was full when we were there, as a wedding was being held in their function room and the Wanderers were playing at home that night as well!

Our room was simply lovely.

We were in a deluxe king room that was decorated in chocolate browns and it had magnificent views out over Parramatta.

We could see Parramatta Park in the distance - home of the Parramatta Eels and the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Of course not all the rooms are the same.

We got to see the different options available there and they all looked lovely.

There's plenty of different facilities there for guests too - a pool and outdoor area, their bar (Bar 30) and of course Table 30, their restaurant that peers out from the mezzanine level over the expansive foyer and into the bar area. 

Parramatta is in the middle of everything and has facilities to match this. We had arranged to pop over and visit the Riverside Complex where a short film festival called Young At Heart was playing.

Every lead actor was a senior citizen while most of the producers or directors were youngish.

All the films were great - we have a wealth of talent in Australia that we should be so proud of!

On our way back to the hotel after visiting Riverside we saw the Western Sydney Wanderers supporters marching to their home ground and singing loudly for their team.

It was a real sight to see - they looked and sounded great and there was no bad behaviour.

This is what sport and good support bases are all about - and how it should be all the time!

Table 30 sits upstairs in the prime position at the Parkroyal. Saturday night is seafood buffet night and it's a good one, so of course it's popular.

Boasting Sydney rock oysters, Australian tiger prawns, Balmain bugs and blue swimmer crabs we were keen to dig in - and did until we bulged.

Then we had more - the salads, the hot dishes and the very very large range of desserts.

The huge range of desserts here is something you have to see to believe. They seem to have just about every dessert you could imagine! You're spoiled for choice and we felt like we were kids in a candy store - and yes they did have lollies as well!

They also had a chef making crepes and other goodies - I grabbed a tasty grand marnier crepe with double cream, after going close to ordering an apple strudel.

Pistachio, Apricot and White Chocolate Cake

Chocolate tartlet with white chocolate mousse

After dinner we dropped into Bar 30 for a night cap. We'd been listening to the live music throughout dinner and it seemed like the perfect way to end the evening!

I had a port and Mlady had an Amaretto - one of her favourites!

We sat back and enjoyed the music and everything else just seemed to disappear around us.

Parramatta Park with storms raging!

Breakfast is also served in Table 30 and is again a lavish buffet.

We started with a great coffee - which is so important - then moved on to the huge range of choices available.

Mlady had plenty of fruit - as usual - and I even got inspired and started with muesli and yoghurt before moving on to the hot food.

Again a chef was on hand to cook a variety of goodies - including several versions of eggs and of course my favourite of eggs Benedict! These came on muffins with ham and soft poached eggs and a good dollop of hollandaise sauce. Yum.

I still saved room for some pancakes though - I have no willpower! Mlady was more controlled as always but still managed to devour plenty of food, juice and coffee!

The Parkroyal in Parramatta has a great seafood buffet that we didn't know about before our visit. It was clear though that its reputation had spread to plenty of other people!

We hadn't previously spent the weekend in Parramatta - with its restaurants, cafes, bars, sports stadiums, theatres and atmosphere - but we're very glad we had the opportunity to experience it this time!


Sir and Mlady were guests of the Parkroyal Parramatta for their stay and meals. A big thank you to Vicki who showed us around and to Josh for looking after us at dinner. Special thanks to Parkroyal Hotels and to Laura Heslop of 6DC (Six Degrees Creative) for arranging our visit.

KOREAN COOKING SCHOOL - SYDNEY CBD

Korean Cooking School
Korean Cultural Office
255 Elizabeth St
Sydney

We haven't eaten at a lot of Korean restaurants but last year we were invited to a Korean Banquet arranged by the Korean Cultural Office and we got to see and taste the real deal - and loved it. Well we were invited back again - this time to experience the Korean Cooking School they run there under the watchful eyes of Chef Jay Lee who's pedigree is so impressive - having worked at Tetsuya's, est. and Sokyo and he was also the first Korean to be an Australian Young Chef  finalist. Classes here are small and intimate with only six people in each session. Jay is not only an impressive chef he's an entertaining guy as well - we loved his stories as much as we loved the food!  

The chilli pork was an amazing dish. Mlady isn't a huge fan of pork but she loved this dish. I had to agree as it was my dish of the night - and so easy to prepare as well (at least it looked easy as Jay did it all). This is one we're definitely going to have at home.

The sweet potato noodle salad was a lovely dish. Neither of us had ever tried sweet potato noodles before.

They are extremely hard before being cooked - I tried to bite through one and failed miserably!

Nevertheless once cooked and combined with all the delicious ingredients Jay had there, it was very tasty.

Our third dish of the night was braised beef rib. If you like slow cooked beef that is so tender it falls off the bone then you'll love this.

It was Mlady's equal favourite dish of the night, surprisingly being equal with the pork!

Whilst it was basically beef rib, potato and carrot the cooking process and the extras added while cooking moved this from a good dish to a great one.


We also had a selection of kimchi that Jay had prepared earlier. Kimchi is a selection of fermented vegetables that are served as side dishes with Korean food. These were great but my favourite was the fermented mulberry leaves as I grew up with a mulberry tree in my parents backyard and never knew the leaves could be eaten by anything other than silkworms! The stuffed zucchini was a favourite of most of the other people in our group.

Our other main dish was seaweed soup which combined seaweed, thinly sliced beef and sauces into another lovely dish - but still not as good as the pork (sorry Jay!). 

We really enjoyed our visit to the Korean Cooking School. It's right in the middle of the CBD so it's easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney and it goes for 2 hours which of course includes eating what is made! Jay Lee, apart from being a fine young chef, is also extremely entertaining! This guy would be a huge success on TV with his personality and stories! (Please note we want a commission if this happens now!!!).


Big thanks to Jay Lee for a fun and delicious evening. Thanks also to Jason (from Quay) and Shirley who assisted him. Special thanks to Irene - Cultural Event and Media Relations Manager at the Korean Cultural Office for inviting us.

Shirley, Jason and Jay Lee

JUST DESSERTS - MERIVALE GROUP, SYDNEY

Just Desserts
Merivale Group
Sydney

Merivale put on so many foodie events there's always something happening. As part of March into Merivale (which runs until nearly mid April) they recently held a dessert only evening called "Just Desserts!" inside Establishment.

Clearly from the crowds there it was a great idea.

The concept was simple - dessert stations were set up from a range of Merivale venues. You bought a ticket for $45.00 that got you the equivalent of six tokens. Most desserts were one token - but a few were two. A range of wines were also available for one token as well.

With venues like est., Ms G's, Mr Wong, Lorraine's Patisserie and Merivale Events Pastry it wasn't a surprise that this was so popular.











From Merivale events pastry we had the hazelnut and valrhona gianduja chocolate bar - grue de cacao and salted caramel. It was very rich and full flavoured, perfect for the sweeter tooth!

Also from Merivale Events Pastry we had the nitro lemon squash and soda - lemon soda, crushed meringue and citrus salad. This was part dessert and part show creating a lovely dessert with crunch and tang.

From Ms G's we both tried "The Sundae" with vanilla ice cream, peanuts, raspberry jam, honeycomb and chocolate fudge. This was rich and nutty with fruity flavours from the jam. We were very keen to try the hot banana, nutella and salted caramel spring roll with freeze dried raspberry powder but sadly they were so popular we would have had to wait - and we had no willpower.

est. had three options as well - valrhona manjari chocolate tart with eucalyptus caramel; hazelnut parfait with apricot honey compote and fresh thyme; and finally white peach and black fig with yellow box honey mousse and orange caramel sauce.











From Mr Wong we both had the strawberry ice cream, jasmine yoghurt, black sesame, peanuts and strawberries. It was a lovely refreshing dessert with enough sweetness to appropriately finish most meals.

Finally from Lorraine's Patisserie there was the cassata ice cream in a chocolate cone and Lorraine's peach Melba. Both were great but the peach Melba was my favourite - somewhat surprisingly as the cassata was nice and chocolaty.

The desserts available at "Just Desserts" show that you're guaranteed a nice finish to any meal you have at these Merivale restaurants. 

Sir and Mlady attended "Just Desserts" as guests of Merivale. 

VESTA - DARLING QUARTER, SYDNEY

Vesta
15/1-25 Harbour St
Darling Quarter, Sydney

Vesta is one of the new indoor/outdoor venues that have sprung up in the booming Darling Quarter area that flows into the Darling Harbour precinct.

Time has really flown for this area - we remember it opening only yesterday yet Vesta has actually been here for two years.

It's a busy area with plenty of people traffic - everything around Darling Harbour is popular.

Vesta is open 7 days a week and for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As it's an indoor/outdoor venue it sits around 100 people on a fine day.

Kaz Derbas runs things here, and in such a friendly and efficient way you can just sit back and enjoy yourself - you're in great hands.

We arrived for an earlyish dinner and decided to start with a few drinks.

Mlady had a lovely refreshing cocktail called sbagliato de casa. This was made from Tanqueray gin, sweet vermouth, peach bitters and a splash of prosecco.

It came in a short glass with a sliver of lemon as a garnish. This was clearly a popular drink with quite a few on tables nearby and Mlady really enjoyed it.

I had a combination of rum, lime and coke in a tall glass.

I'd told our barman David I liked rum and left it to him to surprise me - and this tall glass was very refreshing as well - and very tasty.

So then we moved on to the food and started with arancini.

These were described in the Vesta menu as classic risotto balls filled with saffron peas and mozzarella,
served with a tomato coulis.

We love arancini and these big balls looked so appetising. They were nicely crisp on the outside and soft tender and tasty inside. Very moreish!

Our next starter was the seared scallops - which isn't unusual for us as we have scallops at so many of our meals. They were served with cauliflower puree and lemon crumble.

These were interestingly and appetisingly presented with the white puree and black sauce (tahini perhaps?) and as can be seen from the pictures they were plump and juicy.

Our next dish was prawn caponata which was sauteed prawns on a traditional caponata - which is an eggplant based mixture originating from Sicily.

This came with a few slices of charred sourdough.

This was so nicely presented with a stack of prawns nestled on top of the caponata and a sea of colours that looked so vibrant. It all combined so well and tasted great too!

Our final starter was octopus salad.

It was almost under-described in the menu as simply warm marinated octopus salad with olives and tomato.

It was a great combination again that was nicely plated to look lovely. The flavours went very well together and the use of potato with octopus was unusual but worked very well.

Mlady fancied a pasta dish for her main but was torn between two options. After almost choosing the pumpkin ravioli she chose the penne pomodoro e basilico - penne with Napoli sauce, cherry tomatoes, fresh ricotta and basil. Mlady loves penne which is usually (but not always) her pasta of choice.

She loved this dish. It had great flavours and the juicy cherry tomatoes added a burst of flavour. The dish also had a bit of a kick to it as well.

I asked Kaz what he'd recommend and he said to try a steak - so I did.

The 250gm grain-fed sirloin steak came grilled and served with chat potato, capers, watercress, seeded mustard and chilli dressing. It was thinly sliced, nicely cooked and piled high in a delicious stack.

The mustard seed dressing was tangy and tasty as well and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Dessert is almost an essential part of any meal for us - and this evening there were a few options that caught our eye. We started with a strawberry and rhubarb pizza (which smelled and tasted great together) that was topped with vanilla custard, crumbed oats and ice cream. Just delish.

We couldn't resist grabbing a home made cannoli as well - filled with ricotta and chocolate chip. Yummo.

As if the previous two desserts weren't enough - and they were - we still had to try the affogato. Mlady loves Amaretto so when she saw it described as a shot of espresso with two scoops of ice cream and a shot of Amaretto, Frangelico or Nocello she had to have it. She tossed them all in the glass together and devoured this tasty combo!

Not to be outdone I grabbed a glass of sweet prosecco bubbles as a dessert drink because she didn't share much with me! Oink.

Vesta is in the busy bustling lively Darling Quarter precinct. It's the only Italian restaurant here and has a lovely indoor/outdoor feel to it. It's a very open, relaxed place where you can settle down for the evening and enjoy good food and drinks and watch the world go by.

We certainly enjoyed our visit and now hope to return to experience their breakfast menu when we can!


Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Vesta. Special thanks to Vesta Manager Kaz for looking after us in such a friendly and helpful manner. Thanks also to owner Joanne for chatting with us. Special thanks also to Lauren Braid from Folke Army for arranging our visit.

I'M ANGUS STEAKHOUSE - COCKLE BAY, SYDNEY

I'm Angus Steakhouse
The Promenade,
Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney

This great steakhouse is in a prime location right on the edge of Cockle Bay.

You get million dollar views out over Darling Harbour watching the boats going to and fro, and as the sun sets it gets even better as the night lights sparkle and shine across the water. It's just such a beautiful place to be watching the world go by.


I'm Angus is a steakhouse and so naturally this is their prime focus. However there's certainly plenty of other dishes available if you don't feel like a tender juicy steak. In fact they have something for everyone with plenty of seafood, salads and other tasty treats. Just make sure you save room for dessert too - there are some lovely sweet treats to finish your meal with!

While we were trying to choose our meals we decided to grab some honey chilli cheese bread to nibble.

It sounded nice and tasty on the menu and we were told it's a popular starter while people deliberate - like we were.

It tasted great - and yes you could taste all the flavours in this combination bread!

Mlady had the Queensland scallops as her entree. They came served with sweet corn puree and arancini which sounded like an interesting and appealing combination. She loves scallops and she loves arancini so this was sheer bliss for her as she got the best of both entree worlds on the one plate! The scallops were beautiful and the arancini was nice and moist inside and had plenty of flavour.












My starter was the tempura soft shell crab that came served with chipotle mayonnaise.

I love a good soft shell crab and this one was perfect. There was plenty of it on the plate too - they don't skimp here!

The crab was nice and crisp on the outside and packed with flavour, and the chipotle mayonnaise gave it all a lovely flavoursome kick. Yum.

In a steakhouse you really do need to make sure someone tries a steak - and I was only to eager to be that person! I chose the Shiro Kin full blood sirloin - it was recommended as one of the best - but then a few others were also recommended too. With a marbling score of 6+ my mouth was already watering and it melted in my mouth when I ate it. It had lovely flavours too and was perfectly cooked!

We paired this with a lovely Smith and Hooper Merlot from Wrattonbully in Victoria.

Mlady decided to try something different to sample the other options. She loves a good pie so "The Famous I’m Angus Beef & Mushroom Pie" grabbed her attention pretty quickly, particularly as it was described as 15 hour cooked prime beef with wild mushrooms and a rich stout gravy topped with puff pastry. It looked impressive and she devoured it.

We also had an iceberg and avocado salad with ranch dressing which was delish too!

I was surprised that Mlady didn't choose the creme brulee - she often does - but that only made it easier for me to have it!

The white chocolate and hazelnut creme brulee came served with hazelnut biscotti and a garnish of fresh strawberries.

It was rich, creamy, smooth and indulgently delicious from start to finish!

Mlady had the warm Belgium chocolate treat served with vanilla ice cream. It was beautifully presented and a total work of art. Fortunately it also tasted as good as it looked with rich chocolatey flavours blending together so well. It was just what the chocoholic wanted! We paired our desserts with two glasses of lovely Grand Commandaria. I was delighted to find a restaurant that served this Portuguese treat - I have a very old vintage version of this at home so it was great to see it on a menu!

I'm Angus Steakhouse is simply wonderful. You get to eat absolutely delicious steaks - and the other dishes are just as good - in such a lovely setting gazing out over the beautiful Darling Harbour.
Service is quick, friendly and helpful - they know the food so if you're stuck just ask!

This is a popular place for very good reasons and well worth visiting for a great meal.


Sir and Mlady dined as guests of I'm Angus and Nicks Restaurant Group. Thanks to Leka and Jaiy for looking after us so well and for their excellent recommendations. Special thanks also to Flick Perkov from Sweaty Betty PR for arranging our visit.

Q DINING - CIRCULAR QUAY, SYDNEY

Q Dining
Mezzanine Level
Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour
61 Macquarie St
Circular Quay, Sydney

Q Dining recently launched with a spectacular event at the venue with drinks flowing freely and plenty of samples of their new food.

They have award winning Executive Chef Daniel Simpson at the helm and he uses regional produce to create amazing meals.

It's an amazingly pretty restaurant and with its prime position on the mezzanine level of the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour it has million dollar views out over Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge which will enchant and delight everyone there. You certainly won't forget it - nor will you forget the food either!

We started with some lovely bread. I tried the potato and herb bread and Mlady tried the wholegrain. They came with a three sectioned dish, one had a lovely pouch of Pepe Saya butter, the next had some pink maldon salt and the third had some fruity olive oil with a drop of balsamic in it (and they asked us first if we wanted the balsamic). It was a lovely way to start a lovely meal.

A lovely smoked salmon amuse bouche arrived at our table.

It consisted of a roll of smoked salmon on wakame with horseradish and a few beads of caviar served on a spoon.

It was so colourful and tasted great. The burst of different significant flavours from the smoked salmon, horseradish and caviar was delicious.

There's an impressive charcuterie at Q Dining with some extremely rare options.

We tried the 2004 Spanish jamon from Salamanca - one of only 50 in the world. It came with a side serving of pickled carrot, cauliflower and red capsicum.

This was truly amazing - we hadn't tasted anything like this before!

My entree was the seared scallops with fresh garden peas and pancetta.

We both love scallops, and often choose them as an entree.

They arrived beautifully presented and the scallops were so plump and beautifully cooked. It was a lovely blend of colours and textures and of course flavours too.

Maldy isn't generally a great lover of gnocchi and I've never seen her order this before now.

However the housemade gnocchi with sweetcorn puree and shaved reggianno grabbed her attention and she succumbed.

It was extremely light and soft and virtually melted in her mouth. She absolutely loved it and finished everything on her plate.

I love duck and duck dishes are usually my choice on many menu's.

The pan roasted duck breast with duck and pistachio pie and marmalade sounded interesting and certainly looked just as interesting when it arrived at the table.

There was plenty of lightly and perfectly cooked duck meat and the combination of textures was again great. The taste was even more impressive!

Mlady loves salmon. I mean really loves it.

She chose the Atlantic salmon that had a lovely crispy skin - just the way she likes (loves) it. It was appetisingly inviting with lovely vibrant colours. It all combined so well and tasted so great together!

A side of baby leaves shaken in a jar with chardonnay dressing went perfectly and looked great.

To finish I wanted something sweet and the trinkets sounded just right.

They were described as meringues, rocky road, house made jellies and fruit textures and this sounded, and turned out to be, ideal.

It was great. There was plenty of it as well and it was a wonderful mix of different goodies! The rocky road was my favourite bit.

Mlady had Eaton mess which was one of the specials available that evening.

It came uniquely presented in a jar which looked unusual and  impressive.

The crystallised mint leaves on top was a lovely garnish that tasted fantastic.

It was a lovely mix and Mlady loved every mouthful of it.

We finished with a cheese plate comprising double brie, triple brie and hard cheddar. They came with lavosh, wafer crackers and dried muscatel grapes.

All three cheeses were lovely and the muscatels went so well - we devoured them all!

We paired the cheeses with some great dessert wines - Mlady had a 2009 De Bortoli Noble One and I had a 2010 Chateau Roumieu Sauternes.

Q Dining is simply spectacular. The food is so uniquely presented with great combinations and lovely flavours. The menu has something for everyone on it and the view will stay with you forever!

Sir and Mlady dined as guest of Q Dining. Thanks to Alberto and Restaurant Manager Hugh Cook who looked after us so well on our visit. Special thanks also to Nicola Chandler - Director of Sales and Marketing at Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour.

BONDI HARDWARE - BONDI, SYDNEY

Bondi Hardware
39 Hall St
Bondi Beach, Bondi

Bondi Hardware hasn't been around for ages - it only opened its doors in late 2011 - but it's fast becoming an institution in Bondi and the crowds they are attracting certainly highlight this fact!

If you like a laid back relaxed place with subdued lighting, delicious food, friendly helpful service and plenty of great drink choices then this is your place.

Bondi Hardware is a long place - long, casual and inviting - with strong natural elements from lots of timber, exposed stone and bricks on the walls and even a very large timber lined skylight in the roof allowing natural light in and a view up to the sky! There's even an exposed chimney in the middle reaching up through the ceiling but also plenty of greenery as well with hanging plants all around.

It's a place to drop in for a drink, a drink and a nibble or you can settle in for the night and have a full meal.

Bondi Hardware is owned by Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll who are also behind the successful ventures over the bridge - The Botanist and SoCal. They have transformed this former hardware store yet retained its vibe and it's backyard garden shed feel in many respects.

You get greeted at the door to be seated and if you've booked - which is certainly advisable - your names are written in chalk on top of your table (and rubbed out when you are seated). It's again a bit more of the hardware theme flowing through!

At a bar the first thing you want is usually a drink. Mlady chose a Ginger Tommy which was a special for the day made from ginger, agave margarita with a salty dog rim on the rocks. Mlady isn't generally a margarita drinker but she does love ginger and she said that it looked and tasted great with good flavours and a nice kick. My choice was called Dark and Pear-y made from Goslings black seal rum with a dash of peach bitters, lime and freshly squeezed pear juice, topped with ginger beer and a skewered pear garnish. I love rum but was worried that the pear may not go perfectly with it. I was wrong - it turned out to be a fantastic drink.

As soon as we saw the pumpkin, chia and kale croquettes with lemon aioli on the menu we both wanted them!

They just sounded so great - and fortunately when we got them and tasted them they lived up to our expectations.

They were delicious with great flavours on their own and were even better when dipped in the tangy lemon aioli.

The baked cauliflower dip sounded unusual and we like unusual.

It was actually still hot when it arrived at the table and it came served with several pieces of lightly charred sourdough.

Wow - what a dish. This was amazing and with a nice kick to it as well.

We'd certainly grab this one next time!

Sliders are popular for a reason. They're easy to eat and leave you with space for either more sliders - which is a frequent option - or other dishes. There are three varieties available at Bondi Hardware and we decided to skip the tasty sounding beef version and try both the duck (mini smoked and pulled duck burgers with slaw and pickles) and prawn (mini prawn burgers with avocado, spring onion, dill mayo and lettuce) versions.

They were both thoroughly delicious.

Next up were the chicken pinchos on sweet and sour eggplant.

They weren't exactly what we expected - because we weren't paying complete attention and somehow were thinking of pintxos - the Spanish snack of slivers of bread topped with treats. This wasn't a problem though as these chicken skewers were so delicious. The chicken was extremely tender and the sweet and sour eggplant was a nice contrast.

We both love haloumi so the pan fried haloumi, faro, cherry tomato and oregano was an easy choice from the varied menu.

At some places you have to hunt for the haloumi in the dish - but not here. There's plenty of lovely haloumi resting on top of the salad and its golden brown on the outside and lovely and soft inside.

This was great - and the salad went nicely with it as well.

A lovely meal needs a sweet finish and even though there's only one option here at Bondi Hardware it's a good one!

The Belgian chocolate brownie comes in a big serving - as its designed to share. It comes with chocolate ice cream, a drizzle of salted caramel sauce and plenty of crushed pistachios.

This is an extremely decadent dessert - and extremely tasty as well!

Bondi Hardware has a great feel to it. There's a great atmosphere combined with lovely food and drinks.

If you drop by for a sip and a snack you'll probably end up staying a lot longer than you had planned.

It's a place you'll revisit!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Bondi Hardware. Thanks to owners Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll. Thanks also to Declan and Imogen who looked after us so well on our visit. Special thanks to Joanna Steuart and Olivia Warne of Pendulum Communications for arranging our visit.

MOOBERRY - NEUTRAL BAY, SYDNEY

MooBerry
Shop 4, 162 Military Rd
Neutral Bay, Sydney

After their success in Newtown Mooberry have now expanded north of the bridge to Neutral Bay, and right on Military Road too.

We were there for their media launch party and they certainly went all out.

Many people say they'll roll out the red carpet but here they actually did do this! It was done in style too - sports cars out the front, red carpet, lovely ladies there to greet everyone arriving and of course food, drinks and even live music inside!

We had a few drinks and some nibbles on offer which were all lovely but the highlight was of course the Mooberry froyo itself - this stuff is great and there are heaps of extras you can add.

Mlady was in a coconut mood so she had the coconut froyo with added coconut and maltesers. It ended up being like a great big chilled bounty - lovely!

I had the chocolate froyo and I added a rich combo of oreo's and M & M's - yes I was pigging out big time but hey, we all need to unleash our inner kid!

These froyo's are great with heaps of combinations.

Mooberry Dessert & Breakfast Bar is small but spread over three levels so there's plenty of different spaces to sit and relax and enjoy your treat!

You can end up with some spectacular looking desserts here.

Which way will you choose to go - fruity or rich and sweet?

It's a tough call.

WHITEWATER - MANLY, SYDNEY

Whitewater
35 South Steyne,
Manly, Sydney

Whitewater is a beautiful restaurant in such a lovely location looking out across to Manly beach.

As you'd expect from its location it has a wide range of seafood options, but there's also plenty of other choices here as well.

Whitewater is cosy, comfortable and yet quite a chic venue. There's a strong use of natural timber and stone giving the whole place a rustic boathouse feel.
Seating around 140 people it's also a decent sized restaurant - which is just as well considering how popular it is.  However its not a cavernous place - it is nicely broken into plenty of different spaces.

It's a lovely dinner venue but also a great place for a leisurely lunch gazing out across the beach!

When dining by the sea it seems appropriate to start with a seafood dish - even though there are certainly ample non-seafood choices available

We chose the prawn cocktail - a familiar favourite. This was described as a traditional cocktail with tangy mayo sauce and avocado on a bed of iceberg lettuce.

It certainly looked great with a lovely mix of colours and various garnishes protruding from the top of the bowl.

Fortunately it also tasted just as good with plenty of prawns and lots of avocado.

The sauce was great too and it all came nicely presented in a tall glass serving bowl.

Keeping with the seafood by the seaside theme we then ordered the grilled king prawns and USA scallops on a mini skewer.

This came served on avocado mousse, diced heirloom tomato, roasted red pepper and salsa verde.

The skewer was beautifully and elegantly presented. This was a meal of contrasts and they worked so well together. Yum, yum, yum!

Don't you just love calamari by the seaside?

The calamari was described as crumbed rings served with a homemade tartare sauce and a side garnish.

They smelled delicious and the blend of vibrant colours in the salad looked great too. The calamari itself was sooooo tender as well - it melted in the mouth.

If you love seafood then like us you probably really love lobster. Well we love both! So we jumped at the chance to try the 250gm Floridian USA lobster grilled with garlic butter sauce on the side, chips and a salad garnish.

The lobster was very tender, very juicy and oh so delicious. The chips were golden and crisp and the salad garnish while nice was not surprisingly last to be eaten!

After trying four entrees, yes four, it was time to move on to main courses.

Mlady fancied trying one of the pasta dishes (and there's a few available) so we ordered the homemade maltagliati pasta with crab, pancetta, veal jus and crispy garlic bread croutons.

This was a lovely dish - with the tomato based sauce full of flavour and a bit of a kick. We both loved it.

When I encounter a steak described as having a full blood marble score of 10+ it certainly attracts my attention. The rump Tajima Wagui "Kobe Style" wet, aged, 250gms was a special that was available - although the usual steak has a 9 score! Served medium rare it comes in two pieces, one basted and one seasoned. It comes served with grilled baby onions and roast potatoes. Put simply, this was a great steak that absolutely melted in my mouth and was so full of flavour. Wow - it was delicious!

Time for dessert - and there were some great options to choose from here at Whitewater.

We started with the chocolate ganache with salted caramel sauce, chocolate spiral, mango and carrot sorbet.

The combination sounded so good on the menu and the look and taste of this delicious delicacy didn't disappoint. It was sweet heaven.

We had decided to share our desserts, like we had with all the earlier courses.

Our final sweet was called Tropical Dream and it was a great dream!

It was chocolate biscuit, coconut cream and mango mousse cake with chocolate sorbet.

It was so light and oh so tasty.

Whitewater is understandably a really popular restaurant. It has great food in a beautiful relaxed venue with excellent service and an amazing view. People come here and settle in for the afternoon or evening - some have even done both in the one day!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Whitewater and the Platinum Group. Thanks to Chrisie and Lisa for looking after us on our visit and to Sacha Biddle for explaining everything. Thanks also to Fallon Gomesz for arranging our visit.

 

THE OXFORD HOTEL - DRUMMOYNE, SYDNEY

The Oxford Hotel
195 Victoria Rd
Drummoyne, Sydney

This is a lovely heritage building that stands out perched on its prominent corner on Victoria Rd in Drummoyne. It's also currently going through a transformation - the upstairs dining area has been renovated and remodeled making it much more open and airy and bright and there's a few more changes still to come!

The Oxford is part of the Iris Hotel Group and they have put a lot of effort into this place - and it shows.

Chef Ben Fresser has put together an innovative menu with great variety - you're spoiled for choice and there's often a unique twist to the food.

It's a comfortable place to dine with plenty of space and light.

We started with a prawn and avocado cocktail with a twist. The avocado was char grilled and topped with mixed leaf, fennel, lemon and cocktail sauce - and of course packed with prawns.

It was spectacularly topped with an absolutely giant fresh Mooloolabah prawn - and this sucker was huuuuge and so tasty (that's a big avocaodo half under it)!

Our next starter was the pumpkin and haloumi salad. It came with quinoa, wild rocket, baby beets and lemon extra virgin olive oil.

Mlady was in raptures about this salad. It had great flavours and textures and the combinations were amazing.

Mlady kept grazing on this throughout our meal and said it was one of the best combinations she'd ever had in a salad!

The taco's are really popular here. There are a range of  choices and you can choose any two from four different options.

We couldn't resist going a bit overboard here and trying three varieties - the hardest part was which one not to choose!

We started with the pulled pork with jicama slaw, chimichurri, sour cream and guacamole.


Then we had the slow roasted beef with jicama slaw, tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Finally we ended with the fresh fish with quinoa and corn salsa.

They come on a board with their meat and salad filling and you add the accompaniments to taste. These were all really lovely with fresh flavours.

My main course was the pork belly. It came with an interesting and very refreshing fetta, herb and watermelon salad and was topped with a savoury caramel sauce.

This was a great dish.

It was a generous piece of pork belly that was perfectly cooked with the meat simply dissolving - it was so tender. The sauce was also delicious.

The salad was a big surprise. It went so well with the pork even though it was quite a different side to what is normally served with meat dishes. It was light, refreshing and tasty and had great flavour combinations that worked so well together. It turned out to be a really great dish.

It's not a surprise that Mlady ordered a fish dish. The pan roasted barramundi fillet came with cauliflower puree, broccolini, rocket and fennel.

Fortunately for her it also had a lovely crispy skin on it - just the way she likes it!

It was again a decent sized piece of fish too - cooked so well to crisp the skin but keep the flesh moist and tender. She loved every mouthful!

Dessert time and what can we say! Wow! We started with the rocky road for two which had chocolate brownie, ice cream cream, marshmallows, chocolate fudge sauce and cashews.

This was an amazing dessert to look at - and for your inner chocoholic and even better dessert to eat! If you like sweet desserts - like I do - then this is the one for you. It was a lovely variation on your classic rocky road.

Even though the rocky road was impressive, the next dish was even better!

We had the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and berry compote.

This was an amazing dish. We absolutely loved every single mouthful and devoured it!

The chocolate fondant was a lovely thin cake outer that revealed a molten chocolate inside that oozed out with delicious runny chocolate. The vanilla ice cream went nicely with it as did the fruity berry compote.

We almost fought over this dish - because we both loved it so much!

Finally we sampled a few of the desserts that were available for a special function.

As we were offered them - and as we both have a sweet tooth - we thought - why not!

We had a rich and tasty chocolate cheesecake that was topped with fresh strawberries. Chocolate and strawberries go so well together and this was no exception.

We then tried a strawberry chiffon which was deliciously light and so delicate.

The flavours were great and this delicate dessert showcased everything so well. The whipped cream with fresh strawberry garnish on top capped it off nicely.

The Oxford Hotel has quality restaurant food in a very pleasant pub dining area. Service was extremely friendly and helpful. Its a big place and they deliver your food to anywhere in the hotel. We loved it.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of The Oxford Hotel. Thanks to chef Ben Fresser for the great food and to James for looking after us so nicely and professionally on our visit. Special thanks also to Paul Devine of Iris Hotel Group for inviting us.

RABBIT HOLE - SYDNEY CBD

Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining
Elizabeth St
Sydney CBD

Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining is a hidden treasure in Sydney CBD. We had been here before but were back now to experience the food of new Executive Chef Jeremy Metivier who's Basque and Spanish influenced menu is fast attracting food lovers.

Of course more of the delicious drinks created by owner and scientific mixologist Doug Laming was also a huge attraction as well!

These two great combinations explain why the place was busy.


This was actually a double whammy as we visited twice - once for a full meal and again a few days later for their first birthday bash. Mind you this is a great place so we were more than happy to do this!

We started with two of Doug's creations to sip on. First up was the Martini Magic – and it really was magic! It's a crystal clear No. 3 gin martini with Fee Brother’s Gin Barrel Aged Orange bitters and enriched with calcium. Then Doug spooned several scoops of Cointreau into the centre of the drink. As we drank, the Cointreau at the bottom of the glass slowly solidified. When we'd finished we ate these solid alcoholic pearls! This was an amazing drink and it was great to watch the pearls harden and to eat/drink them afterwards! They were hard on the outside but full of liquid inside.

Next was an XO Zombie. It starts with Mt Gay XO rum, Cointreau and Joseph Cartron Cocody. These are muddled with  lime, mint and house-­‐made passion fruit caramel then shaken with aromatic bitters, pineapple and orange. Finally it is served in a bitter, sugar rimmed glass and flamboyantly garnished with a flaming passion fruit! Yum.

My entree was the salmon gravalax and it was a work of art! It was in a thin green cucumber jelly lake with spots of orange cream and bursts of aloe vera snow.

It was almost a pity eating this dish as it looked absolutely beautiful with splashes of different colours and a wide range of textures. And of course it also tasted great too - I devoured every last bit of it!

Mlady chose another beautiful starter - the seared scallops.They came with beetroot and mango compote and coconut vinaigrette. The plump scallops were perfectly seared and nicely juicy.

Again it was a beautifully presented dish and it all tasted so delicious.

The food here arrives looking so great you constantly see people pausing and taking photo's - they just can't help it!

I liked the sound of the porcini and bresaola crusted sirloin so I ordered this one.

It came with celeriac and white chocolate puree, cloud ear and seasonal vegetables.

The meat was perfectly cooked arriving nicely pink and oh so juicy. There were two very decent sized chunks of sirloin as well and they just melted in my mouth.

Mlady loves seafood so once she spied the hapuka on the menu it was in her top choices straight away - and ended up being her final choice!

It came with roasted pineapple, green vegetables and hibiscus glaze.

The fish was again so nicely cooked - as was everything else on the plate. It was also again so nicely presented!

Our next drink was a Stolen Painkiller – a completely powdered alcoholic cocktail. Powdered rum is mixed with pineapple, coconut and blood orange powder. It was so unique and spectacular -a must try! Next was The White Cloud above Mt Gay – a double pour of Mt Gay XO is shaken with a house-­made black pepper and pineapple caramel, fresh lime and pineapple then poured through marshmallow foam giving the drink the white cloud on the top. Some toasted coconut tops this off. So delicious!

Mlady's dessert choice was the firm set lychee cream with crisp ginger, clear cherry ravioli and strawberry sorbet.

It was a lovely creation that combined so many great tastes and had so much variety.

The cherry ravioli was quite unique - a clear pocket showing cherry slivers through it. The lychee cream was also memorable - this was a great dessert!

Then  we had one of the most spectacular desserts we've ever had! It was described as chocolate skull, rum, spiced black vanilla ice cream, flourless pineapple cake and fire and it was all this and more!

This dessert is part delicious treat and part show. The dish arrives at the table and then a generous pour of rum is added and lit! There's a flow of fire, there's flames, there's gasps everywhere. People around us were photographing and filming it all!

 The Rabbit Hole is a true goldmine for ingenuity. The whole experience is amazing - from unique drinks through to beautifully plated delicious food. There's a real wow factor here - you certainly won't be disappointed!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of The Rabbit Hole Bar and Dining. A big thank you to Doug Laming and special thanks to Georgie Dodds for arranging our visit.

A few days later we were back at Rabbit Hole Bar and Dining again for their big First Birthday Bash arranged by Pendulum Communications. What a great event too! It was packed with people having a great time sipping away on the delicious drinks created by Doug Laming and nibbling on morsels from the kitchen of Jeremy Metivier.

It was almost as much fun watching the drink being created as it was drinking them - almost!

The food was lovely too - and we finally tried their world famous burger - admittedly in a smaller version!

These burgers were voted as being in the top five in the world - and they tasted great!

There were also mini versions of their amazing chocolate skull dessert - as much a show as a dish!

The first Birthday for Rabbit Hole Bar and Dining was a great event! It was packed and everyone certainly seemed to be having a great time from one end of the venue to the other!

It was certainly the place to be.

Their unique and different drinks were flowing and their food was as tasty as ever.

It was a great way to showcase not only the venue but also the variety of food and drinks available here!

Again thanks to Doug Laming and of course Georgie Dodds. Special thanks also to Oliva Warne and Joanna Steuart of Pendulum Communications for inviting us.