Blue Mist Cafe, Station St, Wentworth Falls

Blue Mist Cafe, Station St, Wentworth Falls
Sunday 30 July, 2006

Wandering through the small selection of shops at Wentworth Falls we had originally planned to eat at the Post Office Cafe (located in the old Post Office) however it was packed with locals and we were unable to secure a table. Further down the street is Blue Mist Cafe, an inviting, homely looking space with old country style furniture and large chalkboards full of food and specials.

The staff were pleasant enough but lacked warmth - it was merely pass out the menus, take down the orders and deliver the food. A simple approach, however the location lent itself to a warmer greeting and service.

We were on the lookout for soup and preferably pumpkin. Thank goodness the soup special was cream of pumpkin or we would still be driving through the mountains looking for soup! My lunch buddies all ordered the soup and I opted for chicken, avocado and cheese on turkish.

The soup arrived in enormous bowls and large slices of thick toast. The size was ridiculous and my lunch buddies all managed to eat half, some a little more. It struck me as odd that they would provide servings this large when they also have an extensive dessert selection. Surely, the idea is to encourage guests to indulge in dessert - unfortunately the soup servings was so large that no-one cold even fathom dessert.

My turkish bread was bland and the chicken was dry. It was very average and I left half of it on the plate. Interestingly, the staff didn't even bat an eyelid and did not enquire what the food was like, why we didn't finish our meals etc.

For a cafe I was surprised to learn they do not have bathroom facilities - they direct you over the road to the public toilets - how charming.

Not sure I would return here when there are so many interesting places to eat in the Mountains.

Blue Mist Cafe - 8 Station St, Wentworth Falls - (02) 4757 4841

Cupid's Cupcakes, Katoomba St, Katoomba

Cupid's Cupcakes, Katoomba St, Katoomba
Sunday 30 July, 2006

Cupid's opened 6 weeks ago and has joined the scores of cupcake stores that have sprung up all over Sydney. The owners, Phillip & Michelle, have run a successful cake business in the Blue Mountains for years and only recently decided to open a shop front.

It's a cosy space with only enough room for two at the counter. The cupcake display is gorgeous and they sell mini and large cupcakes for a fraction of the cost you would pay in Sydney. Mini cupcakes are $1.50 each and large ones are $3.50.

The cupcakes are actually mud cakes - white and milk chocolate mud cakes prepared in cupcake wrappers and smothered in delicious frosting. Did I say delicious? I meant, divine, decadent, more-ish, addictive.....

Purchases of two cupcakes or more warrant a little white box with tissue paper, so you can take them away and save them for later. I, on the other hand, proceeded to eat mine at the counter while I chatted to Phillip. I learnt that Michelle does all the baking and preparation and also caters for weddings, engagements, birthday and christening celebrations.

They have a display of cupcake themed gifts and some fabulous large porcelain cupcakes on display around the shop front.

Phillip also makes a decent coffee and they source their coffee beans from a speciality roaster in Artarmon. As much as I would have loved to stay and indulge in another cupcake.....lunch beckoned.

Cupid's Cupcakes - Katoomba St, Katoomba - (02) 4782 1244

Solitary, Cliff Drive, Leura

Solitary, Cliff Drive, Leura
Saturday 29 July, 2006

Solitary is an institution in the Blue Mountains. Formally known as Leura Falls Kiosk, then the Fork n View and now Solitary - the present owners have honoured it's history by creating a memorial in the entrance way. Beautiful cursive text is elaborately written across the walls sharing the colourful past and respecting the former owners. It's a lovely touch.

My dinner buddies this evening had visited many, many, many years ago and had a nickname for one of it's previous owners, 'Toothy' because of her buck teeth. We laughed as we saw photos of Toothy and read about what the restaurant was like back then.

On a bitterly cold evening, Solitary turned on it's charm with the big open fireplace, warm, rich interiors and engaging staff. On arrival we were welcomed and invited to leave our coats so the staff could hang them on the large hooks hanging along the walls across from the bar.

The restaurant was almost full and our table was directly in front of the open fire. The menus were passed around and we spent some time reading and trying to understand the different offerings. It's not the easiest menu to comprehend and we asked a few questions. The staff were courteous and if they didn't know the answer they promptly found out. It was refreshing to have good, honest waiters.

Whilst the degustation menu sounded great, the whole table had to indulge. So, we continued to read and decide what we wanted. Each menu item was matched to a glass of wine making our wine selection easy. After much deliberation I ordered the following dishes:

- Mouclade of mussels, braised octopus and chorizo with saffron corzetti
- Roast Kangaroo Island chicken with goats cheese and parmesan crisp
- Chocolate and amaretto steamed pudding with amaretto zabaglioni and milk chocolate ice-cream

I am hard pressed to pick a winner here but if I had to....the stand out dish was the dessert - it was decadent but not overly rich. Solitary make all their ice cream on the premises and I can highly recommend the milk chocolate - wow!

The courses were served with considerate time between each making our whole dining experience relaxed. The food was lovely and very worthy of the awards it's received over the years including a few chef's hats.

My dinner buddies thoroughly enjoyed their meals and we all agreed that Solitary is the best restaurant we have visited in the Blue Moutains.

Solitary - 90 Cliff Drive, Leura - 02 4782 1164

http://www.solitary.com.au/flashEnabled.asp

Blue M Cafe @ The Artist's Gallery, Lurline St, Katoomba

Blue M Cafe @ The Artist's Gallery, Lurline St, Katoomba
Saturday 29 July, 2006

After a morning of antique & bric a brac shops we had worked up an appetite. We drove through Katoomba and headed down towards Echo Point. Lurline St is full of galleries, B&B's and cafes.

Blue M Cafe is situated in the Artist's Gallery. There is a large steel/ tin sculpture out the front of a man with the body of a bull. Interesting. Inside there were displays of local produce for sale e.g. mayonnaise, jams, mustards etc with plenty of testers. Further inside were several small rooms full of paintings, sculptures and vintage clothes. The cafe spills outdoors too and it was packed. At the rear of the house is an R rated exhibition of paintings/ art.

The Artist's Gallery supports local and emerging artists and it apparently the largest art space in the Blue Mountains. We were welcomed and invited to sit anywhere - the staff even moved several tables together so that we could spread out and read the papers. On the shelf behind our table were the Saturday papers which we skimmed at leisure.

I love places that serve all day breakfast - this is such a wonderful offering. I opted for the scrambled eggs with goats cheese and jalapeno chillis served with yeasted sourdough toast.

My lunch buddies were a tough audience....when the coffees didn't arrive within 5 minutes the service was deemed poor however I enjoyed their friendly approach and felt the service was very good. My food was excellent - the goats cheese was served on top of the eggs and slowly melted through. The jalapenos were scattered throughout the eggs and not overpowering. Thumbs up!

The only serious complaint from our table was the turkish bread was impossible to cut with the knives provided - two of my lunch buddies had turkish bread sandwiches - one enjoyed and one didn't.

I like a place that supports it's local community. The art is not necessarily to everyone's taste but it is out there, contemporary and worth a look. The food is simple fare also utilising the produce from the local region. I liked it and judging from the crowd it has quite a following.

Blue M Cafe @ The Artist's Gallery - 171 Lurline St, Katoomba - (02) 4782 6828

http://www.theartistsgallery.com.au/

Hydro Majestic, Great Western Highway, Meadlow Bath

Hydro Majestic, Great Western Highway, Meadlow Bath
Saturday 29 July, 2006

How things can change.....I have fond memories of the Hydro Majestic - the amazing views, the old worldly charm of the exterior and the afternoon tea. Sadly, the Hydro Majestic today is an example of how not to run a hotel. What a shambles.

We drove up from Sydney this morning and decided to make the Hydro Majestic our first stop for morning tea. We thought good coffee and scones with jam & cream for morning tea overlooking the Megalong Valley would be a great start to the day. Unfortunately, on arrival we noticed that the exterior looked shoddy - cracked and peeling paint, tired looking front entrance, poor signage...the list goes on.

We walked into the main entrance of the hotel or so we thought and were greeted with a massive Christmas tree and gifts that almost blocked the passage way. There were lots of people milling around the entrance and we walked through to look out the massive windows and take in the view. Sadly, the configuration of the hotel has changed and the afternoon tea is no longer served looking out across the valley. Instead, you have to go back outside, navigate your way across the driveway to the broken stone blocks that make up a pathway past an old swimming pool, unkempt garden to a dodgy looking old fly screen door. Is this the best they can do????

A sign advertising devonshire tea welcomed us as we entered. The dining space was enormous and there were a few people still having breakfast. It looked like an old ballroom with massive high ceilings and small stained glass windows. It had charm but looked tired. We were directed to sit down at a table away from the open fire and left with menus for snacks and high tea.

We decided to stick with our plan - devonshire tea. Our waitress returned and took our order - she was pleasant enough and took the order back to the kitchen - this is where the drama began. It appeared there was no system in place from this point on. Within 10 minutes we received our scones and small dishes of butter, jam & cream. The quantity of butter, jam & cream seemed out of the proportion with the size of the scones. The scones were served warm which was nice but this was about as exciting as it got.

Where's the coffee?

About 10 minutes later we received one coffee and our waitress disappeared. We tried to attract the attention of another staff member who informed us they had a new staff member on hand who didn't know the procedures. She stumbled over this excuse and offered us more scones. OK then, but we didn't want more scones - we wanted our coffees.

Another 10 minutes passed and we asked another staff member. The excuse this time was the coffee machine was broken - this occurred as we could hear the coffee machine steaming from the kitchen. What the!?@

Finally our last 3 coffees arrived from a very snooty staff member who was extremely patronising. He delivered the coffees and marched off. Meanwhile another employee was assembling a dancefloor and banging together different square - how on earth do they feel this sets the scene for morning tea?

The whole experience was incredibly disappointing. The only way I can sum up the service is....car crash.

Avoid.

Hydro Majestic - Great Western Highway, Meadlow Bath - (02) 4788 1002

http://www.hydromajestic.com.au/

Seasalt, Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal

Seasalt, Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal
Friday 28 July, 2006

Sorry for the delay in writing - for 2 nights and 3 days I have been holed up at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal. What a tough place to endure.......it's gorgeous. We were fed extremely well and the old adage 'you won't go hungry' rang true.

Breakfast each morning and lunch every day took place in Seasalt - the hotel's signature restaurant. It's a huge space on Level 1 overlooking Terrigal beach. The staff were courteous and efficient and the kitchen team did an excellent job with the variety of food on offer for so many people. Usually a buffet selection scares me but the Crowne Plaza has done a great job catering for so many people including large groups who show up all at once.

Breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day. So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into Seasalt on the first morning and discovered the juicer and the coffee cart. Love this place! The juicer table had an industrial strength juicer and a dedicated staff member to whip up any concoctions required - apple & ginger please. There were also many pre-prepared jugs of different juice combinations. Next stop....the coffee cart. Having a fresh cup of coffee made is divine and to have a dedicated cart with a dedicated barista to do this first thing in the morning is fabulous. The piece de resistance? They also did a takeaway cup, so I swung past on my way out each morning to get one to take into the conference.

The breakfast spread should also be complimented. There was a chef waiting to cook you an omlette on demand with a variety of inclusions - cheese, red onion, mushroom, capsicum, ham etc; a vast array of hot breakfast items including eggs benedict, sauteed mushrooms, hash browns and crispy bacon; and all the usual suspects...cereal, toast, fruit etc. Where do I start?

By the time lunch came around we had already had morning tea - typically small bite size carrot cakes, brownies, biscuits etc. But, we pushed on and returned to Seasalt for lunch. On arrival each day were three massive soup pots that changed daily - I sampled the beef & lentil and minestrone - very nice. Aside from the soup were hot & cold offerings. On Friday there was a Middle Eastern theme with lamb stew that was cooked with prunes and sultanas - not everyone's cup of tea - but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also on offer was rice, pide bread and spicy chicken legs. To compliment this were the cold options, a variety of salads, cold meats, marinated vegetables and fruit. Surprisingly, they also rolled out the desserts - cheescake, pavlova etc - as I mentioned earlier - we did not go hungry.

I can think of worse places to be holed up for 2 nights and 3 days.....

Seasalt - Crowne Plaza, Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal - (02) 43849111

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/160/en/hd/TERAS?&

The Rimbolin, Auburn St, Goulburn

The Rimbolin, Auburn St, Goulburn
Sunday 23 July, 2006

I have discovered a reason to go to Goulburn and it's not the Big Merino......

Today my lunch buddy and I departed Sydney at 10am - we took the M5, continued past Mittagong and arrived in Goulburn just past 12 midday. Our lunch destination was The Rimbolin - an institution in Goulburn and widely known as the only place to have a decent meal in the Southern Highlands. Over the years they have received several awards - most recently Best BYO restaurant in ACT/ Southern Highlands from the Restaurant & Catering association.

On arrival we were greeted by the friendly staff and shown to our table in the front bay window. Inside, it's cosy and the decor is basic, wooden chairs and tables, fireplace, a bookcase full of second hand books for sale and the walls full of paintings by local artists - also for sale. Beyond the first room is a smaller private room (perfect for a group of 6 - 8 people) and at the rear - the kitchen. Outside, there is seating in the bricked courtyard with an outdoor heater blazing and beyond this a fabulous outdoor entertaining area with an enormous oak tree and fairy lights strung across. This would be the perfect place in summer (it's freezing in winter) to have a lazy afternoon or function with a large group. Take my recommendation and book ahead.

In the front room, the specials board hangs high on the far wall offering a variety of dishes, all day breakfast and tempting desserts. We ordered coffees as we pondered the menu but decided to nibble on the crusty, woodfired bread with 4 dips - tzaziki, capsicum, chilli jam (my absolute favourite) and tomato chutney. Yum! I would return to The Rimbolin for the chilli jam alone....

For many Sydney-siders coffee is extremely important, so I'm sure many of you can appreciate how thrilling it is to find a great coffee in a country town. The Rimbolin take their coffee seriously (hallelujah!). They have a large, red roaster on site and purchase natural green beans from Sydney. They roast their beans daily to ensure their patrons get the best possible cup of coffee. I'm a fan!

My lunch buddy and I ordered the same main meal (I know, how boring..) chicken & leek pie. This was the ideal cold winters day lunch. When they arrived at the table we were both caught by surprise as they were a lot bigger than we imagined - a long, inch deep dish filled with chicken & leek and pastry over the top. They were delicious and we didn't leave any scraps. Speaking of which, the Rimbolin is also environmentally friendly - while we were eating a local who maintains a worm farm arrived to collect the food scraps. How neat!

As we settled back with a glass of wine - The Rimbolin is BYO - we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and watched the locals stream in. The staff know many of the locals by name - it's that kind of place, warm, friendly and laid back.

The dessert platter had caught my eye on the Specials Board - for $25 you can experience a sample of each dessert. It took us all of 5 seconds to reach consensus on this and we sampled the apple & rhubarb crumble, flourless chocolate cake, passionfruit cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding and chocolate mousse. Without a doubt, we agreed the stand out was the apple & rhubarb crumble. All the desserts are made from scratch on the premises by head chef Chas Ruffles.

The Rimbolin is located on the main drag - Auburn St - and only 2 hours from Sydney. Goulburn is the perfect day trip or place to stop on the way to Canberra or the Snowy Mountains.

Book ahead and you will not be disappointed.

The Rimbolin - 380 Auburn St, Goulburn - (02) 4821 7633

http://www.therimbolin.com.au/home.html

Oven cafe, Parraween St, Cremorne

Oven cafe, Parraween St, Cremorne
Saturday 22 July, 2006

Oven cafe is situated in a shoe box space next door to the rear entrance of the Cremorne Orpheum Cinemas. There are 2 tables out the front and 8 tables inside - it's small but cosy. The space is a converted garage and inside it's friendly - guests and staff exchange hello's and goodbye's like old friends.
We were lucky enough to score a table along the side wall. This wall also moonlights as a whiteboard where breakfast/ brunch and lunch specials are written. The usual menu is also hung up on this wall and is all very reasonable. People enter every few moments for takeaway coffee - so it's a busy, tightly packed space - not somewhere you go for peace & quiet to read the paper. There's also a large skylight in the centre of the ceiling offering natural light.

After ordering coffees we got sidetracked talking and forgot that menus aren't delivered to the table. So at least 30 minutes had passed before we stood up to read the menu along the wall. I ordered the free range scrambled eggs and sourdough and my brunch buddy ordered the granola with yoghurt and rhubarb.

The eggs were served with one slice of sourdough and a small dish of butter on the side. The eggs were delicious and creamy. There were enough eggs for two slices of sourdough but my eyes are bigger than my belly - so one was satisfactory. The granola was served in a large deep bowl with a decent amount of rhubarb - yum!

Oven is a cosy spot to hang-out but on the weekend you do feel you should eat & go as there are so many people milling around waiting for tables. If you have a day off during the week - take the paper and enjoy a lazy brunch - I know I will.

Oven cafe - 89 Parraween St, Cremorne - (02) 9908 3536

Intermezzo, Martin Pl, Sydney

Intermezzo, Martin Pl, Sydney
Wednesday 19 July, 2006

Located inside the opulent setting of the Westin Hotel, Mario Percuoco (son of Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo fame) has opened a wonderful Italian restaurant - this place should immediately go on your 'to visit' list. The restaurant spills out into the lobby area of the hotel (above the GPO) and also occupies a closed-in space along from the Anthea Crawford womenswear store. You can't miss it.

We arrived and were invited to choose a table - I selected one by the kitchen. The kitchen is open, so you can watch all the action. This added an element of excitement as we watched all the dishes being collected and salivated over the wonderful meals. It also helped with our menu selections......well, almost.

Our waiter was polite, clearly knew his food and wine and was extremely helpful when asked to recommend between two dishes - what a pleasure to experience this level of service. The menu consists of traditional Neapolitan cuisine with a great wine list of mainly Italian offerings and plenty by the glass. Located just outside the kitchen is an impressive 7.5 metre wine tower that houses all the wine - we wanted to order something so that the waiter would need to 'climb' the tower but we settled on wines by the glass instead.

As we were busy chatting and hadn't even referred to the menu our waiter suggested we have something from the 'to share' menu to start. We settled on the Calamari Fritti alla Neapolitana - crispy calamari rings neapolitan style with lemon & chilli oil. They were light, crispy and delicious! The perfect share item while we deliberated over the other menu offerings.

For entree I settled on the Tortina de Melanzana - thin slices of eggplant stacked with smoked mozzarella, parmigiano, basil and a traditional neapolitan sauce and my dinner buddy selected the Capesante con Asparagi e Gorgonzola - fresh scallops wrapped in pancetta served on asparagus finished with a gorgonzola sauce. Both dishes were beautifully presented, lean and extremely tasty. Bring on the mains!

The mains were harder to select and I gained some assistance from our waiter as I couldn't decide. I ended up ordering (and boy I am pleased I did!) the Strozzapetti al Ragu Neapolitano - thin tube pasta with a traditional meat ragu, fresh peas and finished with ricotta. My dinner buddy selected the Fagotti di Vitello - veal roll filled with bocconcini, basil, baby spinach and eggplant slowly cooked in tomato concasse. Wow! We both devoured our mains and kept commenting on how divine the meals were - the thin tube pasta with meat ragu (which had been slow cooked for 48 hours) just melted in your mouth and the dollop of ricotta was a nice compliment to the pasta and meat combination.

You would not think it humanely possible that we could fit in dessert but after a significant rest period we were tempted. The menu offers a great selection of dessert as opposed to the 4-5 that you usually see on a dessert list. I ordered the chocolate and hazelnut tart and my dinner buddy ordered the rhubarb tart. Again, right on the money - the chocolate was real so not rich in any way and the tart was the perfect size - small and just enough to fill the spot. The rhubarb was served warm and was sufficiently satisfying.

Cost? The share plates are between $8 - $16, the entrees between $16 - $22, the mains vary from $25 - 33 and the desserts are $12.

I'm a fan and will definitely be back.

Intermezzo - 1 Martin Place, Sydney - (02) 9229 7700

http://www.gposydney.com/

Casa Asturiana, Liverpool St, Sydney

Casa Asturiana, Liverpool St, Sydney
Monday 17 July, 2006

On our way to see the new Australian flick, 'Jindabyne' we decided to wander down to Liverpool St or the Spanish quarter as it is affectionately known. We had approximately 40 minutes to sit down & eat so thought tapas would be the quickest option.

Casa Asturiana has an authentic Spanish feel to it - the rustic wooden furniture, the wine bladders hanging from the wall, the Spanish dolls strategically placed on the tables near the entrance and the Spanish staff to greet you. The restaurant bears the name of the central Spanish town, Asturias, near the Catabrian Mountains and their motto is, 'Casa Asturiana will take your hunger away'.

My dinner buddy grabbed a couple of menus so we could select some tapas - there were staff around but they were otherwise occupied i.e. talking, standing near the bar etc. We didn't even look at the other menu offerings - just zeroed in on the tapas which were split into 3 categories - vegetarian, seafood and meat. The idea behind tapas is that you order a number of small dishes as opposed to one large main meal. This is the perfect share meal as you can't get tired of any one dish, if anything it helps you decide which one to order again!

Whilst everything sounded great on the tapas menu, we decided on:

- Patatas Bravas - Fried cubed potatoes topped with spicy tomato salsa - served hot
- Chorizo a la Plancha - Barbecued Spanish pork & paprika sausage
- Albondigas a la Asturiana - Delicious meatballs cooked in a savory tomato sauce

The dishes were delivered fast and steaming hot - the absolute highlight was the chorizo - it was rich, so the tapas portion was ideal. It was sliced thickly and served in a terracotta pot swimming in oil - definitely a dish to enjoy in small doses! I didn't find the spicy tomato salsa served with the potatoes spicy but it was still good and the meatballs were plump, round and yes, delicious.

The tapas servings range between $7 - $14 each, so it is an affordable way to enjoy a meal and try a few different dishes. Did it live up to its motto - yes.....no hunger pains during the film.

Casa Asturiana - 77 Liverpool St, Sydney - (02) 9264 1010

http://www.casaasturiana.com.au/index1.htm

Chocolate High Tea, Sir Stamford, Macquarie St, Sydney

Chocolate High Tea, Sir Stamford, Macquarie St, Sydney
Sunday 16 July, 2006

I love a good afternoon tea and the Sir Stamford's - The Bar offers a variety of options - Devonshire Tea ($16 pp), Queen's Tea ($24 pp), High Tea ($31 pp) and Chocolate High Tea ($31 pp). This afternoon my chocolate buddy and I were tempted to indulge and after a self imposed chocolate ban for 2 weeks I was ready to overdose.

The Bar is your typical old English setting, large gold framed oil paintings dominate the walls and the furniture is stately set on beautiful old oriental rugs. We arrived at 3pm and were informed they didn't have any record of our booking. The staff member (who was in training) excused herself to find her Supervisor. He was happy to oblige us and invited us to take a seat at the bar while he prepared a table for us. Within minutes we had our table.

We asked for the chocolate high tea and were poured a glass of bubbly almost immediately. Cheers! Whilst we relaxed in the surroundings we wondered what the chocolate afternoon involved - it would have been nice to have a menu presented to us so that we could savour what was to come.

After about 10 minutes a tiered silver tray was presented to the table. Our waiter merely dropped it off and disappeared. Again, it would have been nice for him to explain the contents of the tray. It was a little smaller than we imagined and comprised:

- a selection of open sandwiches - 1 cucumber each, 1 egg each and 1 smoked salmon each (the cucumber and egg were fresh and presented on white bread but the salmon had obviously been in the fridge overnight as the bread was tough and it was cold)
- Chocolate chip mini scones (1 each) - these were lovely however we had massive dishes of cream and strawberry jam so we could of done with some more scones!
- White chocolate cheesecake (my chocolate buddy's oreo cheesecake runs rings around this)
- Chocolate dipped strawberries (1 each)
- Chocolate brownie (these were bite size and had walnuts and almond through them - yum!

As we polished this off we were asked if we cared for tea/ coffee - yes please. We watched as the chocolate trays were delivered to the tables around us and came to the realisation that we had missed out on receiving the Valrhona Chocolate Mousse.

The surroundings were perfect for high tea - was it worth $31 pp? I think we can do better, so my chocolate buddy and I are on a mission to find out. Stay tuned....

Chocolate High Tea, Sir Stamford - 93 Macquarie St, Sydney - (02) 9252 4600

http://www.stamford.com.au/sscq/

Dekalto Cafe, Greenwood Plaza, North Sydney

Dekalto Cafe, Greenwood Plaza, North Sydney
Saturday 15 July, 2006

On this cold, wet and windy day I was running between appointments when a friend called to see if I was free for lunch. Sure! Never one to turn down an invitation we agreed to meet at Dekalto Cafe in Greenwood Plaza - why? I've never been there before but I was in Greenwood already and it was convenient and, well, I've now learnt my lesson - don't go somewhere for convenience sake! You will be disappointed.

Anyway, I arrived first and grabbed a table. There were 3 staff hovering around the front counter talking, making the occasional coffee and not much else. Some service please???? I waited for 10 minutes before thinking that maybe it wasn't table service so I got up and walked over to the counter to obtain a couple of menus. As I reached out one staff member mumbled a 'sorry' and then went back to his conversation. At this point we should have left....

The menu was breakfast only even though the cafe is open until well into the afternoon. There are your typical breakfast offerings - bacon & eggs, omlettes, toast etc but it was after 12pm and I wanted lunch. At the bottom of the menu were a few toasted sandwiches but that was about it. Also mentioned on the menu was the statement, 'We do high quality catering. Please talk with Larry'. How bizarre....do they state this so that potential customers don't confuse them with the people who offer low quality catering? I wish I could have spoken to Larry myself to give some feedback on the quality of the service!

I had to repeatedly wave down a staff member for us to order coffee to start. These arrived promptly and were spot on - hot, as requested and very good. During this time a few people arrived and sat down but due to the lack of service or even acknowledgment of their arrival got up and walked out. We persisted. I ordered a toasted cheese sandwich and my lunch buddy decided to forego lunch and settled on another coffee.

The sandwich arrived and was pretty average but edible - the cheese had melted but not as much as I would have liked. It was OK but I should have done what my lunch buddy did - forego lunch and settle in for another coffee.

There's only one reason to visit Dekalto Cafe and that's for the coffee - don't get worked up about the lack of service as you have been warned!

Dekalto Cafe - Greenwood Plaza, 36 Blue St, North Sydney - (02) 8920 2255

http://www.greenwoodplaza.com.au/

Garden Bar, Establishment, George St, Sydney

Garden Bar, Establishment, George St, Sydney
Thursday 13 July, 2006

Spur of the moment lunches sometimes offer up great finds are the most fun - today's experience gives new meaning to 'power trip'. During lunchtime a work buddy and I were walking up George St towards Australia Square when we stumbled past Establishment and saw the crowd. Up the steps into the large open space we walked past the hordes of people on the lounges, three deep at the bar and occupying all of the available high tables. We continued through the main bar area to the Garden Bar. All of the tables were full and there were some eager patrons waiting.

We weren't greeted by anyone so we walked to the kitchen to try and find menus. No luck. We walked back to the bar and struck gold. The menu is made up of Australian and Thai meals (most between $10 - $15) and also offers a lean wine list and impressive cocktail list. We decided to order even though we didn't have a table - I ordered the crumbed chicken breast schnitzel with chips, coleslaw and mushroom sauce and my lunch buddy ordered the crisp beer battered fish and chips with tartare sauce and lemon. We paid at the bar and were handed an electronic beeper. As this was happening my lunch buddy spotted a free table and did the dash to secure it. Nice one!

As I finished paying and collected our drinks I saw the Maitre'd speaking with my lunch buddy. It didn't look good. Apparently, we had defied rule number 1 - see the Maitre'd on the way in & add our name to the imaginary list. Oops! We both pleaded ignorance and stated we were more than happy to wait for a free table - we just didn't know the protocol - it wasn't advertised anywhere, we hadn't seen anyone on the way in & the bar staff who took our order never mentioned anything. Instead of accepting this we were berated by this individual who laboured the point home. I kept smiling politely and explaining that we were more than happy to wait our turn but he just kept at us. He even claimed to recognise me (as a frequent visitor to Establishment) & stated that I should know how things operate here. I politely explained I had never eaten lunch in the Garden Bar before only the front bar, so I honestly didn't know his procedures - jeeeeeez! Finally, he agreed to give us the table we had just vacated - what the!@*!

So, we sat down in the Garden Bar and enjoyed the tranquil atrium setting. It's far nicer to sit there than eat out in the main bar area. Within moments our buzzer went off. You collect all your meals at the kitchen where they pack the plates onto large straw trays for you and then you collect cutlery and transfer it all back to your table. Our meals looked great - fresh, piping hot and hearty portions.

The chicken breast schnitzel was delicious - the chicken meat was lean and the schnitzel coating was light - the mushroom sauce was OK and it was served in a separate pot so you could easily decide not to eat it. The meal was also served with large crispy french fries. The beer battered fish & chips was also good but we both ended up leaving most of the fries - way too much!

Our Maitre'd friend continued to watch us like a hawk for the duration of our lunch but we weren't hurried along - in fact by 1.30pm the place had emptied considerably.

The food was good, the price was reasonable but our experience with the Maitre'd was appalling.

Garden Bar, Establishment - 252 George St, Sydney - (02) 9240 3000

http://www.merivale.com/establishment/gardenbar#

Iku Wholefoods, MetCentre, Wynyard

Iku Wholefoods, MetCentre, Wynyard
Tuesday 11 July, 2006

I've had fond memories of this place since my last visit in February. Iku Wholefoods serves fresh, healthy food out of a cramped, orange shopfront on the MetCentre ramp down to Wynyard.

It always attracts a crowd - the staff are friendly and clearly love the food they are serving, the food is super healthy and their philosophy states, "Iku wholefood is created using the principles of macrobiotics, which translates as 'Big Life'. The ingredients we use are mostly organic, grown without man made chemicals, and biodynamic, using natural preparations to enhance their nutritional value. We use no animal or dairy products, cane sugars or synthetic preservative or flavours. We support the environment with our food production methods, and our staff with mindful work practices. As we believe that what we do to the earth and each other, we do to ourselves."

Beyond the cramped serving area is a small space with 6 bench stools. My suggestion is to order and pay at the counter and grab a seat - they go quickly! Today I ordered kidney beans & minestrone served over brown rice and my lunch buddy ordered rice paper rolls.

The kidney beans & minestrone was absolutely divine and even though it came in a small takeaway container it was a lot to get through. The liquid component of the minestrone absorbed into the brown rice and the top of the container was full of kidney beans and vegetables. It was served warm - yum!

There are several great reasons to eat here:

- the meals are always really satisfying i.e. you won't go hungry
- the meals are very good for you i.e. your body will thank you
- lunch here won't break the bank i.e. prices range from $5 - 12

Iku Wholefoods, MetCentre, Wynyard

http://www.iku.com.au/

Hurricane's Grill, Roscoe St, Bondi Beach

Hurricane's Grill, Roscoe St, Bondi Beach
Monday 10 July, 2006

If you are wondering where all the people are in Bondi on a Monday night I have uncovered the secret........Hurricane's Grill. It's packed and I have it on good authority that it is consistently packed every night of the week.

Located on the corner of Campbell Pde & Roscoe St in the pedestrian mall, Hurricane's Grill spills out onto the pavement and attracts a steady stream of potential diners. There's a bar with big screen TV's on one side and an enormous dining space on the other. We didn't have a reservation and the only available table was outside under the large heaters. It was still cold however the massive servings warm you up quickly.

Within moments of sitting down I noticed the food on the next table - enormous plates of ribs and large crusty bread served on wooden boards. It looked like every table was eating ribs..ribs everywhere I looked! These are serious ribs as each person had a very attractive bib tied around their neck.

The menu outlines Hurricane's Grill as "specialising in premium quality King Island Beef, tasty Pork & Lamb Ribs and Chicken. Our dishes are marinated in a basting sauce originating from South Africa making our flavour unique from traditional steak houses". I hardly had to look at the menu before deciding to order some garlic mushrooms and the fillet of beef tenderloin. My dinner buddies ordered the Steak & rib combo and the Short cut sirloin. Each main comes with the option of baked potato or fries and a choice of sauce e.g. pepper, creamy mushroom and cheese whiz (yes, that cheese whiz).

Not long after starting our meals the sidewalk was brimming with eager diners all eyeing off our orders. It's that kind of place. The servings were huge and the meat was good but it's not outstanding - the basting sauce was sweet-ish and certainly offers a unique flavour. The sauce was served in a small pot on the side of the plate as was the sour cream for the potato. Unfortunately both looked and tasted like they had been sitting in the pots for days....

The mains average around the $30 mark so it's not cheap but you are getting a massive feed for this price. The service was efficient and pleasant. Take your appetite!

Hurricane's Grill - 130 Roscoe St, Bondi Beach - (02) 9130 7101

http://www.hurricanesgrill.com.au/

Saffron Thai, George & Grosvenor Sts, The Rocks

Saffron Thai (Brooklyn Hotel), George & Grosvenor Sts, The Rocks
Wednesday 5 July, 2006

Saffron Thai is located inside the Brooklyn Hotel. During the hours of 12 - 4pm you can order Thai food from the makeshift counter to the left of the bar. It's a simple set up - you order food from this counter and you can visit any of the bars for your drinks.

The website describes the food as, 'Featuring mouth-watering delicacies like Tom Yum Goong, Beef Salad and Green Curry, our menu will excite and tantalise your senses.' The menu is largely Thai with all the usual offerings - wok-tossed dishes, noodles, curries etc but it is the daily specials that fascinated me. Today they were offering chicken schnitzel & chips and steak & wedges. I don't know about you but if I am going to a Thai restaurant I plan to order Thai.

Today my former work buddy and I arrived for an early-ish lunch and managed to secure a table easily. I went to order a drink at the bar and asked for sparkling mineral water with no ice in the glass. The very young, brash bar tender took off to fulfill the order and had a conversation with a colleague that distracted him, so when he came back to me he delivered a glass full of ice. I politely explained that I wanted no ice in the glass and he turned away but started chatting again. Another glass of ice was delivered but this time he realised his mistake just as he was about to put the glass on the counter. Third time lucky ...he succeeded. Gee - imagine this performance during happy hour!

We both ordered our meals at the makeshift counter - I went with the green curry chicken and my lunch buddy ordered the chicken with cashew nuts. Both come with rice. Within minutes the chicken with cashews arrived. This sat at the table for another 3-4 minutes before the green curry arrived. Surely they could have delivered the meals together....

The food was surprisingly good and much better than my last visit in April. The green curry had a fantastic kick to it and a fair amount of chicken strips and vegetables. The sauce was delicious over the rice. The chicken with cashews was equally good with lots of chicken strips and vegetables.

The service is a little hit & miss. One of my pet peeves is for plates to be cleared from the table before each person has finished their meals. As my lunch buddy and I had been talking so much during lunch one of us finished our meal before the other........it wasn't me. The staff swept by and cleared my lunch buddies plates while I was still eating.

The meals are between $12 - $16.

Saffron Thai (Brooklyn Hotel) - George & Grosvenor Sts, The Rocks - (02) 9247 6744

http://www.brooklynhotel.com.au/

Sailors Thai Canteen, George St, The Rocks

Sailors Thai Canteen, George St, The Rocks
Monday 3 July, 2006

First things first....can Sailors Thai do something about their website? It is pretty lame and is not a true reflection e.g. the menu is out of date. The tag line is, 'This is a Thai Restaurant like no other.' however if I didn't know any better I'd be turned off by the half baked website immediately and have no knowledge that it is a highly awarded restaurant that is worth a visit.

Tonight, my tennis buddy and I decided to visit for an early meal. We arrived at 6.45pm and were lucky enough to grab seats at the end of the long share table that runs the length of the restaurant. Within 15 minutes the entire table was full and there were people milling around the entrance waiting to sit down. You can't book at Sailors Thai Canteen so prepare to wait if you arrive after 7pm.

The staff at Sailors Thai Canteen amaze me - they could be from the local sandwich bar - they are not engaged, you have to ask for service and for the specials to be relayed and they do the bare minimum....deliver the food and walk away. It's staggering to experience this at a restaurant that has received as many accolades as Sailors Thai.

I've been a fan of David Thompson's since Darley St Thai. He famously took Thai food to the Thai people and knocked their socks off, wrote the definitive Thai cookbook aptly called Thai Food and then ventured to the UK to open Nahm. It was the first Thai restaurant to be awarded a Michelin Star.

However I've never been blown away at Sailors Thai Canteen. When I last visit in March the experience was much the same. Don't get me wrong the food is good it's just not great. Sydney is full of good restaurants. Tonight we ordered the red curry chicken with pumpkin and the grilled pork with lemongrass and chilli. This dish had a massive kick to it and the red chicken curry was absolutely delightful over steamed rice.

Sailors Thai Canteen is a place to go for a quick meal on the way to somewhere else. It's not the type of place to linger or enjoy a bottle of wine. They feed you & you move on.

I expected much more.

Sailors Thai Canteen - 106 George St, The Rocks - (02) 9251 2466

http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0052/00/21/1.html

Il Paradisso, Military Rd, Neutral Bay

Il Paradisso, Military Rd, Neutral Bay
Sunday 2 July, 2006

After sitting through the Swans game is sub zero temperatures last night (they won!) I felt energised and ready to take on the new week. I decided to get up early (well, for a Sunday I thought it was early) and run some errands...dry cleaning, papers, milk, bread, coffee.....

In Neutral Bay there are few good cafes that offer breakfast - if there are I don't know about them, so please send me your recommendations if I am missing something here. I walked across the main intersection past the Starbucks and entered the open arcade. At the rear is Il Parasdisso.

I decided to take a punt but regretted it almost as soon as I entered. The front door had trouble closing so they have done a dodgy brothers job of patching it up with paper and sticky tape. There is indoor and outdoor seating and only 4 tables were occupied. The decor is basic with chairs that squeal as they are moved in and out and tables that are not balanced, so there is folded up paper squashed under the table legs on every second table. Nice...

I said hello to the gentleman behind the coffee machine and he grunted back. I picked up my own menu and sat down. It's a basic menu with eggs, toast, museli & fruit on offer. Fortunately I had the Sunday papers with me as the surroundings were bland. After a short while a women occupying one the other tables stood up, collected her pen & paper and came to take my order. She had been reading a magazine and drinking coffee and I'd interrupted her morning by coming in for breakfast. Right.....so that makes it 3 tables occupied.

From what I could tell it's a family run business - Dad's on the coffee machine, Mum's taking care of orders and delivers food to the tables and the son does a bit of everything. I couldn't see who was in the kitchen.

I ordered turkish bread with butter & vegemite and a skim flat white. The coffee was delivered to the table semi warm so I sent it back and asked for it to be prepared really, really hot please. This worked but why do you have to ask for your coffee to be hot these days - isn't it a given? The turkish bread was OK but could've done with an extra 30 seconds under the grill - I didn't send it back.

During breakfast many more people arrived and the place was bordering on half full by the time I paid and left. Breakfast cost $7.40 (coffee & toast).

One to avoid.

Il Parasdisso - 202 Military Rd, Neutral Bay - (02) 9953 6986