Tagged: SYDNEY
HIATUS
It’s been awhile…
Exactly 570 days since my last post and let’s just say I’ve seen some shit.
I’ve started a new job, traveled a bunch to China, Paris, Hawaii twice, Byron, multiple trips to Melbourne and 90% my friends have had babies, while I’m sitting over here nursing a food baby.
However, what remains the same are my life goals: All black everything, travel where possible, eat burgers, dumplings, ramen, any kind of smoked and BBQ’d meats, cheese, any and all the carbs, mac and cheese (my biggest weakness), any type of pasta really, especially gnocchi and I can’t forget hot wings… You name it, I’ll eat it, after a quick check online for reviews, obviously.
I originally had a thought to compile a recap post with photos from the last year and a half. BUT then I thought, why the hell would I do that when currently, at my pretty lazy finger tips, I have a whole lot of content for future blog posts. This, in turn, requires less of me being photographed awkwardly in obscure locations and backdrops, while still being able to provide exciting and relevant content. SO instead of a recap, you get a photo of me enjoying the start of a feast and a bottle of Rosé at Restaurant Hubert and the possibility of semi regular posts on fashion, food, travel and life in general.
I’M BACK … for now 🙂
In the meantime go and check out Hubert’s menu. All the dishes are amazing but you HAVE to try the Steak Tartare and the Malakoff (it’s pretty much a deep fried gruyere bomb) and see why they opened up last year to 2 chefs hats.
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BRAIN FREEZE
Bec & Bridge Zodiac Halter Dress
So I’m completely brain dead, slightly jet lagged and really cold right this minute. Writing a blogpost probably isn’t the greatest idea, but if I wait for a moment when my brain is at full capacity, we could be waiting awhile.
Instead, I’m going to leave you with some thought provoking photos of me looking wistfully over Luna Park. While it may look like I’m deep in thought and reflection, what I’m really thinking is “I’m so cold… I wonder if they have hotdogs down there?”
And with that I leave you with a quote from Parks and Rec. Why? Because nothing else in this blog posts makes any sense that’s why.
“Zerts are what I call desserts. Tray-trays are entrées. I call sandwiches ‘sammies,’ ‘sandoozles,’ or ‘Adam Sandlers.’ Air conditioners are ‘cool blasterz.’ I call cakes ‘big ol’ cookies.’ I call noodles ‘long-ass rice.’ Fried chicken is ‘fry-fry chicky-chick.’ Chicken parm is ‘chicky-chicky-parm-parm.’ Chicken cacciatore? ‘Chicky-cach.’ I call eggs ‘pre-birds,’ or ‘future birds.’ Root beer is ‘super water.’ Tortillas are ‘bean blankets.’ And I call forks ‘food rakes.” – Tom Haverford
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^._.^ YOU’RE KITTEN ME
Jac & Jack Tee / Topshop ‘Mom’ jeans / Bands of LA belt (They All Hate Us) / Lipstick Shoes
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to the Sydney Cat Cafe pop up – Kitten edition. I basically spent my Saturday morning in a room full of kittens, so pretty much the best Saturday of the year so far.
With Cat cafes popping up all over the globe, it was only logical that Sydney would be hot on this paw-esome idea, with a couple of cat cafes already in the works, what would be more purr-fect than a pop up Kitten Cafe right? You don’t need to purr-suade me. These puns are getting paw-ful. OK I’m done.
So who do we have to thank for bringing this furry cafe to life? Meet Veronica Morland, the mastermind behind Sydney Cat Cafe. Veronica has a dream. That dream is to bring fuzziness, cuteness, happiness and rainbows to Sydney, as well as a permanent cat cafe. The cafe will be home to a number of rescue cats where they will comfortably live and sleep. But it doesn’t stop there, Veronica’s bigger picture is to hopefully find permanent, loveable homes for her feline friends. Patrons of the cafe can adopt the cats, only of course after thorough interviews and home checks. She is adamant that the best interests of the cats will always be at the top of her priority list. This includes ensuring that any future homes will be the most suitable environments for them to be lazy couch potatoes, as they slowly transform their owners into their personal slaves.
Every good business idea needs some buzz so between the 14th – 17th of May, Veronica decided to host a pop up kitten cafe at the William St Gallery in Paddington. Her guests of honour were a number of tiny 4 legged friends from Maggie’s Rescue. At the same time, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help turn her idea into reality. The kitten pop up was a hit, selling out super fast, with cat enthusiasts losing their mind over the idea of spending 30 minutes in a room full of kittens. Needless to say I was pretty excited to get an email inviting me to join in on the fun.
I turned up on Saturday, excited and over stimulated like a cat on catnip. Small groups of no more than 15 people were allowed in for 30 minutes of play time, allowing everyone to get a cuddle, whilst not overwhelming the kittens. Soft plush beds were positioned around the room, while scratching posts fit for cat kings were primed for climbing and general lazing about.
Before I knew it 30 minutes was up and all the kittens were rounded back up into their beds to await the next group of 15 people, eagerly waiting outside. Needless to say, I left with a smile on my face, a bounce in my step, kitten hair all over my clothes and only the slightest allergic reaction.
Check out the Sydney Cat Cafe Kickstarter and back this awesome cause. Give rescue cats a chance, get a cool new cafe opened and get some cool stuff in return. Everybody wins. Veronica Morland is on a self proclaimed path to becoming head Crazy Cat Lady, so let’s not stand in the way of her true calling in life.
Crazy Cat Ladies unite.
Sydney Cat Cafe Kickstarter – www.kickstarter.com/projects/992136329/sydney-cat-cafe
Maggies Rescue – www.maggiesrescue.org
Kitten flower crowns made by – www.kindredfloral.com.au
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SYDNEY FESTIVAL
Sydney Festival is well and truly over… Note to self, work on timing.
Luckily it’s never too late to look at photos of delicious, mouth watering food.
It was a balmy Thursday night when we ventured to Sydney Festival, set up in Hyde Park. Porteño and Messina were our main targets. We made a bee line for the stand and promptly ordered Chicken and Waffles, Philly Cheese Steak, Chilli Cheese Fries and a Salmon and Cream Cheese Bagel (for something light of course). From the Messina counter, we went with the Not Chicken and Waffles and a Not Cheeseburger.
The Chicken and Waffles were delicious and my favourite of the selection. Fried crunchy chicken, crispy bacon on top of a sugary, crusted Belgian waffle. The dessert was slightly underwhelming for all of the hype, but in saying that, deep fry some gelato on a waffle or slap some chocolate gelato on brioche bun and you can’t go too wrong.
Although Porteño and Messina set out to be the best in show, a left field quiet contender stood out as the shining, cheesy star. The Cheesesmith.
Tucked quietly in the back corner of the Hyde Park set up, was this gooey, mouthwatering, delicious, glowing beacon of cheesiness. Their fresh looking cheese plates were tempting, but my eyes were set on their cheese toasties; 3 cheeses with an optional 4th cheese. The definition of optional went out the window when I saw this “4th cheese”. The half wheel of Raclette sat toasting under its own personal grill, warming itself for the next order. Once it had developed a layer of bubbling, oozing mess it was removed from its home and the molten cheese was scraped on top of an unsuspecting 3 cheese toastie. I chose the Le Grand, which consisted of Spanish Manchego, Truffle Infused Cheddar and French Blue Cheese. Add a schmear of quince paste and this was the highlight of Sydney festival for me.
Because “That’s too much cheese” – Said no one ever.
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BACK TO BASSIKES
Stripe Boxy Tshirt Dress with Tail by Bassike
Pop quiz, hotshot: It’s 35 degrees, you’re headed to a family BBQ with kids, dogs, alcohol and a whole lot of food. What do you wear? WHAT DO YOU WEAR?!
Answer: A giant, oversized T-shirt dress that you can tuck into your undies when the day gets too hot. Duh
Where do you go when you need such a thing? Well you go back to Bassike, pronounced like basic, but providing so much more.
While you can now get a lot more from Bassike than just basics, they originally established themselves in 2006 as the go to brand for (I want to say basics but I won’t) everyday wardrobe staples.
Their jersey pieces are 100% organic cotton, light as a feather, but weighty enough to be worn without feeling naked and they get an A plus for their “Made in Australia” tag. Honestly, I never thought I could feel so luxurious in, what is essentially, an oversized T-shirt.
I’m all about pyjama dressing these days. Give me something that I could quite easily wear to bed, to the beach and to dinner with heels. Call it lazy, call it fashion, call it whatever you want.
All I know is that in this bad boy, I will be having seconds, maybe thirds… and definitely dessert.
On that note, Happy Australia Day you flaming galas! Let the BBQs commence.
| Get the look |
Get your Stripe Boxy T shirt Dress here
Love the shape? It’s also available in plains here
Size note – I’m wearing a size S
Check out their other items also available in their newest stripe design.
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DELIGHTFUL DEVON
Energy Smoothie & Merry Berry Smoothie
Pork Belly Roll – Pork belly, cracking, Asian slaw, nam jim dressing topped with fried onion on brioche
Breakfast with the Sakuma’s – Miso grilled King Salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63C egg, radish salad with kewpie mayo
Little Lost Bread – Brioche French Toast with strawberries, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, arnotts biscuit crumble and balsamic glaze
Naked Bruschetta – Roasted pumpkin, pea and goat’s curd mousse, edamame beans, pea tendrils, focaccia and a 63C egg topped with sage and konbu crunch,
Eggs Blini – Buckwheat blini, cured King Salmon, salmon caviar, asparagus, Mikado sauce & poached eggs
Last week I finally made it to the renowned Devon Cafe in Surry Hills. Luckily I had Monday off from work so I could avoid the throngs of weekender foodies, flocking to try the food from the Good Food Guides “Food Cafe of the Year” 2014.
We made our way out to the back of the restaurant, which i have to say is cool in atmosphere but not in temperature. With a tin roof, they really need to invest in some major AC power, especially this Summer!
We situated ourselves with the menu and began to laboriously ponder over what to order. The menu changes with seasonality so even though I had read about a few of the dishes from other bloggers, some of it had since changed. Trying to decide on your order at Devon is like playing a table tennis match with yourself. Only the ball is 3 delicious sounding dishes, the paddle is your poor, hungry irrational brain and the table is… well it’s a table.
We placed our orders and waited patiently for our meals. WARNING – don’t read this next part if it’s late at night, you’re hungry and there’s no possible way for you get to Devon cafe in the immediate future. I have to say, writing this post at 10:30pm after having a very light dinner was not the most sensible decision.
Pork Belly Roll
This was a player straight out of left field. Not written about that much and definitely out shone on other blogs by some of the other favourites. I have to say it was actually one of my favourite dishes that I tried. Soft, melt in your mouth pork belly with crackling on a bed of refreshing asian slaw. It was perfectly paired with a kick of spice, sweetness and acidity from the Nam Jim dressing and the fried onions on top. Put it all on a brioche bun and you have one mouth watering roll I would keep coming back for.
Breakfast with the Sakuma’s
Miso grilled King Salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63C egg, radish salad with kewpie mayo. Probably the most talked about dish from Devon Cafe so far, this substantial plate of amazing flavours is a great option if you want to try something different. Each flavour is intense in it’s own merit but at the same time, work in complete harmony together. The only slightly negative comment i have is that the croquette is more of an Arancini ball. I assumed inside its crunchy crumb coating, it would be a delicious fluffy cloud of mash, mixed through with smoked eel, but instead I was slightly disappointed to be met with rice instead. Overall an amazing flavour sensation.
Little Lost Bread
I was pretty sad when we realised that the flavour of the french toast had changed and we never got to try the Peanut Butter and Nutella version. However, we were met with its slightly less intense cousin, Strawberry Shortcake aka Brioche French Toast with strawberries, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, arnotts biscuit crumble and balsamic glaze. Really when you mix french toast with brioche bread you’re pretty much on to a winner. Combine it with 4 types of strawberries (fresh, dehydrated, coulis and ice creamed), cheesecake and biscuit crumble? What could go wrong? Nothing, that’s what. It was delicious.
Naked Bruschetta
When this dish arrived at the table, it looked fresh. That bright green pea puree against the bright orange pumpkin was just ripe for a photo. However, against the other dishes at the table it was slightly underwhelming. Until I tasted it… Roasted pumpkin, pea and goat’s curd mousse, edamame beans, pea tendrils, focaccia and a 63C egg topped with sage and konbu crunch. Flavours were spot on and so fresh you could eat every single last drop on this plate and be at a very comfortable level of full. It was a refreshing change to the other heavier dishes.
Eggs Blini
I was so excited to try this dish. I’m an Eggs Benedict girl all the way and this was next level. Buckwheat blini, cured King Salmon, salmon caviar, asparagus, Mikado sauce & poached eggs. The eggs were poached to absolute perfection. No gooey whites but with perfectly oozy yolks. The salmon melted in your mouth, the caviar were delightful pops of salty goodness and the asparagus was refreshing and crunchy. Underneath was a cloud-like blini that was light as air, bringing together an almost perfect dish. Almost. For me the Mikado sauce was a little on the sweet side, which I’m never a huge fan off. A great dish but it definitely needed something, whether it be more caviar or some other element of salt or acidity to round it off.
Devon Cafe is definitely your one stop shop for experimental flavour combinations. Every element of each dish has been carefully thought of, cooked to perfection and well seasoned. Now the only thing left to do is to try Devon Cafes newest sibling, Devon on Danks, purchase a salted caramel soft serve and chips combo and my life is complete. With higher cholesterol levels.
76 Devonshire St Surry Hills, NSW 2010
