Sydney Food Blog | Food Porn Nation

Posts Tagged ‘Sydney Food Blog’

The Dining Room, The Park Hyatt

Posted: February 3, 2014 in French, Modern Australian, Sydney City, The Rocks
Tags: best restaurants in Sydney, Franck Detrait, French, Modern Australian, Paris, Park Hyatt, Sydney, Sydney City, Sydney Food Blog, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Vendome

The Dining Room located inside the Park Hyatt is situated underneath one of Sydney’s most prime landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The restaurant itself is also perched right in front of the Sydney Opera House and offers up the most spectacular views of the harbour. The decor is as breath taking as the views, creating a warm, intimate and modern setting. Since October 2013, the menu has been headed up by newly appointed Head Chef Franck Detrait and undoubtedly showcases the hallmarks of his culinary experience back in France. Including his notable stint at one michelin star Vendôme in Paris. Mains are roughly at the $40 mark, making the $95 for a tasting menu exceptional value for 6 courses. This includes three entrees, two mains and one dessert from the menu.

Stuffed Beaver, Bondi Beach

Posted: October 15, 2013 in American, Bondi, Brunch, Canadian, Cheap Eats, Hot Dogs, Mexican, Sydney - East
Tags: bondi beach, bondi restaurants, Cheap Eats, pictures of food, Restaurant Review, stuffed beaver, Sydney Food Blog, Sydney restaurants

The Stuffed Beaver is an interesting spot. It’s a Canadian inspired joint that dishes up a mixture of Canadian and a Tex-Mex type menu. I’m talking fries, tacos, dogs, burgers and nachos. It’s not 100% Canadian through and through but the staff and the owner are. They do serve the classic poutine which if you’re like me and have never tried this before, is a speciality junk food originating from Quebec, a true emulsion of French Canada. It’s fries served with gravy and cheese curds and it is as it sounds, evil and glorious. The venue has your typical sports bar vibe, great for a cheap eat and groups wanting to share. Everyday they have a dam special. Wing half day Wednesday is their most popular item and I can totally see why.

Devon Cafe’s Truffle Season

Posted: August 31, 2013 in Breakfast, Brunch, Cafe, Lunch, Surry Hills, Sydney City
Tags: Best Cafes in Sydney, black truffles, Cafes in Surry Hills, Derek and Noni, Devon Cafe, Devonshire Street, Ex-Guillaume Chefs, food porn, food porn nation, Jacqui Ektoros, photos of food, pictures of food, Sydney Cafes, Sydney Food Blog, The Ultimate Toastie, Truffle Carbonara, Truffle Season, Truffles, Ultimate Toastie, Zach Tan, Zacharay Tan

During the truffle season, Devon Cafe has been serving up truffle specials on their weekend menu, most notably their luxuriant ‘ultimate toastie’. A toasted sourdough served with grilled mixed mushrooms, melted fontina cheese, fried egg that is topped with lashings of black truffles. As if it wasn’t already popular enough, this ‘toastie’ gained incredible notoriety after a SMH review. Lines quickly began snaking it’s way down Devonshire street and disappointing customers by selling out by 10am.

I’m back at Devon Cafe and I’m here to get my last bit of truffles before the season is out. This is my second visit to date (see previous post) and I am have been dying to taste my way through their truffled treats.

Chur Burger, Surry Hills

Posted: August 25, 2013 in Burgers, Cheap Eats, Surry Hills, Sydney City
Tags: Albion Street, Chur, Chur Burger, food porn, food porn nation, photos of food, pictures of food, Restaurant Review, Surry Hills, Sydney Food Blog, Warren Turnball

Chur Burger is all the rage now. It’s Kiwi ‘as’ and serves up drunks and chups with delicious sides and milkshakes. It’s biggest drawcard? That $10 price tag. Which is a big one considering the burgers are made fresh to order sizzling and flipped right in front of you.

If you’re anything like me and were perhaps none the wise. Chur is slang for awesome in NZ and so far the place lives up to the name.

During one of our lunch hours, I was invited to join Tina (bitemeshowme) and Simon (theheartoffood) for a quick bite.

Roast Pork Rack with Caramelised Apples, White Wine & Sage Sauce

Posted: August 5, 2013 in Recipes
Tags: Caramelised Apples, how to make crackling, Recipe, Roast pork, Roast Pork Rack, Sage, Sauce, Sydney Food Blog, White Wine

When I am in the mood to impress this is something I like to whip up. What you have is a lot of contrasting flavours and textures. Salty, sweet, crunchy and tender. The best part is laying it out and slicing it for that deafening CRACKing noise and all eyes are on you. The pressure is on when you bring this baby home. However, to make sure it is ready for the cracking. One thing I like to do is to grab a knife and give it a good whack with the tip of the knife. If it sounds crackly and hollow, you’re good to go.

The recipe was given to me by Ms G, which I have slightly adapted. I caramelise the apples underneath the pork, so that the pork juices infuse into the apples. When you pull the pork out of the oven, everyone will swarm over to have a little perv then quickly turn on the apples and start picking at them. So I always prepare some extras. It tastes like candied flavoured apples with a rich pork flavour. It tastes so incredible, that you could probably stop right here and forget about the sauce! But having it, in its entirety with the pork is pretty bloody unreal. Give it a go because you won’t know what hit you!
(more…)

Ramen Ikkyu, Sussex Centre, Chinatown

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Cheap Eats, Chinatown, Japanese, Ramen, Sydney City
Tags: chef haru, Chef Haru Inukai, Chinatown, Ikkyu Shoyu Ramen, Paitan Broth, Ramen, ramen ikkyu, Sussex Centre, sussex street, Sydney Food Blog

We’ve all gone a bit ramen mad. Myself included. So it should be no surprise that I find myself at Ramen Ikkyu like the rest of the other mad hatters. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this place with us ramenites counting down the days until its launch, ready to dive in and test the waters.

It is now 4 weeks since its opening day and the aim of the game is to sell 150 bowls of ramen a day. If they sell out then they shut up shop. No matter what time of day it is. Noodles are hand made by Chef Haru himself and are aged for 2 days. Hurrahh… While their signature broth is prepared in 160 litre pots filled with chicken and pork bones – referred to as their paitan broth.

To back track, Chef Haru Inukai started serving ramen as a lunch special back when he was the Head Chef of BlancHaru. The ramen special was so popular it caught on to the likes of fellow ramen lover Chef Dan Hong who notably sung its praises. It was no sooner that the public caught on to the cult of BlancHaru’s ramen that there were lines forging its way down Elizabeth Bay Road. It was then Chef Haru decided to give it all up and go all guns blazing to open up his very own ramen house.

Chica Bonita, Manly

Posted: July 22, 2013 in Cheap Eats, Manly, Mexican, North Shore
Tags: burritos, Cheap Eats, Manly, Mexican, Mexican Food, Mexican food in Sydney, Mexican Food in the North Shore, Mexican restaurants, Restaurant, Sydney Food Blog

The Mexican Wave continues its way through Sydney and I don’t foresee an end in sight. Chica Bonita is a small bar first and restaurant second and is located on a dingy little lane way on the wharf side of Manly. During lunch they mainly serve burritos while during dinner service there is an entirely different menu of tacos, quesadillas & chimichangas. They also have an interesting drinks menu of beer, beer and tequila shots and cocktails that range from pink bits to a rim job. Too bad it is a Sunday lunch and too early for any of those things…

The carne asada with fries ($13) is godly but deadly. You have a stack of fries served with flame grilled steak, melted cheese, guacamole and salsa. Eating it was like a fight between foes, crash tackling for every scrummy morsel with fork in hand and your eyes on the prize. So good, we practically inhaled it, leaving not much room for anything else.

Foveaux Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

Posted: July 15, 2013 in Fine Dining, Fusion, Hatted Restaurants, Modern Australian, Surry Hills, Sydney City
Tags: bonito black sesame, broccoli, cuttlefish, Darrell Felstead, duck cheese & umeboshi, Food Blog, food porn nation, Foveaux Restaurant & Bar, Golden Trevally, mushroom milk, Oysters with cabernet sauvignon vinegar, pearls and eschallot, photos of food, pictures of food, puffed rice with pickled vegetable and elk, Restaurant Review, restaurants, Restaurants in Surry Hills, smoked duck, Surry Hills, surry hills restaurant, Sydney Food Blog, Sydney Restaurant, Sydney restaurants, venison leg

Darrell Felstead at Foveaux Restaurant (One Hat) puts forward a weird and wonderful menu to suit the adventurous diner. You have a nose to tail philosophy, a creative flair for reinvention and a pairing of unlikeliest of food types. Surely that should pique anyone’s interest? The menu challenges you conceptually and can be confronting if you’re not quite game. There’s the pepper nachos and sour cream ice cream which is said to quite popular or the duck cheese served with smoked duck and cuttlefish. What… is that all together? Or perhaps the veal tail is more to your taste? No matter where you turn, you can’t hide. It is not for the faint hearted and I like that. A lot.

With a Groupon voucher I was able to sample the menu at a reduced cost and for two people we received an entree and main for $59.

Prices quoted below are at al la carte prices.

Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe, Mosman

Posted: July 3, 2013 in Breakfast, Brunch, Cafe, French, Italian, Modern Australian, Mosman, North Shore
Tags: breakfast in Sydney, Food Blog, food porn, food porn nation, French Food, Italian food, Modern Australian, photos of food, pictures of food, Popular London Restaurants, Restaurant Review, restaurants, restaurants in sydney, Serge Dansereau, Sydney best breakfast spots., Sydney Food Blog, Sydney Restaurant, Sydney restaurants

The Bather’s Pavilion is separated into a restaurant and cafe, owned and operated by Serge Dansereau. There is also a kiosk to cater to those passing on by looking for a quick bite. (The kiosk is also very good). You can’t book at the cafe. Simply turn up and grab a seat.

The cafe does a great breakfast and an even better lunch. I would know, I am permanently stationed there for breakfast. The best pancakes in the world are being served right here. Fluffy and thick. Baked chorizo eggs and eggs benedict are bang on the money too. The venue also promises stunning views of Balmoral Beach. So gorgeous, you’ll be swept away and misplace yourself at a beach holiday resort. Amen.

Ms G’s, Potts Point – $45 Sunday Lunch

Posted: June 17, 2013 in Chinese, Fusion, Inner East, Malaysian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese
Tags: Dan Hong, food porn, food porn nation, Fusion food, merivale group, Merivale Restaurants, Mini Banh Mi's, Ms G's, Ms G's corn on the cob, photos of food, pictures of food, Potts Point, Restaurants in Potts Point, Sydney Food Blog

Decked out over 4 floors of incredible space, the interior will take you into a wonderland of graffiti walls, neon lights and communal dining space with the help-yourself-arrangement of cutlery, chopsticks, hot sauce and seasonings.

Awarded a one hat out of a possible three, it is respectively the most unconventional and deviant one hatter on the scene. It is all very tongue in cheek hailing tribute to the MSG code with the flashing “six two one” neon sign out front, or perhaps it’s the thought behind their signature dessert “stoner’s delight”. The secret ingredient? The mind of a stoner. Fun and games continue with their slushie bubble tea cocktails. Cute caricatures are printed on the seal, with mouths wide open urging you to pop your straw and drink up.

For Sunday lunch, Ms G’s offers up a lunch menu at a fraction of the price – the “tick the box” menu for $45p/p. Ticking my way through the menu we are allowed to pick 2 starters, 2 small savoury dishes, 2 large savoury dishes and one dessert. Then enough food is brought out based on our per person count. Slushie Sundays also brings the price down of the bubble tea cocktails to 5 big ones instead of the usual $14.

Note: all prices quoted below are the al la carte prices.