Mayday! Mayday! My partner is seriously considering having a Man Vs. Food moment at Essen Restaurant this month, during their Schnitzilla Challenge…

Don’t be looking sideways at me; I don’t eat anything bigger than my head. However if you think you can down three and a half kilos of chicken schnitzel, roesti and cabbage salad with Jaeger sauce in forty-five minutes, it’ll be on the house! Best have some coffers in your pocket though – even series host Adam Richman rarely cracks anything over six and a half pounds (that’s just under three kilos of food).
www.essenrestaurant.com.au



Seems big is the order of the day, with Max Mex (who have just opened a new store in Newtown) also offering up an oversize (one kilo) burrito challenge, available for the what little there is left of this merry month of May. Gobble it down, and you’ll get yourself a limited edition t-shirt designed by Sydney based illustrator Alex Lehours. The t-shirt design will only be revealed if you manage to down the $19.95 burrito…
www.madmex.com.au



I’ll visit you all in Casualty, right after I fit in another meal at Monkey Magic. I managed to sneak in there not so long ago for a gander at the food under the stewardship of Chef Hideaki Matsumoto. You might have tasted his French/Japanese fusion at Galileo at The Observatory Hotel. Here he’s got a bit more liberty to be wild. I enjoyed his delicate chicken and prawn shu-mai with fresh bamboo, water chestnut and ginger dipped in spicy ponzu dressing. It’s also one of my favourite places to eat soft shell crab (Matsumoto serves it with green papaya, roasted peanuts, mint and green beans). Matter of fact, I’d like a reasonably sized serve of it now.
www.monkeymagic.com.au



From the bleating of chefs in the Twittersphere, I am guessing that like me, you’ve been doing some cooking at home this month? I’m working my way through Lyndey Milan’s latest book, Lyndey and Blair’s Taste of Greece [RRP $39.95]; knee-deep in gloriously shiny silverbeet making spanakopita. I’m also considering tackling the braised goat with eggplant, because my favourite providore (Feather and Bone) currently has some free-range Boer goats from Berry. It’s all thanks to the book, which is actually one of the most easily approachable cookbooks on the market – a textural, tapestry of Greek-inspiration. And what good is discovering food without matching drinks? I was chuffed to see the book included the all-important drinking notes about Greek wine, meze and ouzo and even a range of modern cocktails inspired by the late Blair. After drowning in the Blood of Hercules, a smoky tequila and pomegranate concoction that also includes an approachable dry Greek red called Agiorgitiko, I’m ready to expand my Greek wine horizons...

One product I am cheating with in my kitchen is The Stock Merchant’s Sustainable Crab Stock [RRP $12.95]. I used mine to whip up a pot of fat, juicy mussels, and it worked a treat, inspiring my dinner guests to get their hands dirty with crusty wedges of French bread. I’m already planning my next dinner party – I’m thinking a crab risotto, perhaps with some Pepe Saya butter and a liberal dash of cream? Considering it’s made exclusively from the happy blue swimmer crab residents of the World Heritage area of Shark Bay, ergo my risotto will be totally guilt free…
www.thestockmerchant.com.au





The folk up north at the Hunter Valley Chefs & Co group would have me match my crab risotto with Semillon: “The vibrant citrus flavour and dominant acid structure of semillon make this food and wine match a classic.” If you need more advice in this area, I suggest you do some hands-on eating and drinking during June, the Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month. Having recently been up to stay at the Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens, I’ve had the pleasure of dining at The Hunter Valley Steakhouse. That’s why I’m making their Steak and Shiraz Matching Challenge my favourite event from this year’s extensive program. If you’re willing to throw down a measly fifteen bucks (it’s free if you stay and dine) every evening in June from 5.30pm - 6.30pm, you can sample Hunter Valley steaks against Hunter Valley Shiraz. Yep – it’s the bargain of the century.
www.huntervalleyuncorked.com.au

Buoyed by a successful 2012 Pyrmont Festival, I was inspired to revisit this local waterfront spot.

It’s certainly had a shake-up since my last visit - the whole precinct looks shinier, down to scenic light boxes, light up poles, and kitsch fish storm water grates.



Courting couples should descend for a sunset stroll and good value entrée Tasting Plate for Two ($38). It’s won, (somewhat surprisingly), by the Haloumi in Kataifi Pastry ($22) - though the Tea Smoked Salmon ($23) put up a decent fight.

 

If it’s too cool for al fresco, snuggle up inside with a two-course Winter Special ($49/head).



The Crispy Skin Barramundi ($37) pipped my salt meter with the black beans; a shame, as I loved the combination with Thai basil, bean shoots, bok choy and chilli.



Perhaps err on the side of the Hereford Beef Fillet ($42) with olive and sage gnocchi, confit tomatoes and red wine jus.



The big surprise of my visit was restaurateur and wine-lover Ramy Shelhot (ex-MoS Café) who’s put together a great list that includes personal cellar selections. I alternated between the quaffable, aromatic 2010 Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir ($55) and the seductive, cherry 2010 Dalrymple Pinot Noir ($64).



Ramy also makes (arguably) the best Karmee Coffee ($5) in town…

(I last reviewed this restaurant (under a different owner and chef) back in 2007, you can find it HERE.)

Sugaroom
Shop 2, 1 Harris Street, Pyrmont
Ph: (02) 9571-5055

 

Now if the mortgage screws are pinching, for a date night restaurant of different sort, head to Leichhardt’s old Bar Via Veneto site.



Expect your garden-variety local neighbourhood Cantonese with the regular ring-ins thrown in - like tasty Mongolian Lamb ($12.90).



It sits well over a steaming plate of Ginger Egg Fried Rice ($8.90). (I'll be returning for this next time I have a cold...)



They even create their own signatures dishes, including the “untranslatable” (according to our personable waitress) War Tip Har ($10.90/6 pieces). It turns out to be a splayed prawn topped with a diamond shaped piece of ham, set on toast then deep-fried.



As much as I wanted to like the generous plate of Salt and Pepper Eggplant ($9.90), it was let down on the day I dined by the use of slightly green eggplant. Szechuan Chicken ($9.90) could have been hotter, but with a smile, our waitress quickly produced a bowl of ‘eat-with-care’ red bullets.



Now before you go screwing your nose up and saying boring, bear in mind it’s a pristinely clean, freshly painted setting that makes eating-in an option, especially when accompanied by a bottle of your favourite plonk (BYO is free). This means a meal for two comes in around the fifty-dollar mark... now when was that mortgage payment due?

Mr Q’s
395 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt
Ph: (02) 9569 8868

Alex Harmon took her taste buds for a trip to the other side of the harbour during Eat.Drink.Manly month. It wasn’t quite a pub-crawl - more a chance to get intimate with Manly’s burgeoning small bar scene…



Sugar Lounge
I wonder why it’s taken so long for Manly to get its own 70s style tiki bar? Overlooking the beach, this little spot would be perfect for post-surf brekky or in my case, post-work, almost-winter Mojitos that promise to transport me to a warmer place.



Sugar Lounge makes 'em big, bold and (like their namesake) as sweet as a candy shop. In the kitchen they whip up tiki-style share plates, grills and pizzas.



We try mushroom and brie croquettes, they explode with hot molten cheese - trust me when I say they are to die for. Their charcuterie plate is pretty good too, stacked with salty meats, creamy cheeses and a side of hummus. Avoid sitting in the big cane chairs, they engulf your entire person, trapping you for the whole afternoon. I couldn't risk it with three more small bars to visit...
www.sugarlounge.com.au





Harlem on Central
The small, prohibition-style bar has also arrived in Manly. Just off The Corso, you’ll find it through an inconspicuous brown door. Somewhat ironically, I had to ask a policeman where to find it, as I'd walked right by. It’s dark, sophisticated and like nothing you’d expect from this sandy-footed town. The waiters look like they’ve been transported from 1920s New York, with bow-ties and suspenders.



They mix up a Morangie Sour with ease – it’s a Scottish malt whisky cocktail with a bitter orange finish. Drinks come with complimentary popcorn, a cool touch to a slow jazzy kind of bar. It wouldn’t be Harlem without mini sliders. They come in two variations. First there’s the New York, which (I hate to say) tastes like a McDonalds cheeseburger. I’m even more loath to admit, that this isn’t a negative - it’s a delicious burger without the aftertaste of guilt. There’s also the mushroom jazz, which has a juicy deep-fried mushroom filling and sweet relish. For a vegetarian burger it has soul - even the most hardened New Yorkers would have to agree.
www.harlemoncentral.com.au





Cantinero
By day it’s the café with the ominous name, Ground Zero, but by night it becomes a pop-up Mexican joint. While I love the pop-up concept, it’s not without its problems. The service is very slow due to a lack of staff, or should I say, equipment - the waiter tells us they only have one toaster to toast the tacos. Luckily their Margaritas are spot on and they use the real deal, Trombo Tequila. Considering this, ten to fourteen dollars for a cocktail is pretty good. Ladies might like the Tommy’s Margarita with sweet agave nectar - I’m self-medicating a sugar high here.



The tacos finally arrive and luckily they’re tasty and fresh. You can even get a seared yellow fin tuna taco for five bucks. Or stick to the classics - chicken or braised beef – and you can’t go wrong. It’s street cuisine in a refined, lantern-lined venue.
www.cantinero.com.au





Miss Marley’s
This bar crawl worked out to be quite the worldly journey, with Miss Marley’s taking us back to 1950s South America. Luckily my taste buds don’t suffer from time travel jetlag. While there are over one hundred tequilas to choose from, the refined vintage décor and cute South American barmaid suggests a Chilean red - who are we to argue? The Casa Lapostolle is a full-bodied, chocolatey drop that is paired well a plate of empanadas that come with my favourite Chilean condiment, pebre (a coriander, onion, garlic and chili salsa). My dining companion decides this bar crawl shouldn’t be without dessert and dives into a slice of banoffee pie (without the cream). It’s decadent, it’s seductive and it didn’t last long between the two of us. Miss Marley’s is a touch of femininity in an area I’ve always perceived to be Man-town. I shall return.
www.missmarleys.com.au

In the suburb where I grew up, the local pub had a men-only bar, so you’ll have to forgive my tendency to view this new breed of cosy, country-kitchen style pub as progressive.

Regardless, it’s the perfect place to spend a miserable Monday night when the arduous week stretching ahead has you both beat. On the one I dined, it was filled with couples communing with each other and the world, their faces lit by the faint bluish glow of their smart phone screens.



They’re enjoying the sort of food Chef Mitch Davis (ex-Blue Gum Hotel) likes to eat, from juicy trios of tasty Beef Sliders ($12) with BBQ relish and cheese, to...



...a comforting yet Deconstructed Beef Mushroom and Ale Pie ($22) plonked unceremoniously on a board alongside creamy mash and pea puree.



Mitch is also a big fan of sustainability, as you’ll gather from his Tin of Ortiz Anchovies with Cayenne Pepper, Lemon and Artisanal Bread ($18).



You can also wrap your laughing gear around his Wattleseed Crusted Kangaroo Fillet ($26); best served up rare, with accompanying sweet potato, ginger chutney and ale jus.



So it's perfectly fitting that a middy of Pink Lady Cider ($5) wraps up my adventure into this brave, new world.

The Duck Inn
74 Rose Street, Chippendale
Ph: (02) 9319 4415

Published in the Bondi View and City News.

With the temperature diminishing, it’s understandable that we all need a little more to get us out the door. That’s why this week, I’m all about finding your festival spirit, with a few post-festival bars thrown in.



The 2012 Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art takes off for ten days from the 18th May. It turns a spotlight onto an area sometimes accused of being a restaurant and café desert. Residents and visitors alike should relish the chance to see the area transformed into a throbbing hive of food, wine and cultural events, and utilise it as an opportunity to uncover Pyrmont’s hidden foodie pleasures.

One well versed in Pyrmont’s dining virtues is Pyrmont Ultimo Chamber of Commerce President, Lawrence Gibbons. He tells me his insider festival picks are the “Doltone House brekkie and The Star tasting event”. The former is a chance to get your Friday (18th May) started right with a well-priced ($45/head) two-hour breakfast accompanied by Mudgee wine at the waterside Doltone House. It ends with espresso and wicked cannoli to ensure you actually get to work. His other pick, Taste of The Star is a unique opportunity, on Thursday 24th May, to taste across the swathe of new restaurants now ensconced in the complex. With accompanying bubbles, it’s another bargain at just forty bucks.

Of course this festival is more than just a showcase of Pyrmont. It’s also a partnership with the third largest grape-growing area in NSW – Mudgee. The area is known for shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and a range of Italian varieties. Get more familiar with them in the pleasant surrounds of Pirrama Park on Sunday 20th May.



Alternatively you can head to a local restaurant partnering with a winery that piques your interest. The partnership that caught my eye is between Ripples Sydney Wharf and Burnbrae Wines. Their $65/head event on Saturday 19th May combines three courses of Mediterranean inspired cooking with three chances to visit the in-house Burnbrae tasting stand and pick your own perfect wine match.
www.pyrmontfestival.com


For a post-festival tipple, just a hop, skip and jump along the waterfront is the newly opened The Bar at the End of the Wharf. It’s Sydney Theatre Company’s bar and canteen, staffed by a collection of the suave, hip, tattooed and trendy (including eye-catching head bartender Joe Cutliffe).



It has already won my vote, not least of which for the opportunity to play ping-pong as the sun drips onto the harbour. The only negative? It’s a bloody long wharf…
www.sydneytheatre.com.au



Also on the near horizon is the 2012 Sydney Film Festival, taking over town from the 6th-17th June. The foodie flick of interest, Step Up To The Plate, happened to roll past my desk, so I can personally attest that it is well worth a looksee.

It’s a documentary that walks the knife-edge of tension between three Michelin starred father, Michel Bras, and his yet to be proven son Sébastien, set against the bleak and barren French landscape of Laguiole, and in pretty, snowbound Hokkaido. Michel’s in the process of handing over his business to his son, but in the restaurant world, he knows it's even harder to stay at the top, than it is to climb to it.


Watch the seasons change, with success or failure hinging upon a milk skin. My highlight? Watching Michel Bras’ signature Gargouillou, a garden-like dish, built leaf-by-leaf, smear-by-tiny-smear, right before your eyes. Yep, much cheaper than a trip to France…

Of course, there’s more to uncover, including a brilliant range of dining partners, like Justin North’s Quarter 21. Now remember; foods and films are all-weather activities…
www.sff.org.au



A perfect after-party spot to drink and dissect films is Zeta Bar. They’ve just launched a Farmer's Market special every Friday night (from 6pm) that’s sure to appeal to your inner foodie! Stroll aisles of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices; make your selection; add a base spirit and then watch their talented (and thematically dressed) bartenders create your personal cocktail. You might even meet a wholesome farm girl (in denim hot-pants) bearing steaming bottles of er… milk.
www.zetabar.com.au

As most of Sydney settled in to watch the new season of MasterChef unfold, I pondered the pressure points of a Scotch egg: a just-set yolk; intriguingly fresh flavours packed into a tasty, sausage meat shell; crisp, golden crumb.



Good seasoning goes without saying. The Scotch Egg ($5) here has it all, so extricate yourself from the lounge into a wide, brown leather banquette.



The cavernous room is warmly dotted with curiosities, from stuffed birds to pickling eggs.



Wide tables ensure there is plenty of space to assemble...



...a feast of Black Pudding and Crumbed Pork Rillettes ($14);



...Smoked Eel ($16) with bacon, chicory and zingy horseradish cream; and a hefty board of Onion Rings, Hot Sauce and Coleslaw ($9). I smile at the sheer pub-food pleasure of crisp, airy batter encasing sweet, fat onion loops.



The eel and blood sausage on the other hand, are thoroughly modern, balancing full, heady flavours against juicy, green apple. They soar with the ‘Le Bine’ Soave ($58) from Ollie Tucker’s ripper list.



His silver Brit tongue sells the dishes too, getting me into bed with a tasty Pork Chop ($25) resting on a mattress of ham hock and pearl barley, before an achingly creamy Rice Pudding ($14) makes this pub my new local.



Paddington Arms Hotel
384 Oxford Street, Paddington
Ph: (02) 9360 9668

Alex Harmon also checked out some hardware, Bondi Hardware...

“This is better than Bunnings,” my dining partner remarked as we sipped on his-and-hers cocktails. The Geisha ($18) – with gin, muddled strawberries and cucumber – screams of summer nights, and a Batlow Bros Brew ($16) of cider, spiced rum and cinnamon, is your metrosexual pirate.

Yeah, it used to be a hardware store, but hospo hotshots, Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll, have dusted off the sawdust and created a trendy dining experience. They’ve kept the brick and turned the wood into serving trays. Aptly, it’s full of young, future-renovator types.



The share-style food goes from Mexico to Morocco, beckoning twenty-something globetrotters. You can almost hear the stories through the food, like the gorgeous Chermoula Lamb Rump Chops ($18) with “head chef Justin’s awesome couscous”. I can just hear him saying, “this one time, in Marrakesh…”



Their Fried Haloumi ($15) is spot on, with cool chunks of cucumber balancing the saltiness.



Jamaican Curried Goat ($17) didn’t quite hit the mark, although boneless meat and creamy yoghurt were nice touches.



Their Quesadillas ($16) sat on the overcooked side, but the bean, chorizo and cheese filling carried me away to a place far from Bondi; which is exactly what you want from this place – escapism before hammering mortgages pin you down.

Bondi Hardware
39 Hall Street, Bondi Beach
Ph: (02) 9365 7176

Alex Harmon seems pretty enamoured with this new Bondi entry...



Skateboards on the roof, a DJ beside the sushi chef, purple mood lighting: if Bondi and Tokyo were Street Fighter characters, they’d end up on the same team.



Co-owner Phil Capaldi, in his Scottish accent teaches us Sake 101, matching it with food like a sommelier; and dazzling us with “Christmas cake tasting” sake, which shatters my Japanese businessmen cliché.



The theme here is fun, like Salmon Tartare Nachos ($16), sprinkled with salmon roe and scooped up with prawn crackers, or...



...Shitake Mushroom Skewers ($8.50) that glisten like adult Paddlepops.



Cocktails are sheepishly girly; the Tokyo Pop ($14) has a rim of pop rock candy and a fruity Pimms body – it's like a party in your mouth.



Standout dish is PaperPlanes Prawn Gyoza ($18), with wasabi peas and lemon wasabi foam - it’s got more high notes than drunken karaoke.



Spicy Tuna Sushi ($12) tastes as pretty as it looks and, like a cowboy, Phil sidles up to us with fresh wasabi root that he grates with shark skin.



If you’re not already swooning, try the Tokyo Pot Plant Lemon Cheesecake ($13), served in a terracotta pot. I love it when kitsch actually tastes delicious.

Let’s hope, like their aluminium origami, PaperPlanes stands the test of time.

PaperPlanes Bondi
Shop 15, 178 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach
Ph: (02) 9356 8393

Okay, so the whole city’s rushing to Momofuku Seiobo to sample the dishes of Korean-American, David Chang. Me? Well, I like to know what I’m deconstructing before it’s reinterpreted; so right now I’m hooked on Korean soul food, or Seoul food.



My favourite spot is tucked between the Lamborghini dealer & the Prussian ‘antiques’ dealer on William Street.



It’s certainly got more heart than most – I mean where else can you get a drink - Chilled Barley Tea ($0.50) – for fifty cents? Groovy, young Korean staff will also go the extra mile to teach you to drink like a Korean. We were inducted into poktanju or ‘bombs’ involving shots of Soju ($12/300ml), a distilled rice spirit, into Hite Korean Beer ($5).



They’re much easier to drink than Jägerbombs; guaranteeing you’ll still remember eating a delightfully light Haemul Buchu-Jeon ($16), savoury pancake of chives, onion, prawn and calamari, the next day. Win.



Of course most visitors go down the Bibim-Bap route - their Pork Stone Bowl ($12.50) is a winner; and staff will stir it for you table-side if you’re a newbie.



Add on Banchan ($3) to really understand how Koreans eat.



Yeah, they’re usually free, but I’m all for lowering food wastage while we get our heads around this unique cuisine.

Bibim, To Mix
169 William Street, Darlinghurst
Ph: (02) 8095 9830