freckle face cafe, kirribilli

Today marked the inaugural meeting of what I've termed the "First Sunday Breakfast Club" - an opportunity for us yuppies to gather over what we've come to agree is the best meal of the day. Fortified with caffeine, maple syrup and bacon, we can then head off to tend to what my friend has termed "life admin" - grocery shopping, cleaning and all those pesky things we don't have time to do on weekdays because we're working til 9pm (strictly speaking, that's me in 5 months' time - I'm currently making the most of my time at the government, which is clearly evident from the times of these posts. This one is a rare weekend effort).

My French toast ($9.50). The best thing about this place is that you can customise your breakfasts (by adding bacon onto your French toast, for example) and they will get it right. Coffees come with a complimentary chocolate freckle. They will also split bills, which is very convenient, although that led to a bit of embarrassment at the conclusion of our breakfast meeting when there was a misunderstanding over whether or not one of our members had paid. It was all cleared up in the end though.

While you're in the area, check out Wild Lotus (jewellery and handbags and Edward Monkton cards), Coco Chocolate and the multitude of adorable dogs that roam the streets (firmly attached to a rhinestone collar and leash, mind you).
 
Freckle Face Cafe
32A Burton Street
Kirribilli NSW 2061

(02) 9957 2116 

lindt chocolate cafe, martin place, city

How good does this look?

This is apparently a new dessert at Lindt (according to their website) - the Mousse Trio. I experienced a serious case of food envy on this dish's arrival. Jealousy never lasts long though between true friends, and a get-together with high school buddies was the reason why we were at the Lindt Cafe late on a Saturday afternoon.

Not as photogenic, but just as delicious - the chocolate eclair

Which also features in the background of this shot of the hot fudge sundae. Amongst our other orders - hot chocolates (both milk and dark), a Rosella declice (mmm, ginger cream) and some sort of cake that I've now forgotten the name of... sorry!

So now that we've got the niceties out of the way, I have to have a word about the service. I never remembered it being quite so bad (having been a regular there when I was studying down the road). The waitress, faced with the prospect of having to seat 6 of us, snapped, "6 people? That's a large table", as though we were really putting her out in some way. Then she recommended a cake to my friend which turned out to be sold out. Lastly, she brought 4 cups of water when there were clearly 6 of us at the table, and it wasn't even as though 2 of us had ordered drinks and the others had not, so that only 4 of us didn't have anything to drink. Yes, it was a busy Saturday afternoon and maybe (a) we were taking the waitress' comment way too personally; (b) the last serving of the cake that she recommended to my friend got snapped up just as my friend ordered it and (c) we could have easily asked for more glasses of water, but I was quite disappointed considering that the place holds itself out as such as classy institution. The icing on the cake was when she plonked down the bill without any form of ceremony (and without us asking for it, and without there being any form of queue at the door waiting for a table)... to her credit, she did say "whenever you're ready" (probably because she saw me make a face. Yes, I don't hold back if I see something I don't like).

I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but I don't think we'll be heading back in a hurry.



Lindt Chocolate Cafe
53 Martin Place
Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 8257 1600


Also at George Street, Darling Harbour and Miranda Westfield

Open 7 days - Mondays to Fridays 7:30am to 6pm, weekends 10am to 6pm

date night: malacca straits, broadway

Date night: a gen Y phenomenon whereby a couple, who may already be living together, ventures out for a traditional dinner and movie. The boy pays of course. (To illustrate just how gen Y it is, my workmate mentioned recently to her boss that she went on a date night with her live-in boyfriend. Her boss looked aghast, believing that she was having an affair).

Last Friday saw chapflap and I (who don't live together, I might add, just in the interests of full disclosure) headed back to Malacca Straits at Broadway after a first visit inspired by Simon Food Favourites (Grab Your Fork has also posted on this hidden treasure). That time, we had the murtabak, Hainanese chicken rice, wat tan hor (stir fried seafood hor fun) and ice kacang, all of which were delicious. This time, we had:

Otak-otak (from the specials menu, so I'm not sure how much it was. It wasn't expensive though). We hadn't tried anything like this before - minced fish with coconut milk steamed in leaves. Yum.

2 serves of roti canai ($6 altogether). Not as flaky as the ones at Mamak, but more than satisfying given you don't have to queue for half an hour for a table. Great for mopping up this...

Chicken kapitan curry ($13). I could seriously drink this sauce. Fragrant with a punch of tamarind sourness, it was the hit of the night.

Wat tan hor ($11). Similar in texture to the Cantonese 濕炒牛河 (literally "wet stir-fried beef rice noodles", as opposed to the also imaginatively named 乾炒牛河, which is "dry stir-fried beef rice noodles"), this had plenty of the all-important 鑊氣 ("wok breath", or that delicious smoky flavour achieved only through a massive flame and a well-seasoned wok), seafood and vegies.

I am such a sucker for Asian desserts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to say no to chocolate, cake or pastries, but I simply cannot resist any form of Asian dessert, particularly if it features lurid coloured syrups. There are 3 desserts available at Malacca Straits, one other of which is a shaved ice as well (ice kacang) - this is the slightly more adventurous ABC ($5), with rose flavoured (and coloured!) syrup, peanuts and corn hiding beneath all that shaved ice. I know it sounds unusual, but somehow it all just works.

Malacca Straits is the perfect place for your next date night. And for the record, yes, chapflap did pay.


Malacca Straits
66 Mountain Street (pretty much next door to Broadway Shopping Centre)
Broadway NSW 2007


Open for lunch and dinner Mondays to Saturdays


Menu available here


Park at Broadway Shopping Centre for 3 free parking, or 4 hours if like us, you are off to a movie after dinner at Hoyts. Note that the restaurant is tucked up pretty much right at the back of the apartment complex (Quadrant Building).

sushi samurai, pyrmont

After being thwarted by massive lines in our initial plans to go to Sizzler at Kogarah (I thought I was the only one obsessed with this place! I haven't been there since my childhood and have always planned to return... mmm... cheesy bread) and by the closure of Sushi on Steroids aka Sushi Tengoku (because of the public holiday? Or does it always close on Mondays?), we headed to Sushi Samauri at Pyrmont for a late dinner.

Agedashi tofu. We love this stuff.

So much so that we also got the agedashi eggplant (from the specials menu). I've never had anything but tofu in agedashi style before. This was nice.

Sushi and sashimi platter ($39.80). Pretty good value considering the massiveness of the serve. I would've liked more ginger though (I'm sure we could've asked for some more, we just didn't get around to it).

Hello, nostalgia! We actually noticed trays of these in the kitchen and wondered that maybe the staff had them as snacks. In fact, they hand them out as complimentary desserts. Sweet! I used to have the strawberry flavoured ones all the time as a child. Now it seems they've turned educational, with "fun words" printed on the biscuits!

Sushi Samurai

Shop 1/16-30 Bunn Street

Pyrmont NSW 2009

(02) 9518 8852

Open 7 days for lunch and dinner - last order for lunch is 3pm, last order for dinner 10pm

More information available here

l'etoile, paddington

Our friend organised a dinner at this lovely French restaurant on a Friday night. We were eventually let in after a little bit of confusion about what the name was booked under (why Anglicise your name for? I must confess I change my name on occasion, like when ordering coffee. It does make things easier. And I don't even have that unusual or foreign of a name. It's a tricky one). Apart from that, the service was seamless and friendly, with constant top-ups of wine and prompt attention to taking orders/ bringing orders/ bringing dessert menus.

The constant top-ups of wine may have had an effect on the quality of the following photos (combined with the effect of an early release from work because of the long weekend and therefore inevitable drinks, this time at the East Sydney)...

Ok, if I was had a photo editing program I would obviously bring the lighting right up on this shot. But I'm not hard core enough to do any sort of editing on my photos so this is what you get. This was my lamb saddle main, which was delicious. We had side orders of real French fries (yum!) and beans. Amongst the other orders... there was the pork, the kingfish, the steak and... another steak?

Complimentary watermelon and champagne granita palate cleansers. Refreshingly clean flavours, but not for those with sensitive teeth!

My creme brulee. A huge serve with a satisfyingly crunchy top. Not too thick in terms of toffee either. Doesn't the accompanying biscuit look like a Pringle? You'll be pleased to know it was definitely sweet rather than savoury (now I have a craving for those fluoro orange cheese flavoured Pringles. Gross). Amongst the other dessert orders - two chocolate mousses, another creme brluee, a poached pear and... another poached pear? It must've been a repeat because there are only 4 dessert choices, one of them being apple pie, and I know that no one had that.

All in all a great night - good food, good wine and most importantly, good company (I'm not just saying this because I know that the organiser of the night reads this blog... bwhahaha). We walked away with our wallets only $75 each lighter, which I think was quite reasonable considering the quality of the food (so... rich...) and the service. The setting was nice too, we were seated outside (but my friend did see a cockroach. Aaaah well, we were in the great outdoors, I don't think this reflects on the cleanliness or otherwise of the restaurant). Recommended.

L'etoile
211 Glenmore Road
Paddington NSW 2021

(02) 9332 1577

Lunch Fridays to Sundays only
Dinner 7 nights a week

Street parking nearby, alternatively buses such as the 389 and 380 stop nearby. A cab from William Street, East Sydney will cost around $10.

You can find menus etc here

bar 333, city

Had a triple-decker toasted sandwich tonight (Thursday) with my friend who induces me into eating hot dogs.

I think it was missing that essential club sandwich ingredient which makes them taste so great (and which brings me back to childhood days in HK) - mayonnaise.

I could've stolen some off my friend, who had chips with mayonnaise (which is basically aioli minus the garlic).

Worth popping in though considering its convenient location and $10 cocktails (tonight they had lychee martinis, something with apple, the "Ni How Ma" featuring watermelon and ginger and a passionfruit caprioska, which was very nice) on Thursday and Saturday nights.

Bar 333
333 George Street (near cnr Martin Place)
Sydney NSW 2000

a tale of two touch screen restaurants

Poor Mr Dickens must be turning in his grave right now.

One Saturday, I managed to make it to two touch screen restaurants - Takeru, Chatswood and I-Taiwan, Chinatown.

No photos from Takeru but I would highly recommend the bento boxes at the bargain basement price of $12.50. Other popular choices were the curries and pastas (I love Asian-style pasta). The other good thing is it's tucked away in the back corner of Victoria Plaza (next to Chatswood Chase), so it's not as packed as other more prominent eateries around the Chatswood shopping area. By the time we left though, people were writing their names on the queueing sheet commonly featured at popular Japanese eateries (Makoto and Ichi-ban Boshi spring to mind)

That night, we went to the new Taiwanese restaurant in the Chinatown pedestrian mall. I didn't even know what it was called, so told my friend that "it's the restaurant that's painted black outside, next to the CD shop, near the Goulburn Street end of Chinatown". These poor directions inevitably led to my friend calling me and us having one of those hilarious conversations where you're standing in close proximity, talking to each other on the phone -

F: "I'm in front of the Dixon Centre"
V: "Me too! But where? I can't see you?"
F: "ummm, just in the front?"

V and F turn around and it turns out they're within 5 metres of each other, just facing in opposite directions. Cue rolled eyes from chapflap and V's boyfriend.

We only discovered that the restaurant has touch screens upon entering, and that it has an upstairs seating section. The seating was very comfortable, with booths designed for chatting over pearl milk teas and shaved ice desserts. But main meals first, of which I only took one photo:

Mince pork noodles ($8). There are also sliced pork noodles. And lots of other types of soup noodles, in true Taiwanese style. They went down well with a serve of Taiwanese pickles ($4).

When you order the shaved ice dessert, they bring you a little order form to select your toppings. $5.30 for 3 toppings and only 50c more for another one, but I was afraid that my excess dessert consumption would disturb my enjoyment of the Joey Yung concert we were going to that night.

The result of my order - lychee, paw-paw and fig jelly. They put coloured sprinkles on the ice :) It was delish.

V forced (tee hee, ok, "encouraged") her boyfriend to order a hot drink just so we could look at the cute cup that they came in. This was the hot milk tea, which V's boyfriend said was very sweet. Before the meal, we also had various cold drinks which I can't remember now. All I know is that I had the cold milk tea with herbal jelly, having deprived myself of Chatime at Chatswood earlier that day on account of the queue.

I-Taiwan is a good option for catching up with friends and playing with touch screens, particularly if Wagaya is booked out (as it was that night, most likely with fellow Joey fans! Anyone else out there also in attendance? How cool was the Kowloon bus out the front of the Entertainment Centre?)

Takeru
Shop 10, 369 Victoria Avenue (enter through the ground level and walk straight through to the back corner)
Chatswood NSW 2065

(02) 9412 1203

Open 7 days from noon to 7pm

Also in the city, but that didn't feature touch-screens the time we went (about 6 months ago)

I-Taiwan
52 Dixon Street (which is, as I described, next to the CD shop near the Goulburn Street end of the pedestrian mall. Good luck finding it with such directions!)
Haymarket NSW 2000

(02) 9212 2220


Not sure of opening hours

taste baguette on market, city

I made it to this place after having my weekly massage and I am very glad I did.

The crispy tofu baguette ($6.20 take-away, all baguettes are $1 more for eat-in) was so delicious I devoured it on the way back to my office. Might also have had something to do with my long black consumption this morning. It also explains the lack of photo.

Baguettes are available in white, rye or wholemeal. You can get a plain baguette (as in a proper long one designed for carrying under your arm, not one of the pre-cut ones made for filling) for $4, which I might do next time (I have been known to eat 5 of those airy, fluffy rolls that you can get for $1 from Vietnamese hot bread shops in a single sitting).

They were very quick with my baguette too, which made me very happy indeed. In the words of the (now) Governator, "I'll be back".

Taste Baguette on Market
Corner of George and Market Streets (just in front of the entrance to Myer)
Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9233 7778

Open 7am-5pm Mondays to Fridays, 8:30am-4pm Saturdays

Cash only

They also serve Campos coffee, and I would've had one had I not been so wound up from my long black this morning...

safira verde, east sydney

My new favourite cafe near my work. This used to be Jan's Cafe, which was a favourite with my boss actually, so I'm not sure if she's been back since it's changed to being Safira Verde (which their website - and google translator - tells me mean means "Green Sapphire"). They serve Campos coffee (mmm...) and delicious sandwiches and cakes (although Sweet Infinity does remain the star around here for all things sweet). Best thing of all, the owner is super nice, and remembers my name even though I try not to go too often (both for the sake of my wallet - not that they're expensive - and moreso for my health! Too much caffeine makes flapflap turn into flappityflappityflappityfllllllazzzzzz).

Safira Verde
63 Crown Street
East Sydney NSW 2011

(02) 9332 4277

You can find more information here, including that the chef used to work at Kawa Cafe, Surry Hills (I haven't been there myself, but some of you foodies out there might know it?)

Here's the menu for reference since it doesn't seem to be available on their website (click to make bigger and hence readable)

While you're in the area, why not check out some of my other East Sydney recommendations? :) (shameless cross-promotion there!) I've got my eye out to try out these places next special occasion (La Brasserie for the custard, strawberry and rhubarb millefeuille, Lanzafame because it replaced Ouzo 88, which always seemed a bit on the quiet side)

rahmen genki, artarmon

My type of magazine shoot!! :)

Rahmen Genki is right next to Sushi-Ya in the alley on the quiet side of Artarmon station. Mum and Dad vetoed my vote to go to Rahmen Genki for lunch, so in revenge, I dragged chapflap there the next day. There's water and Japanese magazines while you wait (which wasn't for very long in our case, because we went at a relatively non-busy time of 2pm on a Sunday, but there were still other tables of people).

It was an unseasonably hot autmum day (leading one of my colleagues to post a rant on facebook about climate change sceptics!) so I went for the cold ramen ($13). Refreshing and lots of vegies, I particularly liked the strongly mirin stock/ sauce.

Chapflap's tonkotsu ramen ($11). Comes with little portions of pickled ginger (check out the super-cute tiny tongs on top of the ginger container!) and cabbage. Look how well-behaved chapflap is in not attacking his ramen as soon as he arrives, rather, waiting until I've snapped away with my camera. I didn't even have to ask him! In my words: well-trained. In his (and possibly many other male's): WHIPPED!

After being told he was allowed to eat (I kid...) chapflap discovered a definite lack of pork in his rahmen. The waitress was very apologetic and brought the above dish out, saying she'd forgot to bring it out in the first instance. I have to say though, it's a little bit on the stingy side for a serving of pork, epsecially compared to Gumshara/ On Ramen etc!

Rahmen Genki

10 Wilkes Avenue

Artarmon NSW 2064

Open 6 days a week for lunch and dinner - closed Tuesdays

(02) 9410 3777

Cash only (leading my Mum to say "it must be run by Cantonese people!". Us being Cantonese, we might be able to say such things... but Ryo's is cash only, and definitely run by Japanese people. The people we dealt with at Rahmen Genki all appeared to be Japanese)

sushi-ya, artarmon

A confronting photo, no?

I have to say I love eating the head of fishes. Sorry to any vegetarians/ squeamish people out there. This was part of the grilled salmon head set (with rice and miso soup - all together about $18) that I had for lunch on Saturday at Sushi-Ya with my parents. Delicious!

Sushi-Ya Artarmon

10 Wilkes Avenue (in the alley on the quiet side of Artarmon station)

Artarmon NSW 2064

Also at Chatswood - we prefer the Artarmon one because it's less busy but no less yum. Unfortunately a lot of flies though if you sit outside like we did (but you can always choose to sit inside, so we were asking for it!)

(02) 9411 1377

Open 7 days for lunch and dinner except Monday lunchtimes

Plenty of parking on streets nearby, or catch the train

recommendations, east sydney

I've been working at my current office for over a year now, and have discovered the following gems tucked around the "East Sydney" (still not a suburb according to Australia Post) region:

Kakawa Chocolates, 147 William Street - I think I first read about it in one of those free city magazines that get handed out at train stations, and it caught my eye because it stocks $5 ice cream sandwiches. Not really the weather for those now, but I picked up some chocolate coated macadamias and chocolate covered meringues when I dropped in the other day. Would love to try the green tea praline next time.

Miss Chu's, 1/150 Bourke Street, just off William Street - the rice paper rolls will set you back $6 per serve, but they're definitely a step up from the 2 boxes for $5 rolls you can get from Hunter Connection in the city after 3pm. They were a big hit at our Christmas picnic in the park last year.

Bar Reggio, 135 Crown Street - for the trecolore pizza, although my colleague always goes for the Australiana (bacon and eggs)...

Big Boy Thai, 82 Stanley Street - call them up to place your order and it'll be ready before you leave the office to collect it.

Lord Roberts Hotel, corner Stanley and Riley Streets - great rooftop, huge lunch specials, my friend gets cravings for their skinnier-than-Maccas chips.

East Sydney Hotel, corner Cathedral and Crown Streets - the pub with no pokies! Yay.

Other regular haunts: Toby's Estate for mid-morning pick-me-ups, Sweet Infinity for mid-afternoon pick-me-ups, Verde, La Mint and Just Another Restaurant for special occasion lunches.

As much as I bemoaned the food choices around here when I first started, it's really grown on me. I'll miss it when I move on in October.

harry's cafe de wheels, woolloomooloo

Ever had a craving that you couldn't shake?

It happens to me all too much for a non-pregnant person. Recent culprits have been the KFC tower burger, chatime roasted milk tea with grass jelly and soy crisps (to the point I trawled each city supermarket for them, and then discovered a bulk source through the Nut Galore at World Square. Dangerous!)

What gets me every time is how specific the craving is, so absolutely nothing else will do. That's the dilemma I faced this morning after my work friend mentioned that she had a hot dog from Harry's the other day. The OCD part of my brain instantly started chanting, "hot dog hot dog hot dog".

I tried to resist, truly. But after seeing the glorious weather outside (begone, humidity!) and checking that it was only 1km from my office to the holy grail I set forth.

I first went to Harry's on a rainy, rainy night with chapflap early on in our relationship. That time, I managed to drop my hot dog on the floor of his car. This time, I kept a firm grip on my hot dog with veggies, and decided that it could possibly be my perfect food - carbs on carbs, rapidly consumable and most importantly, comes with mustard...

A veggie hot dog will set you back only $5.20, but you get this million dollar view.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Cowper Wharf Road

Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

(02) 9357 3074

You can get more information here

dong ba, cabramatta

A return visit yesterday following our discovery of this treasure on Valentine's Day. The plates of lettuce/ bean sprouts they provide for your pho/ other chosen noodle are enough to feed a small child. I love the duck and bamboo shoot rice noodles at the bargain basement price of $9. The duck comes on a separate plate, ready to be enjoyed on its vinegary own or dunked in the garlic sauce. The soup comes with an added bonus of a couple of blocks of 豬紅 (coagulated pig's blood), but you can always pick those out.

This time, we also tried the special pho, spanner crab and grilled fish noodles, spring roll vermicelli and pig's knuckle noodles. Only disappointment was that the coffee didn't come with the traditional drip-drip gadget that I invariably make a mess with. Plenty of condensed milk though to cut through the savoury soup goodness.

Finished the afternoon off with an avocado shake from the Thai place in the pedestrian mall (don't know the name sorry... just that it features delicious fried snacks in the front). Apparently it took 3 avocados to make my regular sized drink. No wonder I didn't need dinner last night...

Dong Ba Restaurant
Shop 5, 117 John Street
Cabramatta NSW 2166

(02) 9723 0336

Open 7 days

Also at Shop 6, 40 Park Street, Cabramatta and 296 Chapel Road South, Bankstown

on ramen, city

A lot of chapflap's and my meals seem to consist of noodles in soup.

Slight variation on a theme here then because this one features noodles in soup and duck, another one of my faves

I got the "On Ramen Bento" set for $18.80, so I got side dishes comprising of japanese cheese sausage (with mustard, yay!), 2 takoyaki with waving bonito flakes (hello to you too!), salmon sashimi on a bed of carrots (nice and fresh) and a salad with yummy dressing. I felt a bit like I was in a korean restaurant.

I added an egg for $2 too, but was saddened that it wasn't the runny yolk type that I like, which I always eat first when we go to Gumshara. The duck was lovely and moist though, and the soup not too salty

Chapflap had the seafood ramen

He also opted for the On Ramen bento set ($18.80), which include side dishes of 2 takoyaki balls, sashimi, salad and deliciously crunchy (but highly unphotogenic) soft shell crab

All that didn't leave him any room for dessert, I couldn't resist the fluorescence of this pandan ice cream from Passionflower (the bottom ice cream is sticky rice - 2 scoops in a cup for $6 take-away)

The service was pretty good too at On Ramen, so it's a more dignified setting for satisfying your ramen craving than Gumshara. Not as much collagen goodness though

On Ramen

Shop 4, 181-187 Hay Street
Haymarket 2000

Open 7 days, 11am to 10pm

(02) 9211 6663

Cash only, minimum order of $8 pp

adriano zumbo cafe, balmain

We've been a little behind the rest of the Sydney foodblog crowd in making it to Adriano Zumbo Cafe, but it's been worth the wait. The first time we went was Valentine's Day (awww), when we had the chocolate brownie and orange hot chocolate, both of which were delish. Picked up 2 lovely boxes of macarons from the Patisserie too. Speaking of macarons, chapflap picked up a box for me recently from St Germain Patisserie in Redfern on this recommendation. Yum.

Recently we headed back after a leisurely lunch at the Oaks in Neutral Bay (cook your own steak! Fun!) with friends. I had the 5-6-7-8:

Chapflap had Miss Marple Deconstructed:

While the Serial Monogamist enjoyed the La Vie En Rose (Antioxidant's Weekend in the Cross in the background... sorry, no photo of the trippy watermelon dust!):

And the Washingtonienne, It's Not a Hamburger:

If only parking in Balmain wasn't so expensive :(

Oaks Hotel
118 Military Road (cnr Ben Boyd Road)
Neutral Bay NSW 2089

Adriano Zumbo Cafe
Shop 5, 308 Darling Street
Balmain NSW 2040

Adriano Zumbo Patsserie
296 Darling Street
Balmain NSW 2040

St Germain Patisserie
88 Rosehill Street
Redfern NSW 2016

the chocolate room, city

Do we really need another chocolate cafe in the city? I would have to answer that with a resounding "yes" - we can never have too much chocolate, right? Spotted this place on the corner of Sussex and Bathurst Streets on our way to a movie. Apparently it's only been open for a week, and is the second Chocolate Room in Sydney (the other one's in Parramatta).

We had waffles for 2 ($14) and a iced hazlenut chocolate ($6) - 3 cakes of waffley goodness smothered in chocolate sauce and strawberries washed down with a frothy ferrero rocher-like drink. The iced chocolates come in 20 flavours, and I'm intrigued to find out what the difference is between iced chocolates and chocshakes (apart from the price - chocshakes are $7). Next time, I suppose...

Also picked up 3 individual "Spark" chocolates for $2 each. The shapes of the individual chocolates remind me of Boon, but the patterns aren't as fine.

Update 2 December 2009: the Spark chocolate lived up to its description of "an explosive finish"! It had pop rocks/ wizz fizz or something in it. Nice. The chocolate was a bit gooey though despite the weather cooling down recently - low melting point perhaps?

The Chocolate Room
298 Sussex St (corner with Bathurst St)
Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9269 0004

Find out more here

Open 8:30am - 11pm every day

Also at Shop 11/15 Phillip St, Parramatta NSW 2150 (and in India!)

gia hoi vietnamese restaurant, city

This new Vietnamese place is where Saigon Village used to be, next to Pasteur on the southern end of George Street. It's actually a new outlet of a chain that's already in Canley Heights and South Bankstown, but I'm not sure if it's the same menu at all 3 stores.

We had a large special beef noodle soup ($10) and special vermicelli ($11), washed down with a longan drink ($3.50) and coconut juice ($3.50). All worth a try if you're in the area. The soup of the beef noodle was a bit oilier than our benchmark (Toan Thong in Flemington), but nice nevertheless.

I didn't take any photos of the food because at the time we were too hungry (argh, city traffic!) But here's the menu for reference... a lovely grandfatherly type man was standing at the front of the restaurant beckoning people in and told me to take one :) Click on each image for magnification to a readable size...

Gia Hoi Vietnamese Restaurant
711 George Street
Haymarket NSW 2000

(02) 9211 0221

Open 7 days 10am to 10pm

Also at 230 Canley Vale Road, Canley Heights NSW 2166
(02) 9723 7324

And 299 Chapel Road, South Bankstown NSW 2200
(02) 9796 3388

I think I read on the drinks menu that the Canley Heights outlet is open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights. Adds another alternative to the kebab/pizza/pie late night snack...

sushi-ya, chatswood

This was a rather special looking dessert that I had with my parents - red bean dumpling with vanilla ice-cream mochi ($7.80). Capped off a grand feast at this popular Japanese restaurant which is just a couple of blocks down from Chatswood Chase (helping to explain its popularity). If you go as a couple try at all costs to avoid sitting in the little corridor that provides access to the toilets - not the most romantic setting!

Sushi-Ya
174 Victoria Avenue
Chatswood NSW 2067

(02) 9413 3300

dan-dan japanese dining & noodle bar, neutral bay

Read about this new noodle place in a Chinese newspaper and wanted to try it because it's run by the same group that run Sushi Samurai (Neutral Bay and Pyrmont, both of which are very good). Headed there for a late lunch on a Saturday and I must admit I was a bit worried that'd be shutting up shop by the time we arrived at 2pm, but funnily enough it actually got busier (and they kept serving) as we had our meal.

Agedashi tofu - $5.80. The sauce was very thin, almost like a soup, which is different to the agedashi I've tried elsewhere. Nice though.

Rice balls (or should that be pyramids?) - ikura (salmon egg) $4.50 and takana (mustard leaf) $3.80. Both very good - I'm a big fan of pickles so the takana went down well, and the seaweed was very fresh and crisp.

Inside of the ikura rice ball. Delicious...


Ramen with extra pork in tokotsu miso soup - $10.80 + $2 for the pork. Which meant it was cheaper than the roast pork ramen which retails for $14.80. Stingy, much? :) Maybe they give you more pork with the roast pork ramen... chapflap found the soup a bit too salty, we saw on the menu that you can ask for less salt so maybe that's an option. It was also slightly chilli which I found unusual, but chapflap said that some types of miso are chilli.


Karaage chicken ramen in shio (salted) soup - $12.80. I should've asked for the chicken on the side because it got soggy, but apart from that it was good. I especially liked having a whole egg (because at Ryo's you only get half an egg; although the Ryo's egg had a lot more flavour than this egg) and the seaweed sheet (at Ryo's I always get myself into a dilemma trying to decide whether to have a ramen that I don't like as much, just to have the seaweed, or to have the ramen I'm really after, but to sacrifice the seaweed). The bamboo shoots were also very fresh and tasty.

I liked how there's an option of 6 soups for the ramen (sho-yu or soy based, miso, shio, tonkotsu sho-yu, tokotsu miso and tokotsu shio), so you can definitely choose the combination that's to your liking. Apart from ramen there's also udon and soba, as well as rice bowls with teriyaki, tempura and funnily enough "ma-bo tofu" (痲婆豆腐). I must say I've never seen it before in a Japanese restaurant.

Another highlight was the innovative interior design - they've used a mixture of English and Japanese newspapers to line one of the walls, which makes for interesting reading while waiting for your meal to arrive. Otherwise there's a open kitchen so you'll be sure not to be short of entertainment.

Dan-Dan Japanese Dining & Noodle Bar
Shop 3/197 Military Road (intersection with Rangers Road, on the southern side of Military Road)
Neutral Bay NSW 2089

(02) 9904 1888

Open 7 days from 12midday to 3pm (see, I had nothing to worry about arriving at 2pm) and 5:30pm to 10:00pm (last order 9:30pm)

You can get more information here

On the little take-away menu I got, it says "no booking available for dining". Parking is notoriously tight around Military Road, you can park at the nearby Woolworths carpark (entrance on Yeo Street) for free if you buy something from Woolies (which means yes, the parking's not really free, but if you buy something that you're going to need anyway, then it's ok)