It’s just us girls tonight. So, I picked up some sushi, gyozas, pickled ginger and beancurd wraps.
A Day Out with Berfu
Berfu is the daughter of a very good friend of mine. She’s staying with us at the moment, attending English classes and most of all enjoying Sydney to the fullest.
On one of those days we decided to go out and do some shopping, have lunch at Bodhi in the Park and visit Hyde Park. Sydney has a lot to offer. Here’s some of the photos…
We asked a nice lady to take our photo. She was quite creative with it as we have many photos to prove it.
Sydney Hyde Park
Bodhi at the Park. This is where we had vegan yum cha.
I am definitely J. J. Abrams of food photography. Look at the lensflare. I mean add a few spaceships, you have sci fi movie. He would’ve been so proud of me.
These apple pies were awesome.
St Mary’s Cathedral
Berfu, outside St Mary’s Cathedral.
Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant with Berfu
Finally, Berfu finished and submitted her thesis and we decided to celebrate at Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant with a bottle of Italian wine Elif (Berfu’s mother) sent for us (as seen in the photo below).
John had the same dish again because he can’t help himself (English Spinach and Kumara Gnocchi served in a Lemon and Garlic Cream sauce).
I had Nutty Leek and Cheese Tart (Handmade puff pastry with a combination of Gruyere, Mozzarella, Fetta and Parmesan cheeses with Walnuts and Lemon Thyme and served with Ratatouille)
The funniest event of the night was that we were trying to take a selfie. Someone from the next table told us that one of the guys sitting closer to us could take our photo. So, he did take our photo after struggling with John’s phone. You’re allowed to laugh as we did 🙂
That’s me but not all of me 🙂
Purpose of this photo? I don’t know but you can’t complain as it would’ve been like the one before that.
The Oaks, Neutral Bay
The Oaks in Neutral Bay is just a walking distance from our place. Although, it has always been quite inviting, I have recently started to go there. Being a pub and everything, we actually didn’t expect it to be vegetarian friendly. But, that’s not the case.
The best feature of The Oaks is its signature oak tree in the middle of the outdoor beer garden. It is “the” oak tree and it’s 78 years old. It was planted in August 1938 by Kathleen McGill. The sapling came from the old Anthony Horden’s department store on George Street as a gift with every purchase over 10 pounds.
The magnificent oak tree (above).
And this is what it looks like when the lights are on. It’s like an all-year-around Xmas tree.
Now, let’s talk about food, shall we? What can we, vegetarians, eat at The Oaks if we happen to be there?
So far, I have tried their veggie burger and two of the vegetarian gourmet pizzas.
The Veggie Burger
The veggie burger at The Oaks is grilled zucchini and eggplant, roasted tomato, rocket, halloumi cheese, caramelised onion, aioli and fries (I don’t have a photo for this one). The whole ensemble is huge; you wouldn’t go hungry.
The Gourmet Pizzas
One of them is mixed wild mushrooms, garlic, mozzarella and truffle oil (below). This thin crust pizza is $22 and I must admit, it was one tasty pizza. Actually, it puts Crust on the other side of the road into shame. I highly recommend it!
The other one was eggplant, roast peppers, zucchini, pesto and goat’s cheese (below). This one is greener and softer compared to the other one.
If you’d like to supplement your meal with some extras, I suggest you should get fries. They come with tomato sauce. They are thin chips.
Sacher Torte at Queen Victoria Building
After having this divine dessert in Vienna in 2015, it was interesting to see it at an Austrian cafe in Queen Victoria Building (QVB). It has always been my favourite building here in Sydney.
The verdict? It was more like a very rich chocolate cake whereas the original was well balanced and much lighter. Initially I thought, this Austrian cafe might be the only place to have sacher torte outside Vienna but I have just discovered that our local French patissier makes sacher torte as well. I think I’ll try theirs, too. Then make a decision.
Yellow Presents Guest Chef Series: Ben Greeno
Some time ago, my husband forwarded Yellow’s newsletter telling us that their Yellow Presents Guest Chef series is back. He is on their mailing list and I’m not. How did that happen? Weird, huh?
Anyhow, here’s how it works: they welcome one of Australia’s leading chefs into their kitchen at Yellow for five special dinners over the coming months.
So, the first chef is Ben Greeno from The Paddington. Apparently, Ben Greeno is working as a chef at a famous rotisserie chicken place. Of course, we wouldn’t know about it being chicken meal and everything. But after this experience, we know what he can do outside The Paddington and how creative he can get in a vegetarian environment.
Well, this was a great opportunity that we wanted to try and to make it more special, we invited another couple to share the experience. I must admit, they were very patient with me taking the photos before everyone dug in to delicious food.
OK, Peoples… Here’s the menu for the night:
Yellow presents
BEN GREENO
05.06.17
Spiced Onion
Seaweed Biscuit
Smoked Curd
NV Punch Rurale Petillant-Naturel, Yarra Valley, VIC Grapefruit Spritz
Witlof + Pear+ Pistachio
NV Orsi San Vito Posca Bianca Pignoletto, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Pear + Yuzu + Green Tea
Potato + Hazelnuts + Miso
NV Domaine de la Pinte Savagnin/Chardonnay, Jura, France
Fennel + Pineapple + Shrub + Soda
Pumpkin + Black Truffle + Cepe
2016 Lucy Margaux Bentley Barrel Pinot Noir
Apple + Celery + Kate + Mint
Celeriac + Dates + Pickles
2015 Jauma ‘Like Raindrops’ Grenache, Mclaren Vale, SA
Watermelon + Rockmelon + Thai Basil
Jerusalem Artichoke + Sunflower Seeds + White Chocolate
Domaine Pichot ‘Le Marigny’ Vouvray Moelleux Chenin Blanc, Loire Valley, France
Virgin Moscatel
Menu $110
Wine Pairing $70
Juice Pairing $50
Now, let’s talk with photos…
Spiced Onion, Seaweed Biscuit and Smoked Curd (below)
Witlof + Pear+ Pistachio (below)
Potato + Hazelnuts + Miso (below)
Pumpkin + Black Truffle + Cepe (below)
And this was our main which was not on the menu.
Celeriac + Dates + Pickles (below)
Jerusalem Artichoke + Sunflower Seeds + White Chocolate (below)
Our waiter for the night was Brian who was brilliant, once again. Even though, we had been to Yellow once before, he recognised us. Not only that, he even remembered where we sat!
Some more sweet stuff (below) although there were 4 of them initially but Hurol couldn’t help himself ?
Overall, it was a lovely night. The service was spot on. One thing I would say about the food though… I thought the flavours and choice of vegetables were a little bit conservative. I guess we somehow expected that from Ben Greeno because he is English. However, Jerusalem artichoke in a dessert was a triumph and incredibly innovative. Hats off to that.
Yellow can be found at these addresses below:
Yellow
57 MacLeay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Website
Blossoming Lotus, Newtown
Your favourite vegan restaurant in Newtown may not be open for lunch on Easter Monday. Well, it happened to us. Green Gourmet is what I’m talking about. So, you take what you get. Blossoming Lotus was open and that’s where we had lunch just before we headed to IKEA to get me new bookcases.
Blossoming Lotus was the place where I had lunch while John was having his gallbladder taken out at RPA some years ago. Back then, it was called Green Palace Thai Vegetarian Cafe, I guess. Owned by the same family of Jackie Khan from Veggie Tree Delight Thai Vegetarian Restaurant right across from Taste Organic in Crows Nest. We loved that place, we loved the owner. They even did home delivery. Those were good days, unlike our Blossoming Lotus lunch during Easter.
On the day, we were lucky to get a park only a few steps away from Blossoming Lotus but that the only lucky thing.
The food situation works very much like Veggie Tree Delight and similar style Asian vegetarian places. You pick your rice or noodles and a number of other dishes from the buffet.
So, I picked these dishes: fried rice, crispy soy slices and roasted duck (below).
My husband on the other hand steamed rice, red curry and another similar style dish with Lamyong chunks in it (below). My roasted duck and crispy soy slices were delicious but fried rice tasted a little funny. So, I focused on the other ones and left the rice. My husband told me that his food tasted a little saltier than normal and even gave me a piece to try but I didn’t. In the end, he had funny tummy soon after the lunch.
The staff were not all that helpful or warm. The girl who was in charge with serving at the front went to toilet and left the front area unattended even though there were other people back in the kitchen who could have filled in for her. All in all, it was not a good experience.
So, if you really must go, Blossoming Lotus can be found at this address:
182 King Street
Newtown, NSW 2042
And perhaps check out their toilet before you have anything to eat there. It’ll tell you everything you need to know about their hygienic standards.
Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant, again
It goes without saying: we absolutely LOVE Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant. We always get looked after incredibly well there. This time in particular. Let me explain…
We arrived unannounced without a booking. Still, a table was arranged. It was the same menu as before so we asked if they could whip up a different main dish for us. There was a discussion in the kitchen between their wait staff including the wine connoisseur and the head chef. And again, it was no problem. We were told that pine mushrooms were in season so they added pickled pine mushrooms to our main dish. The starters were no problem as we decided to have each other’s pick from last time.
Another fantastic occurrence was that our favourite waiter Guillaume was there as well. He always makes it so special for us. God bless his French heart 🙂
Complimentary nibbles (above and below)
Remember this from our previous visit?
Our customised main dish (below)
I recently found a copy of Bentley’s cookbook on Book Depository. Even though it’s not a vegetarian cookbook, I am hoping to extract some techniques and get inspired around unique flavour combinations and extensive use of interesting ingredients.
John’s dessert (above). I didn’t have one. Instead, I had another glass of port.
An Evening with Ajoy and Meera
This was a birthday surprise for Dad during his visit to Sydney. We kept it quiet pretty much until the day. Dad thought we were going to have a drink or two with our hosts.
It turned out that Ajoy and Meera hosted us at their own place for the night. Ajoy cooked us some fantastic food for all of us and Meera lent her opinion every now and then.
Lads.
Lads and me.
Dad is a huge fan of Ajoy’s food as well as him as a person. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you Ajoy. Thank you Meera…
Chatkazz, revisited
When John and I first introduced to Chatkazz, one thing we both agreed was the fact that Dad would enjoy this place. We put this idea to test when Dad arrived in Sydney. And it is safe to say that we were right: he LOVED it.
Here, dad is taking a photo of the gigantic menu to show Mum.
Even though nobody makes Pani Puri (above) like Gujju’s Smita in Melbourne and not many Indian places have it on their menu, it is one dish (starter actually) we have to have if the opportunity presents itself. Luckily, Pani Puri is on Chatkazz’s menu.
Apart from Pani Puri and Sabudana Vada (above), we also had or repeated the same order as last time to be precise, Chhole Bhatura, Dahi Puri and Chinese Bhel on the day. Once again, Chinese Bhel was the star of the day.
And that’s us. John took our very own selfie on the day. I don’t have an upper lip, do I? 🙂