Rockpool Bar & Grill- The Experience

The experience was once in a lifetime. Steve and I had heard good things about Rockpool Bar & Grill and given the write up in InDesign magazine, we were curious to say the least. We wanted to explore the interior as well as our palettes. 

For entree I had oysters, it tasted like the ocean, like a mermaid had delivered it to 66 Hunter Street and recommended the best way to eat them. Steve ordered the tastes of the sea, this was sashimi with an Italian twist. It was beautiful (although one of them did have avocado- so it almost killed Steve, but we like to live dangerously). We also decided to have a middle corse. Hand cut fettucini with Wagyu beef bolognese... THE BEST MEAL WE HAVE EVER HAD! Holey moley, I cannot describe how incredible this dish was. It was a dish that you will remember for the rest of your life. I wanted to marry it (I think Steve did too). It was rich with flavour, the wagyu beef was perfect, the whole dish was perfect. For mains I had lamb and Steve had grass fed fillet, both dishes worked well and left you with a feeling of contentment. You just wanted to sit back and breathe. The meat was succulent and flavourful. It was a moment that made me proud to be a carnivore. We also had a side of mixed steamed vegetables and potato puree. The vegetables tasted like what vegetables should taste like and as a kid you would never push away, they were yummo! The potato puree was a side dish that I wanted to bathe in and would be content to become over weight by it, because I would be happy.

Then there was dessert,which I am never one to shy away from it. I had creme caramel. It was awesome! 

The interior also pleased our visual appetites as it reminded me of an old New York building from the 60's. This theme was carried right through to the bathrooms. The service was also perfect, they were there when we needed advice and then would make themselves scarce when they could see we just wanted to enjoy each other's company. What more could you ask for when it comes to wait staff! 

Overall the night was deliciously perfect. The best dining experience I have ever had. 

Was it really magic?

Monkey Magic, the Japanese restaurant on Crown Street in Surry Hills with the giant tree was next on my restaurant calender. 

I will admit that I did expect the waiters to be on flying clouds, long awkward side burns and to be seated at cloud tables. I am not sure if this is an accurate representation of the show, but being born in '85 I don't quite remember that much about the show. 

I digress... I was at Monkey Magic last Thursday night with 3 friends from work. 

I was driving so I had an extravagant mocktail with pineapple, lychee and tropical juice. My friends had a Lychee martini (apparently very strong- so be warned) and a tropical punch (like mine, but with some alcamahol). For entree we

 had Edamame (which was delicious because they were fresh!) and a small sashimi dish, this included salmon, king fish and tuna pieces- YUMMO! 

For mains we girls like to get a little crazy and mix it up, we all ordered Teriyaki chicken, we also assumed that this would include rice... boy was that a crazy assumption. The waiter also didn't ask if we wanted rice. Strange. So we ordered a serve of rice. I said 4 serves and he came back with 1. Strange. Personally I thought my chicken was a little dry, the flavors were there, but I love a moist chicken. Moist. So after our mains, desert was definitely in order. I ordered an apple and pear dish which sounds more exotic on the menu, because it it arrived, it was pretty much just an apple and pear turn over (just letting you know so you too won't be disappointed). My friends ordered a chocolate pudding which looked incredible as the chocolate sauce oozed out of the centre....mmm.... oozing chocolate... and then my other 2 friends ordered banana desert which was presented as a desert spring roll. Intriguing. Apparently it tasted very strange as the textures contradicted each other.

Overall, the atmosphere was good. I loved the interior. Food and drinks were okay, it was moderately priced. The highlight of my evening though was my lovely friends, the restaurant itself was merely a fog (not a cloud) in the background. 

I'm afraid it was a bit more monkey than magic...

Tonight... I'm going to Rockpool Bar & Grill. I wonder what I should wear...

Sarah Blasko Concert

I am in love. The Sarah Blasko concert last night at the Enmore was incredible. Sarah's voice is just something else. You might expect to just walk in, sit down and it'll be one of those concerts where you're just listening to a CD. Not Sarah's concert. No way. She appeared on the stage in a white dress with big bubble shoulders and smaller bubble sleeves. You just kind of except that she is quirky and she just wants to have fun on stage. She's definitely quirky, but in the 'quirky to be cool' way. It is just who she is. You can tell when she's on stage that she just feels at home. Her graceful movements reflect how the music takes her into another world, a magical world which she conducts the music with her voice and dance.

There are also pleasant surprises throughout her show. She exposes her heart on stage and her bubble shoulders open out and there are a myriad of concertina colours.
Sarah also sang a song from her favorite movie, Annie Hall and Xanadu (a song which I have also fallen in love with cause lame is cool).

It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.Sarah Blasko seduced me with her music, her voice and her bubbles sleeves.

My favourite restaurant...

It's October long weekend and instead of having a seedy night out at an Oktoberfest event, I decided to have dinner with my good friend and the new man in her life. So the ultimate question... Where to get some grub?

Why not my favourite restaurant, La Ricetta. This is the best place to get the best Italian food in Newtown. I am pretty much there at least every 2 weeks.

Last night I had the Ravioli all' anitra (Homemade ravioli stuffed with duck and prosciutto served with a butter and sage sauce), entree size which was only $17.90. The butter and sage sauce becomes your friend as you subtlety inhale your delightful Italian dish. My friend's new man, who is a chef by the way, agreed with me and loved the incredible flavours that were exposed to us.

My friend had the Pappardelle Ragu (Homemade pasta with slowly braised beef). I had have this dish before and it always tastes the same. Amazing. The homemade pasta tastes like it should taste, fresh and made by a Nonna who had the recipe handed down to her by her Nonna. The beef can only be described as an experience. It is almost like the beef saw the knife which was craving it and it just decided to fall off, it is moist, flavorful and pretty much perfectly braised. I just don’t know how they make it taste like that every time!

Then there’s desert. I had the Fragole con liquore (Fresh Strawberries marinated with Grand Marnier, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was simply, extremely tasty.

So if you’re in Newtown and you want great food which is reasonably priced with a great wait staff, La Ricetta should definitely be an option (also if you order the food take away, you get 15% off- just a little tip from me to you).

Happy eating and I hope you're having a great long weekend.

Welcome

Hey hey!

Welcome to my blog, initiated by a creative brain burp I had after a road trip to Melbourne's Fringe Festival.

Melbourne itself I believe, from my experiences there, is the ultimate creative oasis for people who are creative and for wannabes like be who aspire to creative endeavors (like me).

When you walk down one of Melbourne's hidden alleys you suddenly find yourself in an art galley of sorts, filled with pieces of self expression. This is what I love about Melbourne. It's almost like a small piece of every one's soul has been absorbed by the city through explosions of creative psyche.

OK, so enough about Melbourne, since I live in Sydney (born and bred) I will be using this space to advise you of my (hopefully) exciting adventures as I often find myself in the strangest situations. I will warn you though. I am lame, so some of the stories may be classified "I can't believe you said/did that".

You have been warned.