Exposed brick and polenta chips!

I’m talkin’ Bloodwood in Newtown, a modern Australian restaurant which reminds me of Melbourne, but with brighter lighting. It’s a come-as-you-are, no bookings and tapas-style food with great service. I am told that on some nights there is a bit of a wait after 7pm, especially on a Thurs, Fri or Sat so be prepared!

When you walk in, you start to notice the incredible detail that local designer Matt Woods, has put into the place creating a welcoming space that exudes a warm and friendly atmosphere making digestion fun!

Speaking of digestion, here is what we ordered;

For entree
- Polenta chips with a gorgonzola dipping sauce: Seriously delicious and a definitely must-try for this establishment.
- Sourdough bread with dipping oil: The bread was soft and rustic at the same time, DELICIOUS!

For mains
- BF had the special, Steak with a side of kipler potatoes- When this was served to us the whole room could smell the impending eruption of flavour which was about to occur, it was a mixture of garlic, chives and grill time.
- I had the baked king fish with miso flavour, seaweed and radish salad with some snow peas- This was INCREDIBLE and my new favourite all time dish! The fish was moist and you could taste the subtle miso flavour in the fish. I almost cried it was THAT intensely flavoursome.

With all this food (which we pretty much shared) and 2 glasses of white wine, I was the epitome of full, I’m talkin’ a very noticeable food baby!

Now, many reviewers have said that it’s pricey, but maybe only compared to the $7 Thai/Indian/Vietnamese meals you can get down the road. For a place with a great atmosphere and amazing food, it is absolutely worth it!


Photo credit: From the designer man's blog http://mattwoodsdesign.blogspot.com/

Where is it? 416 King St, Newtown NSW
Phone number? 02 9557 7699

Din Tai Fung, translation... DEE-LICIOUS dumplings!

Din Tai Fung, is a Taipei-based global chain of dumpling houses that sees scores of people line up during their lunch hours. The restaurant runs like a well oiled machine, with workers in white hats and hygiene masks furiously working away in steam filled rooms.

This legendary establishment also prides itself on customer service, they actually have a service philosophy which I loved as they "meet customers expectations before they have even voiced them". Sounds crazy I know, but this is exactly what happens! For example, if they notice that you have hung a handbag on your chair, they come around with a fold out laundry-like-bag and stow away your handbag for you. Great! And that's just the service.

The food is also insanely awesome! The dumplings are made with such skill - each dumpling is made to the exact same size and thickness. There is also an art to eating these yummy dumplings. The first step is to create your own sauce with the shredded ginger that they provide for you. You mix 3 parts vinegar to 1 part soy sauce. When you pick up a dumpling, dip it into the sauce, then into your ladle. Use your chopsticks to pierce the dumpling so the clear broth pours out (this will also give you a good indication if it is too hot to eat), then 'here comes the aeroplane', time to put to the dumpling in your mouth and savour the parcel of deliciousness!

I highly recommend Din Tai Fung to anyone who is a fan of dumplings and Chinese cuisine, it is Din Tai FUN!


Address: World Square Shopping Centre, 644 George St, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9264 6010

"Get in my belly!"

Last Saturday night I was invited to Ribs and Rumps, a steak house which I had never heard of, but they are popping up all over Sydney (and Africa). I was intrigued because as a serious lover of red meat I wondered what they had to offer my appetite...

So I researched (downloaded the menu and glanced over it for a week), yes this may come across as obsessive, but when you decide to go to a new restaurant for the first time you want to do it right, otherwise it will ruin your whole experience and you will never go there again.

Yes, I take my food seriously.

I went all out. I ordered the combo of ribs and rumps original. This includes beef, lamb ribs and a 250g rump steak with a side of chips for $40.95. It tasted amazing! It was covered in a delicious sticky sauce and they do not skimp on the food. I did feel like I was having a Flintstone moment as I was munching on giant ribs. This place is especially perfect for dads who love their red meat, with a side of red meat.

So go down to Ribs and Rumps for your "yabba dabba doo!" moment.

Well blog me down and call me hungry!

In an initiative brought on by Fairfield State MP Joe Tripodi to “bring the Leichardt to Canely Heights” (as you do), Santos has emerged as one of the top eating establishments in the Canely Heights area. It offers traditional Italian cuisine for an early lunch or late dinner. AND for a reasonable price.

I ordered an awesome creamy pasta with prawns which was covered in deliciousness. My boyfriend’s mum ordered a steak which was cooked to her liking and smelled like it was cooked with love and a side of veggies. Boyfriend’s sister ordered a dish called spaghetti no.46, it had an array of marinated seasoned veggies and the waitress recommended it with penne instead of spaghetti (a wise choice indeed) as I had food envy the whole time!

So if you’re in the area and feel like a good feed, check out Santos. The wait staff are also very helpful and the restaurant as a family friendly atmosphere.

Address 231 Canley Vale Rd (Cnr. Derby St). Canely Heights NSW
Phone (02)9727 0580 Open Mon-Thu 11am-midnight, Fri-Sat 11am-2am; Sun 11am-11:30pm

I Miss Chu too!

My work colleague, Elise and I decided to treat ourselves to an awesome lunch feast. My namesake was the answer! Miss Chu at 1/150 Bourke Street Darlinghurst has the best dumplings in town (and that’s coming from an Asian with dumpling experience).

The store is presented as a canteen from primary school, complete with lunch bag style menus and old-school desks. It is these nostalgic little details that make Miss Chu's so appealing - and it definitely helps you forget about the noise from neighbouring Kings Cross and construction sites.

Then there's the food!

I highly recommend their entire menu, you honestly can’t go wrong! From the duck pancakes to the custard buns, prepare your taste buds for a delicious journey to flavour-town! With fresh ingredients and food prepared to order, Miss Chu's will have you wanting more.

The awesomeness continues because Miss Chu's doesn't just serve you lunch, they cater too! So if there's a baby shower or a work lunch, think of Miss Chu's! This once little 'hole-in-the-wall' has demonstrated the power of word-of-mouth, and flourished into a true food contender in the Sydney food scene.

P.S- This lunch (Shanghai dumplings, Asian veg. dumplings, custard buns and pork buns) was only $17.50 and it was enough for two people!

Note: Limited seating and a large lunchtime following (translate to mean - lunch rush or very busy).

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...

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.