Buon Ricordo, Paddington

Kings Cross. Not exactly the most ideal place to be at 11pm but I'm slowly discovering the Cross to be a hub of gastronomic delights. Often called the fore-father of Australian Italian cuisine, owner Armando Pecuoco brings to Sydney our little version of the exuberant Italy. I've been planning this visit for a year and a half already, although my friend E remains adamant it was a last minute thing. Please.

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Shanghai Stories 1938, Chatswood

Often called the Paris of the Orient, Shanghai represents the bubbling hub of modern western culture intermingling with the more traditional old-world Asia. Shanghai Stories 1938's dining area beautifully encapsulates the clash of the two regions and is quite possibly the main appeal of visiting here.

Shanghai Stories 1938 is quite a popular place around the locals. My booking at 12 hardly did anything to get us in quicker and we found ourselves waiting outside for at least 10 minutes. I did manage to converse in Mandarin however, which I'm quite proud of.

You'll find people of all walks of life eating around here. The menu is set out in an easy to read picture display and it wasn't hard picking what we wanted to eat straight away.

Xiao Long Bao 6

One of their main dishes, the Xiao Long Bao here is scrumptious. A really delicate skin encapsulates a juicy meaty filling and they all arrived unbroken which is always a good sign of precision. Ginger was mixed within the filling rather than put on the side but I didn't really mind and at $6 for 6, it has to be one of the cheapest Xiao long bao in Sydney if i'm not mistaken .

Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao 9.80

You can see sweet flakes of crab within the mixture but I was under the impression that it was going to be all crab. At $9.80 for 6? Wishful thinking but it was delightful none the less.

Party De Elderflower 6.80

It tasted more like a raspberry grenadine with only the faintest hits of floral elderflower notes rather than a proper elderflower drink but it was quite refreshing.

Pan Fried Buns 7.80

This is the first time I've ever eaten anything like this and I find the combination fascinating. It's like the mixture of a juicy Xiao Long Bao filling and the softness of a bun along with the crisp fried bottom and it was quite delicious.

BBQ Pork pastry 7.80

The mother's day special; it had a thick saucy filling akin to a pork bun but an exterior of sweet bread.

Onion Pancake 6.80

Onion pancakes were a lot more successful; the generous filling of chives and crisp exterior won me over.

Fried Tofu 10.80

These weren't at all crunch and there wasn't much flavour, however the soft pillows of the interior kept me coming back for more. Maybe a little spritz of fried chive and chilli wouldn't go amiss.

Chicken Rice Paper 6.80

These consisted of thick glass noodles, chicken and a peanutey satay sauce. The flavour wasn't remarkable but they were polished off quickly.

Spicy Calamari 12.80

Probably one of the most disappointing things today, the octopus was very overcooked and had a rubbery texture. I found myself going for the much more successful shallot and chilli garnish.

Buddha's Wrap 7.80

 Not content on the sheer amount of food, my mum went and ordered more. I know where my love of food came from. Happy mothers' day to all mothers. As per tradition, the Buddha's delight rolls were served cold and the filling had precisely cut vegetables and each were scrumptious mouthfuls.

Shanghai Noodle 9.80

As if we weren't filled enough, the amount of noodles was staggering and the depth of the sauce was thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm rather disappointed that many Shanghainese staples aren't on the menu like spicy fried chicken and spicy beef noodle ramen and the service suffers, like a lot of Chinese eateries, through the mentality of getting people in and out as quickly as possible rather than actually making them feel welcome. Furthermore, although far from disappointing, the food does nothing to distinguish itself from other Shanghainese eateries quickly popping up around the North of Sydney. However my family enjoys this place, and the staggeringly beautiful, spacious dining area and the very reasonable prices are what will bring me back and I certainly wouldn't mind another visit.



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Noggi & Moochi, Strathfield

Chocolate and orange are a great match. So is chocolate and salt. Chocolate and peanut butter together are just insanely good. Chocolate and anything basically. Cold weather and frozen yoghurt on the other hand, not so much. Before Sunday I think I was the only one of my friends to have not tried froyo at Strathfield. Frozen yoghurt at either Moochi or Noggi that has to be the quintessential foodie experience in Strathfield besides Korean barbecue so I had to give it a try. The preference between Moochi and Noggi is quite possibly one of the most heated when it comes to food in Sydney. Being froyo noob and more of a good old ice cream enjoyer, I really don't add much to the debate but I have yoghurt on a daily basis so I guess that counts for something right?

Noggi

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The Pie Tin, Newtown

I like pie. You guys up for pies? Course. Cooool. Conversation seems so short and to the point these days. Take that conversation for instance, 2 replies and it was organised with a group of old friends. But with pie involved, need there be much disagreement? Pie in itself is only a 3 letter word. What on earth am I talking about. Anyway of late, it seems like The Pie Tin in Newtown is quite possibly the most blogged about eatery this year. I mean who doesn't like a little braised portion of meat with good old puff pastry slapped down with some ketchup? It's not far from my uni; just a 10 minute walk down City Road into the hip part of New Town. Wait hold that, all of New Town seems pretty exciting, from your second hand stores, book shops and some $6.50 Thai to cure an academic's ailing stomach so pretty much all of it is worth exploring.

Autumn. It's the season of cardigans, gloves, heavy boots and scarves, sunny yellow/ burnt orangey hues, apples, hearty roasts, pumpkins, cinnamon and cocoa. Its the season with that hit of coolness; a reason to get all cosied up and take brisk strolls around the park while watching the occasional Autumn sky light up with a burst of crimson purple. It's the season where all those cheesy childhood memories of running around while brown leaves were spin/floating around come to be. From the tree, the transition from summer into autumn is so apparent with the shock of vibrant maroon gradually taking over. Autumn's such a wonderful season.

Communal tables down the centre, hanging lamps, exposed brickwork with a dash of quirky colour and vintage  decorations make this a very welcoming dining area. I'm already won over immediately stepping in. 

Tender Steak, cheddar cheese, smokey bacon 11 with chips

Lamb and Rosemary 6.80

Slow Roast Beef Brisket, hickory smoke and mushrooms 12 with sides

My beef brisket pie was quite good. There were quite a lot of grisly and chewy bits and they could of been chopped up a bit more but that pastry was a stand out, with the smokey peppers lighting up every bite. There were only 3 sides on display, fortunately the sides I ordered were well done. The coleslaw didn't have the living life chopped out of it and it retained a lot of the crunch factor which made it so delicious.

There wasn't too much sharing go around but I did manage to be force fed a stack of chips. Thanks to Heston Blumenthal, I can't even look at the humble chip the same anymore. They way he describes it: a glass like outer layer with a fluffy inside just makes me want to make some. Now I view all chips with a critical eye. These ones were soft and not particularly crunchy and thanks to my high salt tolerance, the over seasoning was only just bearable.

Lemon Meringue Pie 7.50

You might think that is a whopping amount of meringue but it works really well to counteract the tartness of the lemon and I love a good acidic creamy lemon curd. You might want to have some of that with the more neutral double cream which does wonders counteracting that sweetness. 

Snickers Pie 7-50

My peanut butter obsession sees me ordering the Snickers Pie. Quite selfishly actually, I neglected J and his peanut allergy. Sorry mate. I was pretty disappointed a Reeses pie wasn't out on display but the Snickers one surely made up for it. Creamy layer after layer of thick caramel and peanut butter mouse punctuated with snickers bits on top of chocolate and a chocolate biscuit base topped with more snickers. Delicious.

When you factor in the ginormous portions, Pie Tin comes at pretty good value. Deviate off the main road into the quiet neighbourhood and it's hard not to be drawn in to the allure of fresh home-made pies. Look forward to the next on my list of Newtown eats: Black Star.



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Gastro Park, Kings Cross

Severely disappointed that I missed out on the Game of Thrones dinner that was all over the bloggersphere here, here and here, I had been since wanting an opportunity to dine at Gastro Park. My ultimate foodie partner A was craving fine dining after her continual diet on Mcdonalds and lemon juice and consequently the opportunity presented itself. It just so happens that it was also her birthday so I was more than excited to take her here.


A was intent on trying the entire menu through a degustation, I reasoned instead that going A la carte would be more affordable and still be able to have a large amount of food to try.

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