Cafe Hopping In Surry Hills

Café hopping is, in my opinion, one of the best Sunday pastimes. So you’ll probably be seeing a lot of it in this space. If you’re not a fan, forgive me. If you are, then enjoy (and let’s go together sometime!)

Surry Hills was our destination last Sunday and as most Sydneysiders know, there's an abundance of cafes there to choose from. Usually, I select my cafes quite carefully, through word of mouth or Broadsheet/Urban List reviews. But this time I hadn't done my research and Anth and I were both dangerously close to getting hangry. Luckily, good old Google pointed us in the direction of Reuben Hills.

The trendy Albion St café serves up a vibrant menu with a Mexican twist. There’s a whole range of flavour-packed dishes and drinks, to satisfy cravings for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dessert and coffee breaks. Speaking of coffee, their latte was lovely and well-made. I tried the cacao cold drip, which I’d never heard of before but had to order, because, cacao. Water-based, with ice and a blend of cold drip cacao and coffee, it was refreshing and subtly bittersweet.

For foods, Anth couldn’t go past the "really fucking great fried chicken", which really lived up to its name. It came out super tender and moist, with a deliciously thin, spicy coating. I’m a sauce person (probably the only thing Manu and I have in common) so I was super pleased to see two different dipping sauces for the chicken, as well as picked chillies. Win!

I had to try the intriguingly named “the NOT Reuben”: wagyu salt brisket, pickled slaw, manchego and horseradish mayo on rye. It was a salty, pickle-y taste explosion. The rye was moist with delectable juices, but still held its integrity and didn’t let the sandwich fall apart. It’s safe to say, I was obsessed.

After Reuben Hills, it was on to dessert at our favourites, Devon Café. Little brother to Devon on Danks, Devon Café serves a variety of café favourites with a quirky Asian influence. I love the vibe at Devon, everyone always seems cheerful and terribly excited about their food. They do a great matcha latte, served up in their signature red coffee cups, which frankly I think are a stroke of genius. They're easily recognisable on social media and they add a bright pop of colour to any photo taken there (which is a lot, believe me).

We had never tried "Little Lost Bread", one of their classic dishes, and as we suspected, it was incredible. With brioche French toast, triple chocolate, caramelized banana, salted caramel ice cream, how can you go wrong? I’m not usually a French toast kinda gal, but the brioche was gorgeously buttery and not too dense. The slightly bitter chocolate and salt balanced out the sweetness of the dish perfectly. Also, I must mention, the salted caramel ice cream was almost, almost as good as Messina’s, and that’s really saying something. 

All in all, it was an extremely successful day of eating, which is my favourite kind of success (is that as sad as it sounds?). Here’s to future café hopping! Let me know your personal favourites in the comments below.

Reuben Hills
61 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 9211 5556
www.reubenhills.com.au

Devon Cafe
76 Devonshire St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 9211 8777
www.devoncafe.com.au

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A Sunday Well-Spent

Sometimes there's nothing better than a Sunday. It's the glowing light of possibility at the end of a long weekday tunnel. 

Last Sunday was a great example of a day well spent, and by well spent, I mostly mean food. Also, friends. We discovered that double dates are a fun Sunday past time, especially when they involve a leisurely lunch. The four of us visited Meeting Morgan, an up-and-coming cafe in a quiet Beverly Hills street. 

Like many trendy places popping up these days, Meeting Morgan has a slightly industrial interior, mixed with warm woods and touches of brass, fresh flowers and fronds. The food is modern with a European twist, and a few old favourites like a traditional big breakfast thrown in. While the menu itself is rather short, there's a wide selection of drinks, including frappes and freddo espressos, reminiscent of sunny days in Mykonos. 

Sadly, Sydney could not be further from the balmy island at the moment, so I rugged up with yet another turtleneck and my staple khaki parka from Zara. Leather and khaki seem to be made for each other, so in came in my (faux) leather skirt (with stockings underneath, of course). I added a bright mustard bag for a pop of colour and viola! Outfit complete. 

The Sunday ended with some highly competitive boardgames and friendly bickering about who knows their partner better (and whether friendships trump relationships). Also, I made a wonderful discovery that when your friends are taking photos of each other next to you, perfectly imitating your poses, it makes for a much more amusing shoot. 

Outfit:

Turtleneck | General Pants

Skirt | Sportsgirl

Jacket | Zara

Bag | Sportsgirl

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Blooming in Bali: Eating Around Seminyak

One of my favourite things about Bali was the food. I was constantly looking forward to my next meal (not much different from the way I am at home to be honest) and I was delighted by the variety of cuisines available. The Indonesian restaurants were amazing, teeming with duck, pork and seafood, and packed with chilli. There's also a whole lot of cafes and restaurants specifically marketed towards tourists, including a bunch owned by innovative Aussies. 

I didn't have a single bad experience while I was there (except maybe the time when chilli got to my stomach – hint, bring supplements that promote healthy digestion) and the following are some of the great places I tried while I was staying in Seminyak. 

Revolver

Seminyak

Revolver is the 'it' cafe in Seminyak for a coffee connoisseur, or really anyone who enjoys a good caffeine hit. It's all wood and warm lights inside, with a trendy midwestern vibe (two words that rarely go together). The hipster bartenders know their stuff and if you want to feel part of the gang, there's awesome Revolver jumpers and T-shirts on sale. I had my first soy latte of the trip here so it'll always have a place in my heart. Oh and the food was pretty great too!

Naughty Nuri's Warung
Seminyak

Ribs, ribs, ribs. That's pretty much my summery of Naughty Nuri's. The pork ribs here were some of the best I've ever had. Moist, melt-in-your-mouth and a perfect combination of sweet, smokey and zesty (the lime is a genius addition). The sides and salads here were a great addition to the main event, and like most restaurants in Bali, the menu offers heaps of options for drinks as well as food. I because here I decided to branch out from my usual young coconut and try jus alpukat, which is basically avocado juice blended with milk and chocolate. 

Watercress

Seminyak

Watercress is the perfect place for foodies looking for a more sophisticated feed. It has a lovely open air dining area, which lets you enjoy the beautiful Bali breeze with your dinner. The menu is diverse and rustic, and caters for a range of tastes and preferences. The waitstaff were friendly and attentive, and we even think we spotted the owner on the table beside us. Highlights were the entree of succulent scallops, the beautifully cooked lamb and the delicious dijon mustard and lightly battered onion rings that came with my steak. It's Sydney food, for less than Sydney prices. 

Potato Head Beach Club

Seminyak

Everyone told us we had to go to Potato Head and when we got there we understood why. I didn't take many photos (I like to say I was off-duty that night), and it was dark, but we could still appreciate the classiness of the club. We sat - well technically, lay - down on one of the hybrid lounge/tables/beds near the glowing infinity pool. 

The cocktail menu there was the standout of the entire trip. I'll be dreaming of the heavenly Indus Nesos (vanilla vodka, apricot liquer, lychee juice, coconut cream) for a long time. We didn't have any savoury meals, but the desserts we tried were awesome. 

Sea Circus

Seminyak

It would have been brilliant if we had visited Sea Circus before our final day in Bali, and if we went for more than coffee and last-minute churros. Especially after a big night, so we would have an excuse to try one of their "hangover happy meals" that come with the option of – get this – a 15 minute shoulder and neck massage. Now that is a strategic attraction right there! 

The colourful interior of the cafe perfectly complemented its quirky, lengthy menu. Special shout out to the bathroom which completed my quota of bathroom porn for the trip. 

Waking up with an iced latte & wheatgrass shot

Satay Under the Tree (Sate Bawah Pohon)
Legian

Some of my favourite meals in Bali were the cheapest and simplest, which usually meant they were the most authentic. This satay was just delicious. It didn't have the thick, peanut-y flavour that I'm used to, it was more subtle and sweet. Then came the huge hit of chilli which nearly burnt my tongue off but I didn't even care because it was so good. I ordered mine with lontong (I got laughed at for calling them rice cakes) which were the saviour of my mouth with their creamy, stickiness. 

There's no menu, basically just one meal option (actually makes life a lot easier) but if you come here without a local or an Indonesian speaker, don't expect the same helpful, welcoming vibe that you'd get at places marketed towards tourists. Here, it's get in, eat, get out, and the cooks don't have time to mess around with silly English questions. The experience and flavour is well worth it though.

We both looked like super tourists that day

Finally, I have to mention Metis and Bambu. I don't have any photos from those restaurants (again, off-duty nights) but they were must-tries for anyone looking for a fancy dinner. One French, one Balinese, both romantic, both incredible. And for fine dining, the prices are way cheaper than Sydney. 

Two of my favourite cafes haven't been included on this list, because they were so individually awesome that they deserve a separate post. So stay tuned!

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Wonton Noodle Soup

The Happy Chef in Newtown is an affordable, nondescript Chinese restaurant with a colourful menu and traditional food. You get the sense that the food has been made the same way for years, subscribing to the notion that if something ain't broke, don't fix it. 

On a dreary day last week, I was keen to try the wanton noodle soup for lunch to warm my belly. It came to the table smelling delicious, however the broth just wasn't as tasty as I would have liked. It was quite mild and watery. The actual wontons were great though. Moist, flavoursome pork wrapped in a silky casing, the perfect little parcel and so very yummy!

All in all, I think I'm going to head back to The Happy Chef sometime soon in the hope that I just happened to catch them on an off day. Also, I didn't actually get to see the chef, so I can't tell you if the name is true, but the elderly man at the counter was super sweet, so I wouldn't be surprised.

The Happy Chef

262/266 King Street, Newtown NSW 2200

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Ricotta Hotcakes with Banana & Honeycomb Butter

If you brunch in Sydney, you've heard of Bills' ricotta hotcakes. If not, well, get yourself down to Surry right now (or the next morning at your earliest convenience) and give them a taste.

That's what I did today with my boyfriend, who was sweet enough to take me out for a pre-birthday brunch (I'm turning twenty-two tomorrow! Cue Taylor Swift song). It was my first time visiting Bills and I was feeling extremely lucky. The sun was out, my latte was great and the menu looked so tantalising that I was almost regretting being there to try the hotcakes. Luckily, they were the sweet, pillowy goodness that I had always dreamed they would be. 

The dish came out looking almost exactly how I imagined (although it kind of resembles a crab, can you see it?) The hotcakes were superb, with a thin crust on the outside and soft, warm ricotta on the inside. The balance between sweet and salty was perfection. The bananas were slightly caramelised and made a lovely accompaniment to the hotcakes, as did the sugary maple syrup. I only wish there was a little more honeycomb in the butter, but that's a minor criticism in an otherwise perfect score. 

All in all, these hotcakes are legend for a reason. And judging by the amount of people eating them around us today, the world knows it to. 

Bills

359 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW

www.bills.com.au

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Buttermilk Pancake with Salt Cod, 62º Egg and Smoked Maple Butter

I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, the kind who would try anything at least once (except maybe insects). But I think it was understandable for me to look at this dish with a few reservations.

I get the concept, I really do. Sweet combined with salty, a bit of a twist on a Canadian breakfast. But pancakes with salt cod? That's just downright strange. Nevertheless, I was intrigued, so I took one of my friends to Bodega in Surry Hills to try the eccentric dish. 

When it came to the table, it looked great. When eaten in particular sections, it tasted great too. The buttermilk pancake was thick, sweet and gorgeously fluffy. The egg made me realise that it should be mandatory to always cook eggs to 62 degrees. The smoked maple butter was extremely sharp on its own, but more subtly tasty when mixed with the other elements. Then came the cod. Not only was it salty, it was quite intensely fishy, which doesn't agree with my taste buds much. 

All in all, I enjoyed it, but the cod just wasn't for me. Still, I would recommend giving it a try for its distinctiveness, and there are so many incredible dishes on the Bodega menu that you can't go wrong with having your next dinner there. 

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Pippies with XO Sauce on Fried Vermicelli & Dish #69: Salt and Pepper Squid

Golden Century is a Chinese restaurant on steroids. It's huge, expensive and has the biggest range of live seafood I've ever seen.The boisterous restaurant in Chinatown is one of Sydney's most famous Chinese restaurants, and for good reason. The menu is extensive and the food is fresh and bursting with flavour. When my boyfriend and I visited one Saturday night, we sat next to a table of boisterous businessmen and watched as waitstaff scurried around, much too busy to be friendly. But we didn't mind, it was all part of the experience. 

We ordered half a kilo of pippies, which were then fished out of their tank and held up in a plastic bag for our inspection. The wet black shells didn't look very appetising, but what came to the table a little while later was gorgeously colourful and fragrant.

The pippies were juicy and slightly fishy, but not unpleasantly so. We both adored the XO sauce and the fried vermicelli noodles soaked in sauce had my taste buds in raptures. I can still remember the flavour perfectly (insert sigh of longing here). I'd never eaten pippies before, so I'm glad that my first experience was a great one.

The second dish I was there to try (two dishes from one restaurant, crazy!) was the salt and pepper squid. This dish was simple, with the classic flavours of salt and pepper combined with chilli. The batter was nice and light, making it super easy to eat and addictive. We kept popping more and more into our mouths as the night went on.

All in all, Golden Century certainly lives up to its reputation and the two dishes were exceptional. Also, I got to see what a bottle of twenty-five thousand dollar wine looked like, and that was all I could talk about for a week afterwards.

Golden Century Restaurant

93-399 Sussex St, Sussex Centre Management, 

Sydney NSW 2000

www.goldencentury.com.au

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Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao)

I'm not going to lie, it took me three visits to Din Tai Fung to get a shot of the xiao long bao that I was actually satisfied with. It seemed to be an unfortunate combination of bad lighting, my perfectionism and my family telling me to "put the camera down and just eat!"* 

Luckily, the new Din Tai Fung in Miranda is close to home and just up the stairs from Gelato Messina, where I work every Friday. The restaurant specialises in dumplings and has quickly become one of our favourite places to eat. The food is consistently great, the staff are lovely and the menu has enough variety to satisfy even the pickiest of people. Not to mention, there's the allure of the xiao long bao.  

These babies are a must have on every Din Tai Fung table. A little ball of spiced pork swims in a fragrant broth, encapsulated in a smooth dumpling shell. This is how you're supposed to eat them (or so I'm told): pierce the twisted top of the dumpling with your chopstick, suck out the juices from the hole you made, then pop the rest into your mouth and enjoy the foodgasm. 

All in all, I loved the pork dumplings even before the list, and I will continue relishing them long after my challenge is completed. 

Din Tai Fung

Westfield Miranda, World Square, Westfield Chatswood,

Central Park, Westfield Sydney, The Star, Greenwood Plaza.

www.dintaifung.com.au

*This happens a lot. Mostly because my parents don't get instagram. 

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Beer-battered Flathead with Chips, Tartare Sauce & Fresh Lemon

Easter Monday seemed like the perfect day to journey down to Palm Beach. Instead, we faced heavy traffic, a massive storm and an hour wait for food. Yet somehow, it was still quite magical. 

The Boat House is in an absolutely prime position, seeming to blend seamlessly into the beach. It's a gorgeous restaurant, all blues and whites, with fresh flowers and greenery. The menu is short and every dish sounded absolutely delicious. We waited in the long queue to order (being a public holiday, it was extra busy) but we didn't mind so much, mostly because of the stunning view and the subtle joy of watching other people eat and talk. 

My boyfriend ordered the fish and chips (which I obviously tasted), and I had the autumn salad with duck breast. I have to say, as good as the fish and chips were, they weren't a standout dish. The chips were perfectly cooked but the fish was a little too heavily battered for our tastes and I was disappointed with the tartare sauce. However, my salad was incredible. I guess it just goes to show how different peoples taste buds are!

All in all, this dish gave us a day's worth of adventure. Maybe the fish and chips weren't my favourite, but the Boathouse was certainly worth the trip and the memories. 

The Boathouse Palm Beach

Governor Phillip Park, 

Palm Beach NSW 2108

www.theboathousepb.com.au

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