Three Blue Ducks @ Rosebery

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019Leave a comment

The Three Blue Ducks concept began in Bronte and they’ve since expanded with stores now in Byron Bay, Rosebery and Brisbane. They also host weddings and functions and you often see them at other events off site. With a big team of staff, you will note one of them is an ex-Masterchef contestant.

Stores vary in look and menu, however their approach is the same. We went to the Rosebery store which could be described as an open kitchen, large dining space and rustic decor. The store also sells some homely products like chopping boards, keep cups and cookbooks.

The restaurant group likes to use ethically sourced and organic produce and generally from local suppliers, ensuring the menu has fresh food, and as such the menu continues to evolve.

We were pleasantly greeted, taken to our table and perused the menu. Entrees, larger plates as well as the weekly sandwich special (this day was a smoked lamb) and even a bottomless brunch are on the menu. We were visiting mid week so unfortunately a bottomless brunch wasn’t on the cards for us, perhaps another time.

We ordered the oysters, which were beautiful. served with a shallot and red wine mignonette, the flavour was very refreshing. The lamb kofta was incredibly tasty, served on a spread of romesco, parsley and accompanied with a flatbread. This was a very good dish, but probably a little pricy at $19 for the size.

The other dining partners chose the poke bowl, with the addition of kingfish. A good serving, quite fishy with all the seafood and kingfish too, topped with a poached egg. Again, a lovely meal, but well above your typical price range for a poke bowl ($27).

We also had the wood roasted kingfish. Perfectly cooked, with a crispy skin and served with charred broccoli and a macadamia cream, pickled chilli and anchovy vinaigrette ($35). Flavours worked really well and the wood roasting enabled the natural fish flavour to be retained.

Other menu options include BBQ prawns, porchetta, sticky chicken, pumpkin salad and a buttermilk chicken burger (to name a few).

The bar has a range of boutique beers and ciders, cocktails and a wine list, as well as tea and coffee.

It is a lovely place to dine, staff are warm and welcoming and service was prompt. The food was extremely delicious, but it’s probably a little overpriced. We would recommend this for a special lunch. There’s a brunch menu too which we’d be keen to try at some point.

Three Blue Ducks

1/85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018, Australia

Regent Place

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018Leave a comment

Regent Place, located right in the heart of the CBD, just off George St, offers a range of eateries and boutiques for you to enjoy.

We’ve been numerous times to try the different eateries, showcasing a multicultural flavour. On this occasion we visited to watch the Taiko performance, some brilliant drummers who were playing around the centre alongside a visit from Santa.

On the lowest level, level 9 you’ll find Assembly Bar and Restaurant, Daiso store, Nail art and more. We ate at Yakinuku Yokocho and had dessert from Fujimi Doriyaki and a pearl tea from Coco.

On level 10 you’ll find lots of dessert options such as Oh! Matcha by Chamona, Uncle Tetsu and Aqua S. But there’s also restaurants like the ever popular Chefs Gallery, Yakitori Yebisu, as well as some clothing stores too.

On level 11 is a medical level with a variety of practitioners to suits many needs.

As you can see, it’s really a one stop shop!

Below are some of our favourites!

Desserts

There’s plenty of places to enjoy some Asian inspired desserts. We enjoyed the Matcha ice cream with a mochi from Oh Matcha.

There’s also the famous sea salt ice cream at Aqua S! We have popped in just a few times. On this occasion we had the white chocolate macadamia and sea salt flavour. You can also get a range of exciting add ons like popping candy and fairy floss!

We also enjoyed some delicious Fujimi Doriyaki Japanese sweet pancakes that come with a variety of fillings; Nutella, red bean, peanut Nutella and many more, take your pick.

Coco Tea have arange of milk pearl based teas with heaps of flavours. We tried the Bubble ‘Gaga’. You can select your own amount of ice and sugar to your flavour preference. The flavour of it was passionfruit which was a nice change from a milk tea.

Restaurants

We love Chefs Gallery for dumplings! You can get sweet or savoury. We especially love the emoji custard dumplings! It’s always busy so you may need to line up, but it’s worth the wait.

Yakiniku Yokocho is a great little bbq place on the bottom level of Regent Place shopping centre. You may have to wait a little while for your table but you can browse the shops whilst you wait. It’s a touch screen order menu and with a good selection of meat and sides to cook yourself on the bbq grill in front of you. You receive an array of sauces to flavour your meat, though with such good quality meat, it isn’t really needed. We ordered a few sides and enjoyed the salad as well as some sashimi. You can order highball cocktails and also beers. A great little Japanese dinner location.

Yakitori Yebisu

When you’re in Japan, it’s a must to visit Izakaya to sample all the marvellous food it has to offer. It also gives you the opportunity to taste many different things when there are small plates to pick from. Yakitori Yebisu is a taste of Japan. Japanese memorabilia adorns the walls and it feels like you’re in Japan.

We begun with a wagyu hot pot, tender beef in a beautifully flavoured soup with vegetables and tofu. We also got some ramen to go with it. This was a great meal for a cold winters night. When you’re at an izakaya, you can’t go past yakitori – pork, seafood, chicken, your choice! We had some juicy chicken thigh, nicely seasoned.

There’s plenty more to eat, do and see – so be sure to check it out yourself

Regent Place

501 George St

Sydney NSW 2000

9am til late, 7 days a week

Cirrus Dining – waterfront delights

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018Leave a comment

Cirrus Dining, located on the waterfront of Barangaroo is one of those venues we’ve had on our list for a while now, and we finally made a visit. Cirrus is named after the cloud like apartment that sits above it. This restaurant is absolutely incredible and certainly deserves all the accolades it has received.

Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week, you can sit inside or alfresco, enjoying views of our breathtaking harbour. A crisp and stylish place with minimal decor, yet it feels classy with its floor to ceiling glass.

The Chefs know upmarket dining, having experience from the Bentley, Monopole and Yellow restaurants. Chef Brent Savage has put together an array of seafood delights with incredible flavour combinations and the freshest selection of seafood, sustainably caught. Don’t fret, if you have a non seafood eater amongst you, there’s vegetarian and meat options as well.

The waitress informed us that the dishes at Cirrus were designed to be shared. As a party of 6, she recommended 6 entrees, 6 mains and 4 sides. We ordered one less main than her recommendation and we were extremely full. The meats were served in generous portions. We also shared 3 desserts.

We began with a few oysters, served with a vinaigrette and these were a beautiful start to our dining experience.

We shared a number of starters including their famous Ocean trout with smoked beetroot, pepperberry and toast. The smoked beetroot lay atop the ocean trout mixture, almost like a starfish and the texture was simply divine.

The small plate of raw Cobia (like a sashimi) with salted apple, turnip and sesame was quite refreshing.

We shared two plates of the roasted King Prawns and Koji Butter. These prawns were were beautifully cooked, and a generous lashing of the butter sauce.

We also really enjoyed the Fremantle octopus with kohlrabi and green chilli salsa. The octopus was super fresh, tender, with a nice crisp charred outer and topped with ribbons of kohlrabi.

Given Cirrus is primarily a seafood restaurant, we couldn’t go past having a number of fish for our mains. We enjoyed the the Hiramasa kingfish with grilled cucumber, buttermilk and mint. Nice and soft fish with a pleasant sauce.

The cone bay barramundi was also lovely and was presented with some beautiful coils of charred onions and watercress.

The roasted swordfish was another winner, served with fennel, buckwheat and bottarga.

The Grilled black angus rib eye, 500 g was a big serving, and served with kombu butter, a very good comfort choice to please the masses. We ordered it medium and it was perfectly cooked to our request.

The barbecued lamb neck may not be something you’d expect at a seafood restaurant but for the meat lovers amongst us, it is a brilliant dish.

We shared all the sides; chips and aioli, radicchio salad, an absolutely beautiful plate of grilled asparagus with fresh curd and black olive, as well as a lovely serve of zucchini with hazelnut, yoghurt and turmeric.

We were pretty full but wanted to try the desserts too, so we shared 3 between the group of 7. We tried the Coconut Sorbet with Kiwi Fruit and Black Cardamom Custard. We also tried the Rosemary Ice Cream with Hazelnut Granola and Rhubarb. Both were beautiful, nice and light.

The favourite of the group was the cream Cheese Parfait with Roasted Strawberries and Lovage.

As for the drinks, Sommelier Nick Hildebrandt has also organised a wide selection of wines, 500 from around the world where you can get advice on the best to pair with your food selection. We chose a bottle of Riesling, which was a lovely pairing.

All of this amongst 6 diners and including 3 bottles of wine and bread came to $130 each, which is pretty reasonable given the size of the servings and amount of food. If you’d prefer, the tasting menu is available for $110 each for the whole table, though we preferred to order so we could try a greater range of options.

We absolutely loved dining at Cirrus and can’t recommend it enough!

10/23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo NSW
Phone: (02) 9220 0111
Open 12pm-10pm 7 days a week
http://www.cirrusdining.com.au/

Be a viking @ Mjolner

October 28, 2018Leave a comment

Back to one of our favourite bars, but this time it’s primarily for a feed. Mjolner is hidden downstairs off the busy Cleveland St Surry Hills, the only thing that gives it away is the 18+ sign out front. Mjolner is a Viking themed bar and restaurant. When we say viking themed, it’s not a tacky themed restaurant. Mjolner has a raw sophisticated Viking thing going on, the venue arranged as though it has come out of a carnivore and whisky lover’s dream.

The restaurant walls are dorned with viking weaponry and relics. The bar displays numerous types of alcohol, mainly whisky. Mjolner also has some of the coolest drinking vessels you will see anywhere. They have a whisky decanter called Mjolner (Thors hammer) and you can enjoy a beer out of a horn. The cutlery is also awesome, choose your weapon/steak knife before the meal. With a range bespoke knives with ornate wood and bone handles presented in a leather knife roll.

Food wise the Mjolner menu is a great match to the what the space is about. The menu has plenty of rustic and hearty options to choose from and well geared for sharing or group dining.

As a starting point, the venison tartare, a nicely seasoned raw meat dish served with crisp bread or the grilled butterflied prawns are both great options.

For mains, there are a few different proteins options, all very viking like and great for sharing; the whole fish or rotisserie grain fed chicken or a 900g rib eye on the bone. The 900g rib eye is a substantial chunk of meat and a great option to share. They appear to use the reverse sear technique, starting it in the oven then finished over the flame grill. This piece of meat topped with rosted bone and a super tasty bone marrow sauce, certainly a great looking and tasty meal.

Mjolner is a good choice, especially if a good drinks list is high on your agenda. The food is also of a good standard although more suitable to group dining or those that have a big appetite. To top it off the place is just cool, who doesn’t want to drink from a horn or choose a bespoke knife for their meal.

Mjolner

267 Cleveland St, Redfern NSW 2016

https://www.mjolner.com.au/

(02) 8646 4930

Where to go for a drink and tapas in Surry Hills – Sugar Ray’s

August 1, 2018August 1, 2018Leave a comment

Sugar Ray’s Bar in Surry Hills occupies a prime location on Cleveland Street, at the Eastern Distributor end. A lot of foot traffic passes through after a sports game at nearby Moore Park, so this place is bound to get busy. Brought to you by Dan and the team at Salt Vine (Crown St), it is hardly surprising that the food would be just as good.

A sophisticated bar and tapas menu with a great range of drinks including craft beers, a top mix of wines and in particular, some beautifully crafted cocktails to get that party started. On a more low key day, come and sip over your drink on a lazy afternoon.

The space takes you back a few eras with its dark painted walls full of framed images, leather couches and Persian Rugs, blink and you could be in the Jazz era. This makes for a super cool environment and the background music gives it a relaxing ambience.

The bartender whips us up a cocktail ‘the Wild lady’ as well as a mocktail of their concoction. Extremely skilled and knowledgeable, you will be happy with any drink ordered here.

The food menu is primarily tapas/bite size style, perfect for a nibble with your drink. The menu is just droolworthy! Salt and Vinegar fries, mac and cheeseballs, southern fried chicken, and pork belly puffs just to name a few. It’s clear there’s a strong Southwest American influences here. On this visit, we chose their mini sliders, but with a modern touch of duck as the meat.

We accompanied this with Cleveland greens, pumpkin, baby carrot, chimi churri and pecans and parmesan to flavour.

There’s also South American influences, evident through their barramundi tortillas. These were so interesting, with the barramundi atop some beautifully coloured beetroot crispy tortillas, topped with guacamole and trimmings.

If you’re still hungry and up for dessert, they have an ever popular pannacotta with chocolate, bourbon and pecan!

Get in soon to try this cool bar and top notch menu.

Mrs Jones – new cocktail bar and terrace

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018Leave a comment

Named after Jane Jones, a 19th century publican, this new restaurant and bar, Mrs Jones is a hidden gem, found in the upstairs precinct of the Orient Hotel in the Rocks Sydney. Accessed via Kendall Lane, walk upstairs and you’ll find yourself in a cocktail terrace and bar with high tables and lounges, you’ll certainly find this a comfortable and trendy place to hangout.

Above photos: papaya pr

Gone are the days of dancing on sticky floors, drinking and beer skolling, football watching and burger eating at this place. It is now a refashioned area, an eclectic and stylish space for a more sophisticated occasion, whether that be a few drinks or a meal in the dining area.

This is the newest launch by the Ryan’s Hotel Group, and they have done this with precision and style. We were lucky enough to experience some wonderful cocktail concoctions, wine and a three course menu in this beautiful new elegant dining area.

Chef Brad Copeland’s menu has a range of snacks and starters to enjoy with your drinks, or some larger dishes like salads and steaks. The food highlights Australian influences of lamb or kangaroo as well as some of your staple pub classics like burgers, schnitzels or Sunday roast.

We sampled a three course alternate meal for the launch lunch.The bruschetta, served atop two slices of sourdough with mixed tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil, drizzled with oil. Refreshing and the perfect size for an entree.

I’m not normally a fan of eating Kanagroo but this was superb. Really nicely cooked at medium rare, served with rocket and melody tomato, hazelnuts and Persian fetta. It was lovely and lean and well seasoned.

For the mains, we received a large piece of pork belly which was juicy, served with boiled potatoes and beetroot. With some apple sauce and flavoured from the roasting juices.

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The pan fried barramundi came with broadbeans and a herbed salad topped with a parsley butter.

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We also shared some deliciously seasoned fries and rocket topped with Parmesan.

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But the chocolate brownie was the stellar performance on the day. A dark chocolate gooey brownie that was crispy on the outside and topped with double cream and honeycomb. It was outstanding and a must order!

We also had some Tasmanian brie, grapes and quince paste with lavosh.

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The food here is certainly much better than normally found at a pub! Quite nicely developed flavours and sophisticated plating.

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Above photo: papaya pr

The cocktail menu boasts all your favourite classics. We sampled two awesome drinks prepared by mixologist Tommy Donnison, who has been in the industry for over 10 years. His creations included the Apple and Cinnamon Sour, which is a twist of a traditional whiskey sour and “The Mistress” (named for Mrs Jones) a twist of the traditional Tommy’s margarita. Don Julio, agave, lime and grapefruit soda – it was delicious! Perfectly mixed.

Above photos: papaya pr

We also sampled Moet and Chandon from the awesome Champagne tower, fit for Kings.

Make sure to make this a meeting place for a few drinks with friends.

http://www.mrsjonesbar.com.au/

Cnr Kendall Lane & Argyle Street, the Rocks Sydney
02 9251 1255

Rey’s Place, new modern Filipino restaurant – you must visit

February 24, 2018February 24, 2018Leave a comment

If you’re looking to try something new, then be sure to head down Crown Street, Darlinghurst and check out the newly opened Modern Filipino restaurant called Rey’s Place. Put it this way, they have SUCKLING PIG! Need I say more?

Rey’s Place is a cool split level restaurant bar with some great 60’s tunes playing in the background, it is totally fitting for the styling of he place and we bopped along whilst enjoying our food and drinks. It is cosy and as you walk in, you will find that there is a well lit space with a bar and dining area. Downstairs is a larger area with another bar and the kitchen. The staff here are incredibly friendly and will make you feel welcome. They give a good rundown of the menu and provide advice on matching drinks with your food.

Rey’s Place do great cocktails make sure you check out the list. Many of the cocktails are original to Rey’s and there is something for everyone: they have rum, gin, vodka and whiskey concotions. The ‘Filo Thyme’ was suprisingly good, made with Suntory Kakubin whisky, raspberry, thyme, citrus, prosecco this cocktail was refreshing and aromatic.

The Thrilla in Manila was another favourite, this drink is appropriately named. The Thrilla is a stiff gin and juice cocktail of Bombay london dry gin, pineapple, oregeat, citrus. as the menu says “a killer and a thriller and a chiller” There is also a good range of beer, wine, spirits and non alcoholic drink on offer.

The food at Rey’s Place is tasty and very moreish. With exciting Filipino inspired street food for small plates and starters, best enjoyed with a drink. For starters; the BBQ corn Collette with chilli and garlic butter on sweet corn had a nice kick to it. We also selected the Okoy; crispy fried white bait fritters with spiced coconut vinegar were both quick to disappear. Also on the list were oysters and zucchini flowers which certainly sounded appealing too!

From the smaller plates menu, it was impossible to go past the Sisig Bao slider of braised pork belly with ginger, garlic and onion, dressed with Smokey Adobar Aioli. It would be possible to go through a stack of these, so much flavour. We are now living with regret, as we should have ordered a double serve. The small plate selection also had a number of tempting options such as fried chicken wings and king salmon ceviche.

There was a lot of food envy when the larger plates went pass our table to other diners. However, we couldn’t go past the Lechon- slow roast SUCKLING PIG with Sarsa and chilli- mansi drippings. This dish is truly droolworthy with succulent slow cooked meat and crispy skin crackling. We will have to return for the braised oxtail in peanut sauce or grilled stuffed squid next time. The sides include stir fried water spinach, salad or steamed rice.

From the dessert menu there’s pretty much the one option or ice cream. The dessert is a tasty little number. The sugar glazed banana spring rolls with Ube Parfait which is purple with a taro like flavour and is served on banana chips for added texture.

If you’re interested in trying a bit of everything, the tasting menu is a good option at the reasonable price of $45, and another $36 with wines to match. There aren’t too many Filipino restaurants in Sydney unless you head out west for some street food. Rey’s Place is a great spot to get acquainted with Filipino cusine, good food, drink and good vibes.

www.reysplace.com.au

Out and About @Cairns

December 25, 2017December 26, 2017Leave a comment

Where to eat?

Waterbar and Restaurant

Located at the Marina Pier, this is a steakhouse selling different varieties and sizes of streaks. Its selling ribs and seafood, it is perfect if you’re hungry! I went for a 200g steak with baked potato and salad. You have to pay an extra $3.00 for sauce. The meat was good quality and perfectly cooked. The staff were fairly new and thus our waitress had difficulty taking the order and made a mistake or two, but is fair when people are starting out, so it didn’t really bother our experience.

Boatshed

A restaurant on the marina just by the Reef Terminal. Offering lunch specials for $22.50 with a drink or 2 courses and a drink for $35. Pretty good deal and the restaurant had good ambience. We just went for coffees which were great and service was friendly.

Tha Fish

This seafood restaurant is in the pier of the marina. There’s a number of restaurants along this pier, but this one was quite busy comparatively, so presuming that translates to it being good, we decided to go. Unfortunately it was full, but the lovely man said to put our name down and come back in 45 mins. We went for a drink and did just that.

The menu has starters, entrees, mains and a fish selection. We shared the whitebait, lightly dusted and was nice start to the evening. We all couldn’t go past the fish option where you select a fish and your choice of cooking. One of us got the trout, with a lovely Indian flavour which was the staff suggestion – incredible. I went for a barramundi which sat atop udon noodles in a broth and lotus chips, this had gentle flavours and a lovely combination. My friend also had the barramundi with a butter sauce and snow peas and potatoes. The fish was beautifully cooked and our dinner was outstanding. Staff were excellent, particularly the front of house who was extremely accommodating and friendly. The waitstaff were excellent and gave good suggestions. Prices are reasonable for seafood. Worth a visit.

Prawn Star

Recommended by a friends, The Prawn star is a trawler that sells platters of fresh seafood; prawns, oysters, bugs, crayfish or combos. We got a plate of beautifully fresh tiger prawns and seafood sauce, as well as a glass of wine. A good option for your lunch or dinner as it is open until 8pm! Ranging from $25 – $80. You have to shell your own, but that’s part of the fun, right?

Pier Hotel

Went here for food and drinks on a Friday night. It was pumping with customers of all ages. We had some wines and an amazing salted caramel espresso martini. One of the most amazing drinks was their ‘mini beer shot’, liquor topped with white chocolate. We also ordered food – the barramundi, a little lacking in flavour and presentation. The Caesar Wrap was excellent. Food wasn’t too pricy. They also had live music on Friday night.

Salt House

We Went here for a couple of drinks and tapas food. Happy Hour is good as drinks were $5 and the food was 2 for 1 plates. We tried the pull apart bread, tuna sashimi, squid and fried chicken. The food was all excellent. The location is great, just by the marina and they have Trivia on a Thursday and live music on Friday nights.

Where to get beautiful?

Honey

Honey is a place to get a tan, wax, or relax with a facial or masssage. I went for a 2-4 tan which was $30. It was extremely natural and gave a nice bronze colour. I also got an eyebrow shape and the staff member did an excellent job. The lady there was also extremely nice and helpful; giving me tips about what to do in Cairns.

What to do in Cairns?

Lagoon

In the main part of town along the esplanade is a lagoon where you can swim, as there is no beach or accessible ocean in this area, plus there could be crocodiles or dangerous jellyfish. The lagoon or fake beach is perfect for a swim to cool off.

Active Living activities

The town offers free fitness activities which some gym equipment, yoga, rock climbing, aqua aerobics or box fit. I decided to do the box fit class which began at 6:30am. 15 minutes of a warm up which included sprints, push ups, burpees etc and then boxing combinations for the last 45 minutes. It was physically hard, but you can take it at your own pace. The instructor was knowledge and friendly and i’m impressed that Cairns council offers these activities for free.

Bungee or Bungee Swing

If you’re an adrenalin junkie that wants something exciting and fun to do, make sure to check out AJ Hackett Cairns. At 140 m above sea level, and a 50m jump, you can take a bungee jump in the rainforest! Your jump can be taken in many ways; swan dive, water touch, titanic, backwards, tandem, jump off the roof, handstand or even off the roof with a BMX. Different levels to suit you the less kenmore experienced. It’s $179 for the jump and prices are less for extra jumps.

For those looking for something a bit different, they also offer the Minjin Swing, which 1,2 or 3 people can take. In a body harness, you are taken up high (higher than the bungee) and pull the cord which drops you for a few seconds and then you’re let swinging. It drops from 45m-1 metre in 3.5 seconds at speeds of up to 120km an hour and is for those seeking thrills! I did this with a friend and absolutely loved it. Scary as you’re rising, but exhilarating! Next time, real bungee for sure.

There’s purpose built platforms for friends and family to watch and a licensed bar selling drinks and some snacks. You can buy t-shirts or media footage to remember your experience.

The company pick you up and drop you home from Cairns or the Northern Beaches.

Visit the Great Barrier Reef

See our other Blog post – Ocean Spirit Cruises

Visit Cairns and Mossman Gorge

See our other Blog post – Cairns and Mossman Gorge

They have done it again @Born by Tapavino

December 15, 2017December 22, 2017Leave a comment

We first visited their flagship bar/restaurant – Tapavino which quickly became one of our favourite restaurants. Not long after, they opened another standout – Balcon, which we also greatly loved. Now they have done it again, with their newest addition, called Born, situated in Barangaroo.

This restaurant group has a simple recipe for running and it works well – their drinks have a focus on wine and sherry, sprinkle in some great food, as well as a high standard of service.

We visited Born by Tapavino to round out the trifecta of our visits to the restaurants in the Tapavino range, and we had heard great things about it. This restaurant has a beautiful setting by the water at Barangaroo and with an alfresco dining space as well, it makes for an ideal place to visit for a wine accompanied lunch, afternoon drinks or an evening dining experience.

Drinks wise, at this sort of establishment, we are comfortable to leave it with the staff and you will not be disappointed. The sommeliers do a great job of picking drinks to your preference and matching it with the food you have ordered. Amandine recommended a beautiful red wine which was superb and matched the food incredibly well. One of us was driving on this occasion, and we left it in the bartenders hands to concoct a delicious mocktail.

The tapas (individual bites) had us salivating when trying to decide. We rested on the balmain bug and prawn sliders. The sliders did a good David Copperfield impersonation, they vanished soon after arriving at the table.

The highlight of the tapas experience were some manchego churros are were a revelation. Some soft fried dough topped with the smoked chorizo mayo, so good they should bottle it. Whilst the regular dessert churros have always been good, savoury ones now have our vote. We could have eaten a bucket.

Moving on to primera, these dishes are a larger and great for sharing. We couldn’t visit and not try the warm cow’s milk cheese wrapped in jamon serrano which is served with truffled honeycomb. This dish is heaven on a plate, if sharing you will do battle for your share.

The mains also great for sharing. The lamb rump was perfectly prepared, sauced with chimichurri to cut through the richness of the meat. This was served with papas fritas tiny fried potato battons, which provided some crunch to the dish and the smoked paprika taking this dish to another level. Paired this with a nice glass of red suggested by the sommelier, Perfecto!

You will need to save room for dessert, as it is a highlight, better yet, just channel the dessert stomach. So many amazing options, the bunuelo (Spanish doughnuts) doughnuts must be selected to put a bigger smile on your dial. The dessert special for the evening – a dulche de leche and dark chocolate ganache tart was spectacularly decedent. The chololate and mixed nuts with peanut butter caramel and also the arroz con leche helado, this is a classy Spanish ice cream sandwich and was a clear standout. Make sure this is paired with one of the amazing sherries on offer, the pairing takes this dessert to out of this world good.

Born by Tapavino, is one of our favourite venues for 2017. Great food, drink and service. What else does one need? Nothing.

Born by Tapavino

The Old Fashioned is the star at this cocktail bar@Smoking Panda

December 5, 2017December 5, 2017Leave a comment

Smoking Panda is a must visit cocktail bar in the heart of the city. The decor is a little different. It is reflective of an old school Chinese restaurant with a sprinkle of the sunset strip. They serve up some of the tastiest bar bites you will come across. Even better, they now have a specialty cocktail menu paying homage to a classic, the Old Fashioned. With 228 different types of Old Fashioned varieties, to be precise. This is partly due to Smoking Panda having the largest collection of bitters of any bar in Australia.

Smoking Panda is serving up the Old Fashioned with a range of spirits including vodka, rum, gin and all types of whisky, including a quality collection of scotch, bourbon and rye. There is surely an old fashioned to suit anyone’s taste. If Old Fashioned’s are not your thing, there are plenty of other drink options, with beer, wine and a range of cocktails. If you are a whisky fan you are in for a real treat. The smoking panda 2.0 is a must, if you are an Old Fashioned fan. Iain the bar keeper goes all out on this cocktail, without blowing out the price.

Not only does Smoking Panda have an amazing drink list, the food on offer is sublime. The menu reflecting the decor, with a mix of American and Asian selections, perfect to enjoy with a few bevvies. The sticky USA pork ribs were mind blowing, it would be almost impossible for the meat to be any more tender. We were surprised the meat was still hanging onto the bone. The sticky BBQ sauce was damn tasty too. On par were the Panda Kuro prawns coated in a bamboo charcoal infused panko crumb, there bad boys were incredibly moreish. Other notables include the sliders, the devil wings and the Panda San choy bow with a Smokey Asian sauce, this dish perfectly sums up The Smoking Panda.

With a great drink selection, including an impressive list of whisky and bitters. This combining this with some ridiculously tasty food. The Smoking Panda is up there on our favourite bar list and is well worth a visit.

thewhereto

food | travel | lifestyle

Tag: bar