District Dining @ Surry Hills

You would have never thought a place like Central Station hides such treasures. The address says Surry Hills but it's found right next to Central Station on Randle Street. Many bloggers have already raved about District Dining and it's special dishes so it's now my turn :)

To continue on with our anniversary celebrations..our final course was dinner at District Dining. I do love my surprises so the Man kept it a secret the entire way. I wasn't expecting to go here at all so when we turned the corner and I saw the modern concrete building with "District Dining", I couldn't help but grin.

The special thing about their menu is that the size of the dishes increase towards the bottom. We got the Crispy Pig Ears with Szechuan salt and Crispy Quail Eggs with Tarragon Mayonnaise as our starters.

I love how they give it on wooden boards. Not only is their menu different and quirky, their presentation is also artistic.

The quail eggs.

Within the crusty coating is the delicate quail egg, moist and soft. The eggs are soft boiled so they easily cut with a knife. They're so tiny and cute that you feel like more after each bite. The tarragon mayonnaise is tangy and smooth. There are green specks of tarragon visible in the mayo and that made the dish look even prettier.

This is what happens if you're clumsy :p

The crispy pig ears. I didn't know pig ears could taste this good! I've always had a slight phobia for meat from other places than the trunk. I've only recently tried fried pig skins as well. Well this one is a must if you dine here. Chewy and salty, this makes a healthy and delicious snack! One pig ear quickly leads to the other and soon, we were finished with this and wishing for more.

For the main, we ordered Cone Bay Barramundi with Saffron Potatoes, Boullabaise and Rouille, and the Roasted Spatchcock, Kumara Chips, Bois Boudrin, and Aioli.

The barramundi. The saffron potato puree was so creamy and soft. It wasn't the fish that captivated my palate but the rouille. The seafood soup, or the boullabaise, soaks through the potatoe rouille, adding a deeper stew-like flavour to the whole dish.

The spatchcock was tender and was well spiced, a bit like in a Moroccan style. The kumara chips were sweet and crispy and I definitely could have had more than 3 little sticks. The bois boudrin is the green pesto-like paste on the bottom. It was very zesty and had a more dip-like consistency with a bit of olive oil. I couldn't quite tell what it was made from, shallots? Parsley? but it certainly refreshed my mouth after all the mayo and oil.

The Cookie Sandwich! I think the cookies are chocolate chip and coconut. They were soft and just the right amount of sweetness. Instead, the creamy honeycomb filling really hits the sweet meter. It's overly sweet but still delicious. The caramel sheet on the bottom and the honeycomb crumbs only intensify the sugar hit. It was one of those foods that are good, but it's either too spicy or sweet or sour or bitter so you have to persevere to finish it.


I still liked it :)

The passionfruit brulee with madeleines.

The brulee was well made, crunchy caramelised sugar on top, creamy on the inside. One thing I didn't like about it was that the cream was too warm. A tropical fruit dessert such as this one would have been better cold.

The madeleines were lemony and soft. Not as buttery as what you would find at other places but with all the overwhelming sweetness, we needed something fruity to cleanse our palate.

So far, all of our recent gastronomic adventures have been a success and this one by far is a winner! District Dining did not disappoint me and even though the location doesn't seem ideal, the mood inside is classy and modern. They also have a cocktail menu on the blackboard behind the bar so be sure to check that out. My stomach is happy :)

Cafe XXII @ Pyrmont

This day was quite a long day full of celebrations, love, and lots of food. To celebrate our anniversary, the Man had prepared quite the day and he knows me too well, for it was a astronomical gastronomic day for us <3

First stop was lunch at Cafe XXII. The streets where this is located is beautiful with the sandstone bricked buildings and the sun shining through the green leaves. It was forcasted to rain but luckily, not a drop fell on the day.

Modern Australian food. They also open for dinner Wednesday to Saturday only and brunch on weekends. Apparently their menu changes every 2 days!

Kind of like a barn house.

I'm falling in love with Pyrmont..

Coffee. They do syrups here so the Man got a hazelnut latte. I had my daily cappuccino, which was much needed after a 6am start. The fern on top was so well done I was afraid to drink from it but the design stayed put even when it was half empty!

Shared entree. Calamari XXII. This was different to the conventional calamari rings which have thick crunchy coats. This was more lightly crusted on the outside. The calamari was the softest I've ever had with calamari, so soft that infants may be able to chew on it with ease. Very peppery, I like.

The main course.

Handmade gnocchi with burnt butter sage sauce with chargrilled prawns. As this dish came nearer to our table, we could smell the butter, sweet and delicious. The gnocchi was so soft as well, not chewy at all. The sage sauce is slightly sour but the butter itself is sweet so there's a mix of flavours.

The wagyu steak sandwich with caramelised onion, egg, bacon, cheese, rocket, tomato jam, mustard aioli on turkish & chips. The chips look ugly but they're big and crunchy. The corner of the steak had a lot of fat so I lobbed a huge chunk off :( Other than that, the sandwich was truly the bloke's meal with egg, bacon and cheese on top of the steak. The caramelised onion and tomato jam were sweet but what was unconventional about this dish was that it also had mustard aioli. It was tangy and nice but the flavours didn't really match well together.

I also wanted to try the grilled haloumi and sweet potato salad but that'll have to wait for another time. The staff were also very friendly and attentive, and if the food came out late, we didn't notice it because the day was great and full of happiness. Just the first course of the many courses to come and I was already satisfied, both mentally and gastronomically :)

Liu Rose Restaurant @ Concord

Our average Tuesday consists of hospital visits, work, work, and a late night meal. We normally eat around West Ryde and have tried most places around there. We wanted a bit of variation so we decided to conquer all the places at Concord. The first was Abhi's restaurant, the next on our list was Liu Rose restaurant!

The Ultimate in Chinese Cuisine! We'll see about that..

The menu is quite extensive. They even have crocodile!

The decor is very fancy in the traditional Chinese way. Red is supposed to be the colour to stimulate hunger. We were past starving by this stage.

For the rice.

The Liu Rose Flower - deep fried spheres made with prawn, pork, harm, mushroom, water chestnuts, and cabbage, served with sweet and sour sauce.

We were confused when we read 'spheres'. We thought it was a type of Chinese vegetable but when it came out, they were actual spheres (silly us).

We were salivating beyond human standards by the time this came out. We couldn't wait to dig in and impatiently took a bite. It was hot. It's a big crunchy ball full of a sticky combination of veggies and meat. It had a slightly salty flavour by itself and was served with sweet and sour sauce.

The rice!

Seasoned fillet chicken - marinated fillet chicken cooked with a very special sauce made of garlic, peanut paste, hoi sin, bbq rib sauce, rice wine and honey. Surrounded by deep fried spinach leaves and cashews.

Such a detailed description of the dish. The chicken marinade tasted like satay, nutty and sweet. I think it was a bit too sweet for my liking. The deep fried spinach was really nice! It was a good savoury accompaniment to the sweetness of the chicken. I love cashews in my Asian dishes, so crunchy and fun.

Flaming Pork Ribs - choice cuts of pork chop marinated and braised with garlic, ginger, onion, home made special sauce and wrapped in foil.

It's actually flaming!

The pork was juicy and chewy. The cuts were a bit uneven, some being way too big to chew so I gave these away to the Man :p The marinade was sweet and sour with a hint of bbq sauce.

This was enough for the two of us. Crazed by our hunger, we were about to order more when the elderly waiter told us this was more than enough.


Fortune cookies! I wonder what's in store for me..

Hmm.. A bit scary.

Stitch @ Wynyard

As you walk in through the closet-like doors of the entrance, you cant help but feel like you've ventured into modern day Narnia. With dark wooden decorations and dim lighting, it exudes a magical mood that's sure to get you in the right place for a drink or two. It's past 10 pm on a Saturday night and this little basement bar is quite full. They had a reserved spot at the back for a birthday party so a lot of people were standing around. We were walking out, resolving to go to Balcony Bar and try their cocktail of the month instead, when a staff ushers us towards a just emptied seats. The seats we got were a cubicle, cozy and comfy. It's in the corner so it's a teeny bit quieter than the rest of the bar.

Sort of feels like a pub as well. A friendly waiter came to our table and asked us what we preferred in a cocktail. He then recommended us each a cocktail.

My Strawberry Sling. Vodka based and sweet. You can taste the crushed strawberries as well as the basil leaf. It's topped with a bubbly for that bit of pop.


Pineapple Head. Sweet and sour. This drink is Bacardi based.

Elegantly Wasted. What a name! That was what we were planning to do on this rare occasion but sadly one of our friends had to call it an early night. This one was quite strong and tasted strongly of tequila. You can really taste the ginger beer though so it masks the foulness of tequila.

Our other friend ordered Monkey Magic which was topped with apple juice so was sweet and easy to drink. I thought their cocktails were quite strong and unlike Cafe Sydney's juice-like drinks, you can actually taste the alcohol it's based from. Still, it was lovely and refreshing and I would definitely come back to try the other ones.

We got a bit peckish.. The Pork Burger. It came with chunks of grilled potatoes, with little fried potatoes. Not sure if that was deliberate but it was still nice and savoury. The burger itself was very juicy, thick and slightly spicy. I don't really like coleslaw so I brushed it off but the BBQ provided enough flavour. If you need more, then there's a bottle of ketchup and mustard on the side.

Huge patty!

For my sweet tooths <3

Chocolate Brownie Waffles. My dear friend Mina, being the crazy chocoholic she is, had to get this as soon as she saw this. It was sort of like that time when we were walking past Monkey Magic and she wouldn't stop talking about the guava sorbet that was on the menu. We went back and had it.

Anyways, these waffles were very chocolaty, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and fairy floss! That was quite a unique but cute finish! They give a lot and my friend couldn't finish it.

Carmalised banana split served with caramel fudge, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and toasted coconut and pecans. I didn't get to try this one but my friend loved the grilled bananas.

They also have ice cream sandwiches for dessert! They also do lunch now from 12 pm and although they don't have much on the food menu, by what I've tried, their food is worth trying as well. Next time I'm at Wynyard around the evening, I'll drop by for a cocktail or two :)

Cafe Sydney @ Circular Quay

After our dine and wine experience at Asti Restaurant, we came to Circular Quay to try the Cocktail of the Month at Cafe Sydney. We didn't know the restaurant was on top of Custom House and was wandering around the area, confused and frustrated. We weren't in a hurry but my stomach certainly was even after that massive meal and Chambord is my ultimately favourite liqueur.

The restaurant exudes a sexy vibe with a scary opening in the middle that looks down to the lobby.

Their cocktail was called the Rhurbarb and Berry Sour. It consists of Chambord, rhubarb bitters and fresh pressed lemon juice. Sweet and sour, it was like a berry juice! I could have had more of this if it wasn't for the price.

The cocktail is a pretty pink with a creamy froth top. It is served with a kingfish, blood orange, avocado and ocean trout roe tart.

Pretty! but a strange combination of flavours.

The Sydney Squash for the Man who accidentally spilled his cocktail :( This one was very zesty and was made so well it didn't taste like alcohol at all. Maybe it was the wine I had before but everything was like juice! .