Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Mosman

I first visited the Middle Harbour Yacht Club a few years ago for a work Christmas party and if memory serves well, the food wasn't that great. Last time, my (vegetarian) work colleague was served half a cooked eggplant, along with a drizzle of sauce, on a plate as his 'main' dish and the meat-y mains (i.e. barramundi or roast chicken) was either cold or overcooked... but will history repeat itself?

On this occasion, we were promptly served drinks on arrival at 1:30pm but unfortunately the (alcoholic AND non-alcoholic) beverages served from the street-level bar, facing the enclosed beach, were seriously watered down. Great views though.

View from Club

Okonomiyaki Dohtonburi, Quarry Bay

Okonomiyaki - a grilled Japanese savoury pancake topped with sweet okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes and seaweed flakes - can be easily found freshly made by the occasional food stall at events/markets, along with the token takoyaki and deep fried chicken stalls. If you're lucky, you can find speciality restaurants within the Kansai region of Japan that allow you to cook your own okonomiyaki. I tried this on a previous trip to Osaka but SissyG and I were way too noob to figure out how to do things on our own so the waiters took pity and ended up cooking everything for us 😆.

However, to see such a restaurant in Hong Kong is a peculiarity, given the Hong-Kongese penchant (especially for younger generations) for not cooking at home and opting to eating out.

Outside of Restaurant

Night Noodle Market 2017, Sydney CBD

Once again, the Sydney Night Noodle Market was held in Hyde Park and flagged the beginnings of the Good Food Month (i.e. October every year).

Entrance to Night Noodle Market

The food selection appeared to be the same as last year (with the most popular being Hoy Pinoy, Messina Gelato, Black Star x N2 Gelato), along a few new additions spread throughout the park.

Harbour Room @ InterContinental Sydney, Sydney CBD

Entering into the InterContinental Sydney is like walking into a opulent marble maze in order to find the lifts to the Harbour Room. Fortunately for me, I just followed a couple I knew, who appeared to know where they were going, before heading up together to this engagement party.

The Harbour Room is located on the 31st floor with some spectacular (200 degree) views overlooking the Botanical Gardens through to Circular Quay:

Circular Quay

North Ryde Golf Club, North Ryde

Finally - finally! - I was invited to a wedding reception that was relatively close to home and civilisation. Whilst I have driven past the North Ryde Golf Club on many occasions in the past (en route to my childhood piano lessons *shudders*), I have actually never ventured beyond the main road and visited the site.

Main Entrance of Golf Club

Unsurprisingly, there is ample on-site parking that allows for quick access to the golf course but in order to access their restaurant (La Fontana Ristorante), you need to walk around the building (from the golf course entrance) to the main entrance. The restaurant itself is rather large and provides an awesome view from the outdoor balcony overlooking the golf course and nearby water feature.

The Elevation & Gelato Messina, Parramatta

My original intention was to visit XS Espresso but upon arrival, I realised the Parramatta branch only served coffee and limited baked goods so I ended up walking down the road to The Elevation for brunch.

Outside of Cafe

Inside, the industrial/Scandi theme reigns supreme with pale wood and black metal, along with choice decor items including terrariums (one of the larger ones spans the length of the base kitchen cabinets!).

Get Your Pink On! at The Commons Local Eating House, Darlinghurst

Okay, I didn't really try any of the food from The Commons but I did spend an enjoyable afternoon in their front courtyard for a "Get Your Pink On!" function - a collaboration between FCBA and @Eatventures in support of Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Front Courtyard

In keeping with the pink theme, the courtyard was decorated in pink and the food followed suit.

Taisho Japanese Restaurant, Zetlands

In celebration of FCBA's second anniversary, a special lunch event was held at Taisho's new store in Zetlands. For those that have never ventured to Mascot, you wouldn't have heard of Taisho's flagship store (join the boat, guys), which specialises in BBQ wagyu beef.

Outside Restaurant

The restaurant is located on street level of the East Village shopping centre, close to the car park entrance so you can't really miss it. Lined with double-storey windows, the restaurant provides ample natural light inside and the interior decor naturally draws the eye from the ground floor to ceiling.

Ninou Boulangerie Pâtisserie Viennoiserie, Rosebery

Ninou first came to my attention when their fascinating desserts kept popping up on social media and therefore I was excited when the opportunity came by for a visit to their cafe in Rosebery, courtesy of FCBA. The concept of a French-inspired bakery in Sydney is intriguing - having authentic French bread loaves, baguettes and desserts all accessible at our fingertips without need to fly the required twenty odd hours to the "city of love".

Inside Cafe

But does it live up to the hype?

Mekong, Chippendale

In a last bid to utilise my entertainment book vouchers before the end of the May, I organised a dinner with DrL and AW at Mekong. Not to be confused with Lower Mekong located on street level, which serves up Vietnamese food, Mekong is its more mature, upper-class sister restaurant that offers South-East Asian cuisine in a fine dining setting.

Outside of Restaurant

Having only walked by in the past, it was an interesting experience walking up the stairway, past bamboo walls to the 2nd floor. Dim mood lighting, dark wood and shiny metallic surfaces reigned supreme in this restaurant, which overlooks the humble Spice Alley and Kensington Street below.

Two Sticks Barangaroo, Sydney CBD

Recently, I was invited by FCBA to the relatively new sister-branch of the Two Stick (located on George Street in the Sydney CBD/Haymarket area) in Barangaroo. Since I have only ever ventured out to Barangaroo on only a few occasions and therefore was unfamiliar with its changing face, I decided to head out to the city early in order to scout out the surrounding area and find my way to the restaurant. I had to rely on trusty old GoogleMaps to identify the correct building, in which the restaurant was located (too many high skyscrapers in the area!).

Outside of Restaurant

Upon arrival, I got to meet other foodies and sample a variety of the Two Sticks menu, most of which the manager had personally selected for us to try. We were also given the choice to order anything from the menu - I should have stuck to an appetizer because there was so much food left! I am guilty of leaving with a takeaway container as I didn't like to see good food go to waste 😥.

Manly Golf Club, Balgowlah

In celebration of the wedding between Mr&Mrs U, guests were treated to mountains of steamed dim sims, mini fruit tarts and KFC wicked wings (YAY!) for refreshments after the wedding ceremony, followed by a reception dinner held at the fancy Manly Golf Club, which is deceptively named since it is actually located in Balgowlah. Not only that, I was foiled by GoogleMaps - we drove along the road where GoogleMaps indicated as the location of the golf club and passed a series of soccer fields, tennis courts, croquet club with no golf course in sight... however, if you search by the actual street address, GoogleMaps leads you to the correct location 1-2km down the road! (Note: the location indicator for the golf club has since been updated on GoogleMaps by yours truly)

As I had arrived at the reception just after sunset, I missed the daytime view from the balcony of their golf course:

Sunset
(missed it by that much)

However, my eye was quickly drawn to the variety of pre-dinner canapes being served, which included Peking duck pancakes, pumpkin & herb "risotto" (but realistically arancini balls - the absolute best!), grilled chicken skewers, natural rock oysters, and Thai vege & glass noodle spring rolls.

I have to give them points for the table decor because the floral arrangements were amazing:

Bridal Table

Guest Table

And who doesn't love free-flowing alcohol options at a wedding:

Katherine Hills Shiraz

Except I'm still quite unsure how I feel about sitting in a room filled with trophies and engraved plagues for a reception dinner (the environment brings back memories of high school).

Entrée

Garlic Roasted King Prawn, Avocado Mousse,
Herb Salad and Fried Capers

Porcini Mushroom Dumplings, Seared Quail Breast,
Pea Puree and a Marsala Jus

My favourite of the two entrees was the porcini mushroom dumplings, topped with some succulent quail breasts, as the king prawns had a mushy texture (i.e. not fresh).

Main

Pan-Fried Barramundi, Dumplings, Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Chargrilled Grain Fed Eye Fillet, Potato Puree,
Baby Carrot and Beans with a Red Wine Jus

Although the barramundi was of a decent portion size and well-cooked, unfortunately the fish skin was soft and not crispy. However the eye fillet was cooked to perfection: melt-in-your-mouth beef that was cooked perfectly to medium-rare around the table. It was probably the best steak I've ever eaten at a reception dinner.

Dessert

As for dessert, the chocolate & hazelnut tart was the better of the two options:

Chocolate & Hazelnut Tartlet with Fig & Walnut Gelato,
Espresso Praline and Raspberry Puree

Blueberry Bombe Alaska with Espresso Sand and Raspberry Puree

The presentation of the (dark) chocolate ganache in the chocolate & hazelnut tartlet left a lot to be desired but the shortcrust pastry base was buttery short, and the ganache was rich and decadent. The ganache could have been thinner but I'm not complaining because it's chocolate. On the other hand, the Bombe Alaska had a crunchy espresso exterior, biscuit base and topped with a well-torched meringue but the killer for the dish was the raspberry parfait encased by the espresso sand, which was rather hard and ice cold.

The Manly Golf Club comes highly rated, given that it's been supposedly voted the "Wedding Venue of the Year" (although I'm not quite exactly sure by who), so I came to this reception with high expectations. However, I felt that the food was a bit of a let-down - the canapes were great but the reception dinner was a hit-and-miss around the table - and they sort of went rogue from the wedding menu (for some reason this wasn't available on my table so I had to take a sneak peek at the sheet on a neighbouring table before the reception dinner) so I'm not 100% sure of what was actually being served.

As for the venue, I thought the layout for the reception tables was a little off-putting - when you enter from main entrance towards the large main hall, there is a small sub-hall to your left (so like an "L" shape) and to your right, there is a large dance floor, which leads to their function room/bar/balcony. As someone sitting in the sub-hall, it felt like I was cut off from the main event as I couldn't really see the bridal table nor any of the speakers for the entire reception due to walls and doors obstructing the view. Oh well, at least I could still hear everything that was going on (especially the best man's speech, which was epicly hilarious).

Food: ✩✩✩
Service: ✩✩✩✩
Atmosphere: ✩✩✩
Overall: ✩✩✩
One-line Summary: Hit-and-miss reception dinner

Arisun, Sydney CBD

For our first MSG outing since Christmas, we decided to meet up at Arisun in Haymarket, which brought back happy memories from our last dinner at the same restaurant.

Outside of Restaurant

Arisun hasn't changed a single bit since we last came to sample their infamous Korean fried chicken several years ago. Complete with indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant provides a dim drinking/eating environment suitable for talking the night away whilst drinking beer and snacking on Korean fare, although cut short by their 2 hour limit for all tables.

Roadtrip to Mount Irvine & Bilpin

A group of friends and I decided to embark on a second road trip to visit our friend off in the Windsor vicinity. This time we decided to be a little more adventurous and head further to Mount Irvine and go walnut/chestnut picking. The alternative was to go mushroom picking in Oberon but it was deemed too far a drive for those joining us for a day trip.

Roadtrip!!!

The day started out on a nice, sunny day... and our trip took a rather adventurous turn after getting stuck in some major traffic jam in Richmond. Firstly we get to spot a bellbird alongside the road in Kurrajong Heights whilst waiting at a red light:

Hide and Seek - Bellbird Version

5Loaves 2Fish, Chatswood

5Loaves 2Fish is a Christian cafe located along the main shopping strip between Chatswood Interchange and Victoria Street. I've walked by this place many times over the years but have never really had the opportunity to visit. Hence, as I was in Chatswood for a free makeover session at Myer, I decided to drop by and check it out.

Outside Cafe

The cafe has a strong industrial feel - dark wood decor with splashes of bright yellow - and was surprisingly full by mid-morning.

Originals Burger Co., Brookvale

A few weeks ago, Jason King from Spooning Australia, on behalf of Ompty contacted MSG Cafeteria with an invite to check out the new(ish) Originals Burger Co., located in Brookvale. For those that don't know where that is, Brookvale is located in the Northern Beaches.

Since this restaurant is located well within unexplored territory (for me at least), I decided to drive up several hours early since I was free the whole day and visit the notable Westfield Warringah Mall, which is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre - this turned out to be not such a good idea since I had to brave torrential rain, flash flooding, and slippery road surfaces (my car slid for a few seconds as I was driving down the long, windy downhill road just above the Lane Cove National Park). Eventually, I did get to Warringah Mall safely and encountered Flower Child Cafe 2.0 whilst wandering around the mall.

Within an hour, I got bored and hence started my road journey towards Brookvale (i.e. 5 min away) in search of the elusive Original's Burger Co.. The restaurant is located in the industrial area of Brookvale, surrounded by hardware stores and Subway, which appeared to be the only other food store along the road. On my first pass down the road, I actually missed it and had to u-turn back.

Outside Restaurant

T2 Matcha Masterclass, Chatswood

Over the past few months, T2 has been heavily promoting their new matcha powder range (which are sadly quite exy) so when I received an email from the T2 Tea Society advertising their matcha masterclasses, I jumped at the opportunity to check out their products first hand.

Outside of T2 Chatswood Store

Tea Display

The Usual Cafe, Cabramatta

Set in the heart of Cabramatta - the Vietnamese central of Sydney - , The Usual Cafe is peculiarly situated given that they offer Western cafe food in a very Asian suburb.

It took a while to find this place from Cabramatta station (thanks to trusty old GoogleMaps) since it's located off the main shopping streets and directly next to the Dutton Street car park exit. As I was visiting on a busy Sunday morning, the nearby streets were filled with cars queuing to enter the public car park - I was so happy that I decided not to drive here, otherwise I would be wasting a lot of time on the streets in the queue.

Outside of Cafe

Inside Cafe

The inside is decorated like many hip(ster) cafes in Sydney - filled with white subway tiles, industrial lights, dark wood furniture, and lush green plants strategically placed around the cafe.

Hong Kong: The Lounge @ JW Marriott 香港JW萬豪酒店, Admiralty

In order to thank me for my hospitality during my aunt's stint in Sydney and knowing that I was a foodie, she decided to treat me for a meal at The Lounge inside the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong, which is renowned for their afternoon tea buffets.

Let's say the experience was... seriously epic!

Entrance of Lounge

Afternoon tea at The Lounge runs from 3:30pm to 6pm so I had a light lunch beforehand to prepare myself for an afternoon feast and had every intention to skip dinner that night. 😂

Hong Kong: Teawood 茶木, Quarry Bay

Teawood is one of my sister's favourite restaurants, which offers Taiwanese cuisine and is famous for their honey toast stacks. So upon setting foot on Hong Kong, my sister decided to take me to the Teawood in Tai Koo Shing, which was one of her few usual food haunts when eating out.

Sign Outside Restaurant

After a long wait in the queue, we finally were seated at a booth table and got to skim through their extensive menu. Given the limited eating time, we quickly made our orders and the food was quickly churned out.

Cow & The Moon, Enmore

My ice cream adventures in Enmore continued with a visit to the infamous Cow & The Moon, which was named the "best gelato makers" in the world back in 2014:

Outside of Cow & The Moon

When I arrived, there was a long queue leading outside the store, which I swear didn't move at all for the initial 5-10 minutes.

Hakiki Turkish Ice Cream, Enmore

Following my meal at Salmon & Bear, I decided to work off some calories and strolled along the main street in search of dessert. Having never ventured this far into Enmore, I had to rely on trusty old GoogleMaps to navigate my way to Hakiki Turkish Ice Cream, which has been on my to-go wishlist for over a year.

Street Sign

Inside the Dessert Bar

Salmon & Bear, Newtown

Five min walk from Newtown Station lies the second home base for Salmon & Bear in Sydney. I've seen pictures of their poke bowls so I was eager to see what the hype was all about. Their original store is located in Zetlands, which requires too many public transport transfers to reach for my liking, so I decided to visit their store in Newtown instead.

Outside of Restaurant

Their name is a play on the instinctive nature of bears catching wild salmon and is emphasised by their vast displays on the wall, rustic wooden interiors with a cabin feel, and very dark lighting:

Wall Art