I-Creamy Artisan Gelato, Sydney CBD

Hidden from the main street foot traffic, I-Creamy Artisan Gelato is located inside Skyview Plaza, off George St. If you decide to venture through the plaza, you'll soon encounter the large crowd surrounding the store - either curious bystanders, customers patiently waiting, or those that have already been graced with their gelato and are happily eating away.

Several of their flavours (including their coconut & lychee sorbet, white chocolate miso, Thai milk, durian, black sesame) have won gold or silver awards at the annual Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Show for the past few years so it's certified with a tick by industry experts. As you may notice in the below pictures, some gelato flavours have a bright yellow tags (they seriously look similar to minions, although I highly doubt I-Creamy is affiliated in any way with the movie) - indicating the awards level of the gelato - and others have a green clover/flower tag - indicating that there is adequate gelato for the staff to make 'flower gelato's.

Top Left: Store Front
Bottom Left & Above: Gelato on Offer

Flour Drum, Newtown

A while ago, Aunt-T joined MSG Cafeteria to various food blogger groups, which were mentioned on our blog but I never really asked about.. And it wasn't until I recently logged into the blog email for the first time that I discovered 50+ unread emails - a veritable minefield of spam (of the inedible type) and gold (of the edible type) because within the long list of unread emails were exclusive invites to food tasting events!

One of the recent invites received was from the Food Critics & Bloggers Australia (a.k.a. FCBA) for a tasting event at Flour Drum, Newtown. Having rarely been to Newtown (mainly to visit Black Star Pastry and Brewtown Newtown), I had to research on how to get here.

Located 10 min walk, or 4 min by bus, from Newtown station, Flour Drum sits inconspicuously among boutique shops along the main road but is rather like a hidden gem in the rough - for inside the cafe are some of the friendliest staff I've encountered and serve mouth-watering cakes. The co-owners - Christopher, Victor and Johnny - were easy to chat with and happily engaged in conversations with various customers scattered across the cafe (except maybe Johnny, who as the executive chef of Flour Drum spends a lot of his time in the kitchen - he stayed up till 3-4am making cakes for the weekend!!).

Outside of Cafe

The Meat & Wine Co., Darling Harbour

The Meat & Wine Co. restaurant has always been here from my earliest memories, located under the great IMAX theatre at the southern end of Cockle Bay Wharf/Darling Harbour. Despite know of its existence, I had never visited this restaurant until recently when a visiting relative was eager to try authentic Australian steak following a recommendation via a local guide book.

Outside of Restaurant

Fortunately I was able to book a table two days prior, despite booking for a very busy Saturday night during the spectacular Sydney Vivid festival - although we were given a limited dining time slot (6:30pm - 8:15pm).

Cafe Birkenhead, Drummoyne

Following an early morning (power) walk along the Bay Run around Iron Cove, Allie, MarK and I decided to bypass the markets in Orange Grove Public, Lilyfield, for a sit-down brunch at Cafe Birkenhead.

Located within the Birkenhead shopping centre, customers get a lovely view of the Parramatta River and Iron Cove Bridge through the tall windows along the external wall, which lets in a vast amount of natural sunlight into the spacious cafe:

Internal View of Cafe

View Towards Kitchen

The Choc Pot, Rosebery

A few weeks ago, I was excited when one of the co-founders of The Choc Pot invited MSG Cafeteria to visit and sample some of their desserts and drinks at their branch in Rosebery. Unknowingly, I set a date/time on the one weekend that was forecast to rain more than the average rainfall for Jun in Sydney... Fortunately I made it to the cafe safe and relatively dry on a dreary, wet winter's day.

The Choc Pot, Rosebery, is situated directly next to the car park of the newly constructed Saporium, which currently houses a few cafes, a health food store, and a glasshouse-like structure at the centre that hosts cooking classes. Upon arrival, I took a brief walk inside the Saporium to check out the other open cafes/stores (as the centre is relatively new, some store spaces are still empty or have yet to open so watch this space), peered around, and then slowly made my way back go the cafe.

Having been to the Chatswood branch of The Choc Pot, I knew to expect the bright yellow/white chairs and wooden tables, which definitely stand out from the crowd. Fortunately the chairs here aren't the same as those supplied at Chatswood (yay!) although, to be safe, I sat on a bench this time:

The Choc Pot