Kirribilli Woodfire Kitchen, Kirribilli

Nestled in a cozy nook opposite Milson's Point train station is Kirribilli Woodfire Kitchen. Mr A and I went there on a complete whim on Sunday for a late lunch after seeing the colourful Jacaranda-lined McDougall Street, sprouting clouds of purple foliage in mid October through to November. (If you are going to venture there for instagram-worthy photos, please do keep an eye on the road and not hold up traffic).

Honestly, I had no intention of blogging about this place when we first walked in - another pizza and pasta joint, what's new? So apologies for the bad photos taken with my phone #nofilter

The restaurant has a casual dining ambience and also does takeaway and deliveries. Despite it's small size, the menu is ambitious. Basic pizzas are around $18 for a medium (11") and around $24 for a large (13"). Pastas are also at the $20 dollar mark with other mains such as T-Bone steak at $29 and salads in the high teens.

Afraid I wasn't going to finish a pizza on my own, I opted for a 11" vegetarian pizza whilst Mr. A chose Gorgonzola gnocchi.

Pilu at Freshwater, Freshwater

This foodie outing started with (very) late lunch booking at 2:30pm (the other choice was 12:30pm but our group would never have made it there in time). Our group made the trek out to the Northern Suburbs on a bright and sunny day with a nice cool breeze, unlike the previous day, so it wasn't overbearingly hot. Fortunately, I was able to find free street parking within 200m of the restaurant and therefore only had a short stroll down the hill to the restaurant.

On arrival, there was you walk along a pathway, past a long line of jasmine bushes and small courtyard overlooking the Freshwater Beach, and through to the main entrance:

Pathway to Restaurant

Courtyard Overlooking Beach

Front of Restaurant

The Dining & Co, North Ryde

For the catch-up between the former three musketeers, we decided to have lunch at The Dining & Co, which was recommended by MoosesDigest's sister.

Outside of Cafe

The Dining & Co turned out to be a relatively new cafe hidden within the inner streets of North Ryde. The interior is very hipster with clean wooden tables and chairs, large mirrors along the back wall to reflect the sunlight from outside, and black metal frames to display plants and decor.

East Phoenix, Zetlands

Following the lovely nuptials between Mr&Mrs N at Blackburn Gardens, the remnant MSG Cafeteria peeps lingered in the gardens to fancy artistic shots (by Ivanhoe) before heading to the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay for sustenance in the form of coffee and fries.

With 20min to go till the start of the night-time reception, we then headed out on the short drive south to East Village, Zetlands. Set inside the relatively new shopping centre, East Phoenix is located on the third level and has ample capacity to fit at least 300 (there were 23 guest tables at the reception, with at least 12 people per table and room for a large dance floor), with three private function rooms.

Front Entrance

As per usual Chinese Banquet receptions, it looked like another full venue.

Frangos, Petersham

Frangos was another place that Ivanhoe and Lenni also raved about in Petersham, which is conveniently located across the road from Sweet Belem. There was a queue out the door of the fast food place so that must surely be a good sign... until you see see customers throwing away half a tray of hot chips... hmmm...

Front Counter

As you line up in the queue, you get to see stacks of cooked charcoal chicken waiting to be served as well as a view of the large selection of sides.

Salads

Sides