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

Street Market Asian Tapas, Crows Nest

A recent newcomer into the Crows Nest Area, Street Market Asian Tapas offers a variety of 'tapas' (or share plates) with an Asian spin. Given their good reviews, as well as a personal recommendation, I decided to check out this place and take up on their offer of their $10 (capped) hot and cold tapas (available on Monday and Tuesday nights).

Outside of Restaurant

Inside of Restaurant

Bar

Oh the choices - there are actually quite of lot of hot and cold tapas so, being a true Asian, I picked two recommended dishes with a price tag above $10 in order to get my money's worth.

Kürtősh, Crows Nest

Following our escapade to Mosman, Ivanhoe, Lenni and I decided to return back to Crows Nest for dessert given the lack of options for dessert along Military Road, Mosman at night (choices were down to Salt Cheese & Meats or Rosso Cavallino, which offered small cakes or gelato respectively). Given the extremely cold nature of the night, we decided to visit Kürtősh, which sells a wide selection of cakes and pastries, and adequate seating away from the external elements.

Kürtősh Cafe

When you first enter Kürtősh, you'll notice the large marble bench tops and the copious amounts of dough waiting to be rolled into the Hungarian pastries known as kürtőskalács, a.k.a. kurtosh (also the name of the cafe) - the pastry is rolled into a long strip, wrapped around a wide spit and glazed before being roasted/baked:

Staff rolling out Kurtosh Pastry

Sample Kurtosh on Display