T2B

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love tea. Quite a lot. So when I heard that one of my favourite tea brands, T2, had opened an experimental ‘brew bar’ making blends of their huge range of teas I had to stop in. T2B offers a range of products, but on arriving at the store in the Queen Victoria Building, my eye was immediately drawn to the bottled iced teas sitting in a tray of ice built into the front counter. The lady who served me was very helpful when I asked about what was in the ‘Peachy Dream’ brew – Turkish Apple for sweetness, Peach Sencha for the peach flavour and Red, Green and Dreamy rooibos (South African tea) for more peachy sweetness. I’d never tried rooibos before, so the lady kindly let me smell the rooibos first (such great service!). The iced tea comes in a generously sized bottle and on first sip was a great choice. Apart from being beautifully refreshing, the balance of flavours was delightful – the peach flavour was stong but not artificial and it was sweet without being sickly. Highly recommended for service, flavour and value.

T2B, Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, Sydney NSW    http://www.t2tea.com/brewbar/

Honeycomb

Honeycomb is the kind of place I wish was my local cafe. Set on a corner at a roundabout in Darlinghurst, it’s a great people-watching spot with fresh, modern decor with a yellow theme. This is carried through their chairs and table flowers with an elegant simplicity. Needless to say I was pretty excited to try the food. On weekends, Honeycomb does all day breakfast, so when we arrived for lunch at 12:30, I could still order poached eggs – it’s great to eat somewhere that caters to what you feel like eating. The eggs were perfectly poached, and the avocado with za’atar was a fantastic mix of textures. Unfortunately the bread was very crusty and hard to cut, but the egg softened it a little. After brunch, we ordered a plate of doughnuts with dulce du leche, which were little bites of happiness – the doughnuts were small spheres dusted in plenty of cinnamon sugar, which were truly decadent with the addition of the sweet dulce de leche. The only downside of the whole experience was that you had to leer awkwardly across the tables sitting in front of the specials menu blackboard wall to see the options. Apart from that, another #cometocanberra campaign needed.

Honeycomb, 354 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst, Sydney NSW http://www.honeycombrestaurant.com.au/

Lotus Dumpling Bar

I really like Sydney’s Walsh Bay precinct – there are some lovely little places near the Sydney Theatre Company theatre, and Lotus Dumpling Bar is probably one of the loveliest. A hole in the wall place with limited seating, Lotus is beautifully decked out with calligraphy on the walls and elegant crockery, plus a couple of hanging plants for good measure. I’d heard that the Xiao Long Bao are excellent here, so that was my first pick. They came out steaming hot, bulging with soup and bursting with flavour – definitely a winner. Next up were the prawn dumplings, which had a generous amount of prawn inside and a crisp, clean taste. Finally, we had pork and prawn wontons in spicy sauce, which were again super flavoursome; the soup was well balanced and not overly salty. One of the highlights of the dumplings here is the skin – springy, soft and chewy, the texture is the best I’ve encountered in Australia. I’d recommend booking to secure a spot at this lovely little dumpling bar, it’s well worth a visit.

Lotus Dumpling Bar, 3/16 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Sydney NSW   http://www.lotusrestaurant.com.au/

Movida @ Sydney Airport

I have been very lucky to travel a bit for work this year, and quite a few of these trips have been to Sydney. Returning from one solo trip, I decided to head to the airport early and have lunch at Movida, in the Virgin Domestic terminal at Sydney airport. On arrival, staff offer bread with olive oil, which I accepted and thoroughly enjoyed – the oil had a strong flavour that suited the soft bread perfectly. I treated myself to a few different tapas dishes, including the Paletilla Iberica, 24 month old jamon, which came out sliced paper thin and accompanied by sweet peppers. The jamon was incredibly flavoursome and something I would happily order again. I also had spiced octopus served with a mash potato puree (so creamy!), but the highlight of the meal was the Pinchitos Morunos, or chargrilled lamb skewer, which turned out to be large cubes of soft, smoky and beautifully tender lamb. I would double my order of this next time without a doubt. Three dishes was just the right amount for lunch and I felt quite spoilt after working so hard. Definitely good for a treat when travelling.

Movida @ the Airport, Sydney Airport T2                                   http://movida.com.au/airport/sydney-airport-menu/

The Potting Shed

I promised part two, here it is! Before the delicious pistachio cake, Dad and I had lunch at The Potting Shed – part of The Grounds of Alexandria.  The greenery here is spectacular, and there were delightful decor elements everywhere – little ceramic gumboots on the counter, trowels attached to the menu, beautiful glazed plates and even a live macaw! On to the food. We ordered the buttermilk popcorn chicken, pork belly sliders and pork & fennel mini hot dogs. And that was the order we ranked them in, from best to last. The chicken was without a doubt the most delicious deep-fried thing I’ve ever eaten, tasty mouthfuls dunked in mustard-spiked mayonnaise = bliss. I would have devoured this three times over if I could have! Next were the sliders, which came out in black buns (squid ink?) – the pork belly was tasty and the coleslaw worked well, but they were very small. Finally the hot dogs, which sadly had far too much bread relative to filling so were a bit disappointing. We were lucky to be here on a weekday to get a table – go and eat some chicken for me if you can!

The Potting Shed, 4143 Bourke Road, Alexandria       http://groundsroasters.com/

Berkelouw Books

I was pretty sad to hear that Berkelouw had closed their Newtown store, it was a lovely place full of books and food. But never fear, they haven’t gone for good. Yes, it has a different vibe, but the outpost at Westfield Hornsby still has books and food, although no kitchen, sadly. Shelves line the long corridor overlooking the fountain, with books you can sit in armchairs and read while sipping a coffee, or, as I did, chowing down on a piece of cake. The cake selection was pretty good, with several full-sized cakes for slices and a range of cookies and smaller treats. I went for the apple flan, which had a beautiful almond cake underneath the layers of apple doused in that scrumptious sweet glaze that makes cakes shiny and delicious. The serve was enough to keep me going, and it was lovely to sit in the corridor on an armchair (complete with rug underneath!) and flick through the second hand volumes. Walking through the book store afterwards was fun too, so many lovely editions and new things to add to my ‘to read’ list.

Berkelouw Books:

Shop B30-33, Level 3 (on the link bridge), Westfield Shopping Centre, Pacific Highway, Hornsby, Sydney, NSW

http://berkelouw.com.au/stores/hornsby

Ryo’s Noodles

I would eat Japanese food for dinner every night if I could. Especially in winter, when you want nothing more than a big, hot, steaming bowl of noodle soup. So that’s exactly what I sought out in Sydney. I’d read that the lines at Ryo’s Noodles can be out the door, so I went early on a weeknight, and didn’t have to wait. It’s a no frills place, with a handwritten copy of the menu on the wall in Japanese on white sheets of paper, as is common in Japanese izakaya (traditional pubs).  I went for the popular tonkotsu ramen and a bottle of ramune (Japanese lemonade). The ramen came out quickly and was hot and hearty. The pork was fatty and melted in your mouth, the broth was full of flavour and the noodles had just the right amount of bite. It was a bit salty, which I didn’t notice until afterwards, but it definitely satisfied my craving for ramen!

Ryo’s Noodles: 125 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW