Checking out Ms. G's cooking

Idea: Check out Live (Sydney Festival) and see what Ms. G's cooking is like

Review to come from last night's eating and drinking adventures from Ms. G's.

Sugarmill's 2nd Birthday, followed by lots of eating and drinking

Original idea: Attend Sugarmills' Birthday Party and get our cabana on. Idea that we ended up doing: Eat and drink our way through Kings Cross/ Darlo...

So, we were going to just check out the Sugarmill’s 2^nd Birthday cabana style party in Kings Cross. But it started with some vino at my friend’s house and some humus with carrot sticks and pita bread (as you do). Then we got our cabana on at Sugarmill. There were leis aplenty, quite a few captains, and some fab tacky anchors and other shrapnel. Sailor hats, nautical stripes, bright colours and bikinis were surrounding us. Of course there were also lots of blue and white balloons and a giant birthday cake. We were entertained by some random girls with grass skirts (read: plastic) and coconut bras doing some very “authentic” Hawaiian moves. There was Jamaican music. We missed out on the free Pina Colada, but enjoyed cheapo drinks and some free fish and chips in little containers. The perfect start to a night out, even if it's not a place that I frequent on a normal night. I’ll never say no to a free or very cheap drinks!

Next we headed to Time to Vino in its new location, near the Piano Room. From the second that we walked in, it was the perfect mood. The right light levels, cosy tables (although we opted for the bar seats), and some vino books scattered around. This would be the perfect date location. We had a look at the menu, and seeing as we were grazing all night, chose the last option of cheese on the menu, with our waiter’s help, served with sun ripened sultanas and lavosh. 

To call the cheese amazing would be an undersight. It was heaven. It disappeared very fast. For wine, we had the Sangiovese from Chianti with our cheese and soaked up the atmosphere. We easily could have spent the whole night here. Only after we had paid our bill and started to make moves did we realise that we hadn’t even seen the full menu. We both gasped. Our eyes soaked in the menu. My stomach began to get excited. Another time, another time, I kept telling it. The sundaes on the menu (all with some type of alcohol) the waiter told us were to die for. We decided to believe him. They looked great. We were told that you wouldn’t want to share them, and that it was a nice bit of alone time to have with your sundae. We had amazing service all night, great cheese and fab wine. Time to Vino is one of those few bars that just gets it right. It will be on my regulars list from now on. And I am going back to try out the rest of the food. And one of those sundaes. Hmmm…

We decided to keep walking in the direction away from the Harbour, and ended up at Mad Pizza. I’ve been here before, and it’s hard to resist. Again, we go for the bar stools, ending up with a charmingly (most of the time) bizarre English man telling us his life's story. We needed some wine to help us through his strange stories, so we ordered some Malbec. I love the quirky decorations in Mad Pizza, and I prefer this one, which is a bit bigger than the one down the road on William Street. 

I quite like Frank (in above piccy), the deer on the wall that overlooks us as we drink the night away. The shutters that open to reveal a dj are also a nice touch, with things written on the walls and some plants here and there. Our stomachs were starting to growl by this point, so we ordered the Alamfi pizza to share, as our new "friend" continued his story about his search for love.

The prawns were cooked perfectly, the soft, white cheese was delicious, and the chilli flakes just the right amount of hotness for me. I love how the pizzas come out on their own little stands, allowing more table (or in our case), bench space. The thin crust was also exactly how I like it. The stories flowed, the wine flowed and the pizza was gobbled up very fast. I was too scared to try the organic wine: "voice of the people," but maybe next time I will be brave enough. I also had, perhaps, by this point, had enough vino. A point proven by the mild hangover I had this morning.

Next door, my friend insisted that we get some Wow Cow into us. We choose the Volcano to share, which had frozen coffee yoghurt on the side, crushed Tim Tams, and some pancakey, chocolately richness with chocolatly hot sauce all over it. By this point, I was struggling and had to let my friend do most of the eating. My desert stomach just isn’t as large as my savoury stomach I’m afraid. And I thought that I might actually have exploded. Which could have been messy. Wow Cow, just like Mad Pizza, were both packed. You can tell that the locals love them both. I quite like the upside cow too...

We decided that we had eaten and drunk enough, being a bit tipsy and extremely full, and decided to call it a night. We had done a kind of progressive dinner and drinking session in Kings Cross/ Darlinghurst and we had done all that we could do. It was a school night after all and there was a long ferry ride ahead of me to get home.

Dinner & Karaoke @ Ju Ju

Idea: Karaoke and dinner somewhere interesting @ Ju Ju in Kings Cross

"Goody and delicious" - Ju Ju. Who could possible hate that slogan?

My friends assure me that normally the staff at Ju Ju aren’t as stressed as they were when we went last Saturday night. We literally had to grab someone to serve us, but every restaurant has an off night. We had shabu shabu, the salmon roll  from the specials list, one of the combination udon and various other bits and pieces, considering there were quite a few of us.


I think that Shabu Shabu and drinking alcohol needs to have a warning, as I ended up with a burning hot noodle flung onto my leg, and someone else managed to get tofu, meat and veggies all over the floor (getting smooshed into our toes). However, for the more coordinated, I’m sure this wouldn’t be an issue. The vinegar water that the Shabu Shabu was being cooked in was a bit too vinegary for my liking. The salmon roll however, was amazing, and the udon noodles with the combination of (I'm not really sure exactly what, but I could tell that there was a tempura prawn in it) was also really good. The yaki gyoza and agedashi tofu are always favourites of mine and at Ju Ju this was no exception. Especially considering how fast they disappeared. Everyone looked like they were enjoying their food, although by the time the food came, they may have just about eaten anything.

There was plenty of Japanese beer flowing, as well as some vino, so that by the time karaoke begun, we were in quite a good mood. This is not the type of karaoke for those who are a bit shy, as they aren't private karaoke booths. There’s just one microphone and everyone gets to hear your lovely singing. The tables are sunk into the floor, with edges to them, so there’s privacy while you dine. This is strictly a no shoes zone, so watch out or they’ll chase after you with the intention of bearing those tootsies to the outside world. Lots of food later (when it finally arrived), beverages and a bit of singing, we decided to head out. The good thing is that Ju Ju’s is in the heart of the Cross, so there are plenty of options to head out to afterwards.

So, despite the lack of service, I would still recommend Ju Ju. I love a good Japanese style Tavern. What I wouldn’t recommend is a big night out after this (after spending all day at the beach), and going straight out on a bushwalk in Terry Hills in 31 degree heat the next day, with barely any sleep (as the hangover effect is just starting to kick in).  But that's self induced, so I can't complain about that! All in all, a pretty great weekend! As the coasters at Ju Ju says, "always around you" ... I think that's a good thing?

Victoria's Secret Showcase event

Fashion Palette, Pink Ribbon Day & the Cancer Council NSW presents: Victoria’s Secret Showcase, Friday 29th @ Piano Room

Idea: Attend a random launch/ event

Free pink fairy floss, other pink candy, pink champagne (noticing a theme here?) and the chance to see Sydney’s (take note, not the real) Victoria’s Secret Angels? Yes please. We were there in a flash.

Although we had to leave before we got to see the run way show, we got to donate some money to a charity and have lots of free stuff! Always a good start to the night. This is the beauty of random launches. The free stuff. And the Piano Room was the perfect venue for this, live music (even if the singer wasn’t the best), big old fashion looking chairs, the odd large horse statue. There were lots of teetering women in heels and a few models floating around.

These are the perfect kind of events to go to before heading out to other places, all boozed up for free. So my suggestion, why not try attending a random launch? Go on, it might be fun.

http://www.ineedhits.com/