The Book Kitchen

To set the scene, it was a work leaving do. There were 14 of us and it was on Friday night, one of those crazily hot days in Sydney at the moment. There is no air conditioning, only a fan pointed at us. Yes, we left it to the last minute to book a table for a dinner in Surry Hills and I wanted to book somewhere that I hadn't been yet. I didn't want it to be too pricey and it needed to be "Modern Australian" (whatever that means?) to make everyone happy. They rang me a few times to ensure that we weren't going to bring any bottles of alcohol (as there's apparently no byo for groups over 8) and there was going to be a 10% surcharge for our group booking. With not many options available, and with The Book Kitchen's good reviews that I had read, we didn't mind these conditions. I figured that they must be really busy.

We got there on time for our 7.30pm booking to find the rest of the place deserted. In the whole time we were there (till quite late) there was only 1 other table of 2, who ate a quick meal. Without our group booking the place would have been empty all night, bar 2 people. I would have thought that rather than place so many conditions on our booking they would have been happy to have us. It ended up being $100 a head. Not quite a cheap meal. Yes, there was wine involved. Which just kept on coming, although I'm not really sure if we asked it to. I didn't fill up my glass once and have no idea how many times it was refilled. Yes, the food was good. Yes, entrees, mains and dessert were included. But $100 a head just seemed like too much. The 10% surcharge is what pushed it over the edge into very pricey territory. We had a good time there, don't get me wrong (despite it being sticky and boiling hot in there). Maybe it's because I was quite excited by the images that I had seen before of diners being surrounded by cooking/ foodie books (which of course I had a look through), which weren't near our table.

The waiter suggested Selection of bread with olives and spiced walnuts ($6) and we agreed. I think 2 of these were placed on our table. Some on the table loved the spiced walnuts, however, I thought they were just a bit strange. Being a non- bread lover at the start of meals (waste of food points quite frankly) I thought that the bread was fine. Next up we had quite a few people order the Slow roasted pork belly, apple, cranberry & sage relish, crumbed feta & walnuts ($17), ravioli and a few other bits and pieces. My ravioli was bit too buttery, with some of the sauce actually tasting like pure butter, however, it was quite tasty.

For the main I shared half of the duck and the Seared farmed Barramundi with vongole, Chinese broccoli & a seafood velouté ($30). I found the duck to be a little dry and the barramundi was a little bland for my liking. Yes, you could tell that all of the ingredients were fresh, thought had gone into the meal, but maybe it was the size of the group? Does the quality of your food decrease withe the size of your group? Although we all know that it shouldn't, I wasn't so convinced. The white asparagus was a nice touch to the barramundi dish and all meals were nicely plated. I've heard people rave abut this place, but maybe it's more of a lazy brunch venue.

For dessert I had the Affogato: vanilla ice cream, coffee and Frangelico or Amaretto ($12), which was a nice way to finish off my meal (and to cool down). It was time for a farewell song to be song and photos and lots of hugs goodbye. We'll all miss you at work Mrs soon to be a mum!

The boy and I decided to stop for a quick drink at Mille Vini's on the way home. I've never been here before and it was a great place for a quick glass of cold wine facing Crown Street at the bar area to do some late night people watching. I like the bottles of wine reaching up to the ceiling, the strange cut out in the wall to expose the raw bricks beneath. It's a cozy place and I'll need to head back here to try out the menu.

 

(All photos to come soon!!)

Surrounded by deliciousness at Signorelli Gastronoma

With a tag line of: Eat. Drink. Shop. Cook. We had to go to: Signorelli Gastronoma!

Some of the girls checking out the amazing deli section. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING!

Miss B had also been here before and has been raving about it ever since. Overlooking Barangaroo, it's situated in Google building in Pyrmont in an eerily quite area (despite the casino being around the corner). We all get there ridiculously early as our stomachs were all eagerly awaiting the meal, so we thought we would go in to see if our table was ready. There had been some "miscommunication" on the phone, wherein they had no understood Miss B confirming our booking the day before and cancelled the booking. Both C - words. This is my only gripe with the entire restaurant/ deli that is Signorelli Gastronoma. Miss B was not impressed by this as we were now on a table in the weird outside part, rather than in the fabulousness that is the main section. Make sure you request an inside table in you book. Otherwise, you'll get a view of industrial pipes if you look up and white walls.

View from the centre of the building from our table. I'd recommend an inside table if I were you!

I love my knife that can stand up, or on it's side!

Wine room. Drooll...

Walk in and you're greeted by the delicatessan, the walls and walls of amazing foods, the cheese room, the wine room, the open kitchen, the demonstration bench, the pizza kitchen and dinner tables scattered amongst everything. Pure heaven. We all had to have a stroll amongst it all. Even the dinner table are great wide, long tables on wheels. This is serious eating. We had already pre-booked the Long table Menu, which is more than 8 dishes for $59 each (technically 3 courses, but actually a lot more). You will need to select which dishes you want before when you make the booking.

Looking down our table for 8

The demonstration table

Old till as decoration

baked Italian bread selection with extra virgin olive oil

The baked Italian bread selection with extra virgin olive oil was nice and crusty and made waiting for everyone to arrive just that little bit easier. The “Signorelli Gastronomia” Antipasto, Selection of Salumi  / Olives /  Parmigiano  / Grissini  (normally $24) mocked us while we kept on waiting (not that anyone was late, we were just so early!) There was a great selection of green and brown firm olives, great crumbly cheese and cold meats. I'm not a fan of bread sticks but I could appreciate what they added to the presentation. The sweet ricotta didn't quite work with the sharper cheeses and meats for me.

“Signorelli Gastronomia” Antipasto, Selection of Salumi  / Olives /  Parmigiano  / Grissini

"amusement"

Vine Tomato Salad / Local Burrata / Basil / Vincotto / Wild Cherries

We were given an extra "amusement" with grapes, sultanas, a yellow cheery tomato, and some other bits and pieces, which disappeared in one mouthful. It was full of interesting flavours and a mouthful with the perfect amount. The cheese in the Vine Tomato Salad / Local Burrata / Basil / Vincotto / Wild Cherries (normally $20) melted in your mouth with the classic combination of tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar reduction.

Italian Sausage / Rosemary/ White Onion/ Provolone

Prosciutto di Parma / Wild Rocket / Provolone / Ricotta

Margherita / Fior di Latte / Tomato / Basil

Next up were the pizzas. Margherita / Fior di Latte / Tomato / Basil (normally $19), Italian Sausage / Rosemary/ White Onion/ Provolone (normally $23) and Prosciutto di Parma / Wild Rocket / Provolone / Ricotta (normally $22). I feel that Margherita pizza, alike too much bread to start off with, is a waste of food points, so I passed up on this one. The Italian sausage was more like a deconstructed sausage and was extremely moorish, as was the prosciutto di parma. I always enjoy wild rocket on my pizza, as it makes it feel like a more balanced meal that you're eating, rather than just delicious cheese and dough. The pizza crusts were thin and we could watch them being made at the pizza table, before they were placed into the pizza oven with its large flames.

Mixed Leaf Insalata

 
The meat of the scampi in the Scampi Risotto / Tomato / Seafood Essence (normally $29/34) was delicious, but the risotto was a little too buttery. The Penne ragu- fresh herbs didn't score many points for presentation, however, judged purely on taste alone was simple, but perfect. We were given a Mixed Leaf Insalata ($9) to counteract the heaviness of the mains. Just what the palate needed.

Scampi Risotto / Tomato / Seafood Essence (normally $29/34)

Penne ragu- fresh herbs

To finish off we had the Signorelli gastronomia cheese selection and the Chocolate almond torta – crème fraiche – choc earth. The blue cheese on the platter was one of my favourites, which was places beside other cheeses, sun ripened sultanas on the vine, a jelly like slice of something (?) and truffle honey. I'm not quite sure about truffle honey personally. It's extremely rich and I'm not sure that it worked with the cheeses. The chocolate torta was of course, deliciously chocolatey. It was firm chocolate on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. I had to finish it (as well as the cheeses), despite the pain coming from my stomach telling me to stop eating. I quite liked the term choc earth, which was crumbled bits of chocolate torta on the side.

Signorelli gastronomia cheese selection

torta – crème fraiche – choc earth

Overall, despite the initial confusion about our booking, we had an amazing meal and experience at Signorelli Gastronoma. You can tell that the ingredients are all extremely fresh and only the best of quality, that they seriously love food and take it as seriously as I do here. The fact that they have a cheese and wine room, as well as a deli makes it a really interesting dining experience. I'm looking forward to coming back for a cooking class with Miss B here. Time to waddle home and walk off the food a little.

I'll have to come back for one of these!

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.

Secret Foodies at Mumu Grill

27^th October @ Mumu Grill

Last night I wrangled up the girls to head out to a secret location to dine with fellow food lovers. This of course being a Secret Foodies event. Secret Foodies event number 11 to be precise. You get a theme for the night, last night’s being “don’t panic it’s organic,” the area of Sydney that it will be held in (North of the Bridge) and then await further instructions. The text a few hours before the event told us the location was Crows Nest and then 1 hour before we get the address of the restaurant. It was Mumu Grill!

This is the second Secret Foodies event I’ve been to, and they’re always a lot of fun. Most dishes are share plates, so that you get to try a great range of meals, there’s a drink involved (normally a cocktail) and the chef or owner of the restaurant talks you through what you’re eating.

Last night was a bit of a meat fest. If you were up for a salad, you were at the wrong place. Mumu Grill is Sydney’s only sustainable steakhouse. This means that everything is organic or sustainable, and a lot of the produce is local. They also have a great wine list to match the food.

The Slow Roast Prime Rib of Organic “Red Poll” with Kipfler Pots and Horseradish Cream was a good hearty meal, and the crunchy potatoes were amazing. The asparagus entree was cooked perfectly, and the Brown Sugar Pavlova with Pineapple and Passion Fruit Sauce was a standout. The only meal that I didn't enjoy as much was the suckling pig, but that's just down to personal taste, as pork, crackling and coleslaw (all of which were in it) aren't really my thing.

We got to meet some interesting people on our table, and Alex, aka Ms Darlinghurst, leads the night with her bubbly personality. You can’t avoid getting caught up in the fun. Oh, and did I mention that you get to wear masks! To keep it all very secret of course. We all share a story about the weirdest thing that we’ve ever eaten, a wasabi Kit Kat being one of them, and Ms Darlinghurst asks our chef about all things food. All round it was a great night. Plenty of food, great wine and lots of fun.