Guacamole central!

I mentioned in my post about Golden Century that I've moved into a sharehouse with an avocado tree in the backyard.  Well, technically, it's in the neighbour's backyard, but we get to reap the benefits!  Needless to say, there have been many late-night, post-drinks snacks of guacamole and many breakfasts consisting of eggs with avocado; a staple on menus in most Aussie restos.

It's pretty awesome to wake up in the am and harvest the latest avos that dropped from the tree overnight.  The neighbours also have a lime tree, which helps with that late-night guac!

The Treehouse: Brunch in North Sydney

On the heels of the night at Golden Century, I met some 'new' friends at their place in North Sydney.  Once I arrived, we walked to one of their local favourites; The Treehouse.  I call them 'new' because I met them via intro from one of my lovely pals in Halifax - whom I miss dearly.

The Treehouse is definitely one of the nicest spots that I've been in Sydney and I'm happy to have a go-to spot on the other side of the bridge.  With such chic decor and a playful atmosphere, the F&B is almost a bonus.  They have  a great brunch menu (available on Saturday from 8am - 3pm);  a menu for the kiddies during the daytime; and a fantastic selection of both Aussie and import wines.

I was in the mood for a standard; the eggs Benedict with ham - which I have opted for lately (as in my post for Tigerbakers).  As per usual, I got the hollandaise on the side, but the sauce was really nice and the eggs were poached perfectly for me.

Eggs Benedict w/ Ham ($15.50)

My friend had this pile of envy; zucchini, pea and haloumi fritters.  The fritters themselves were so light and airy and the chilli relish on the side was delish. Always a fan of roasted tomatoes, they were the perfect side to this - already perfect - dish.

Zuchinni, Pea & Haloumi Fritters ($16)

w/ Roast Tomato & Chilli Relish

There were many other amazing-looking dishes on the menu for both brunch, lunch and dinner.   If I go out in NSYD again anytime soon, this spot will definite be on the tip of my tongue for dining options.

Golden Century: the later, the better!

The night I went to the iconic, late night, (amazing) Chinese food resto Golden Century was a long one.  After having arrived in Sydney just over a week before, I had one day off work to find an apartment; I was ecstatic at the thought of my own bed as oppose to slumming it in a hostel for another week. This actually ended up being a day that I'll never forget; it was my first encounter with my new housemate who will, without a doubt, be a lifelong friend.  The other exciting part of the experience? As I was viewing the apartment, we heard a loud thud on the roof.  I looked questioningly at the landlord who simply shrugged and said: "avocado".  To which I replied: "Say what now?  An avocado tree in my backyard?  Where do I sign?"  

I was thrilled to have checked the 'find an apartment' off of my to-do list and move on.  Sadly, avocado season is long gone, but I'm still snug as a bug in my little home in Glebe.  So, how did I arrive at Golden Century at 1 am?  Well it started like this: a portfolio tasting for some new wine additions - most of which were drained before we left the office at 11pm for a little jaunt over to Ryan's Bar for gin & tonics. One of the things that I like about Sydney is the selection of beer gardens, patios and outdoor seating areas/bars that are open year round.  Ryan's Bar is a pretty popular place - especially for the CBD crowd on a Friday night.

After a few drinks we headed over to Golden Century and pretty much stuffed our faces on overpriced seafood.  Thankfully, I wasn't footing the bill, as I'm sure it was a scary sight at the end of the night.  We ordered all the dishes to come together and then fell silent for about a whole...oh...12 minutes or so as we devoured every scrap.  

The feast consisted of steamed scallops, stir-fired prawns and the butter-poached lobster.  The cool thing about this dining experience was that one full wall of Golden Century is lined with a huge lobster/seafood tank and your meal is literally caught as you watch!  A little inhumane you might think...but it sure leads to a tasty dinner!

The steamed scallops were cooked perfectly and presented on the shell in a beautiful sauce of soy, ginger, lemongrass and scallions.  I loved the stir-fried shrimp; plump and juicy, they were served on a bed of crispy noodles and sweetly sauced scallions and vegetables. But the lobster!  The lobster was incredible; everything you'd expect a butter-poached lobster to be: sweet, succulent, tender and oh-so-buttery!  

Steamed Scallops ( $36.60)

                                       

Stir-fried prawns w/ vegetables ($33)

Butter Poached Lobster (Market price)

Surprisingly, after a considerable amount of food and drink, we still managed to pull ourselves together to venture out in search of some more fun.  And when I moved into my house the next day, my new housemate and I bonded over our respective hangovers in the backyard sunshine of our new 'home'.

San Choy Bow at the Dragon Palace

I was in Sydney for less than a week before my first road trip.  We were attending an agricultural fair in Gunnedah, rural NSW and were among the 10,000 visitors who descended on the town each year.  

The best part about this trip was the incredible scenery.  These shots were all taken from a car window and each mile  was more beautiful than the last.  The yellow fields of canola flowers stretched as far as the eye could see.  We drove past one of the largest Thoroughbred stud farm in the country; roadways covered in fresh cotton and idyllic lush rolling hills.

Our accommodations were in Tamworth, but we stopped for bfast at The Verdict Cafe on Conadilly Street (the main drag) in Gunnedah.  Sometimes the most simple meals are the most pleasing.  This (big) plate of bacon and scrambled eggs was delicious, and a great deal at just $8.  The Aussies really know how to cook their scrambled eggs.  Lately, I've taken to ordering my eggs that way as they're always so light and fluffy.  The bacon here was a tad too greasy for my taste, but it was good quality with more meat than fatty bits.

After having set up our booth, we went home for some R&R....which ended up with me going for a run around Tamworth.  It's a cute little town, made all the more adorable by the local wildlife.  In Canada, you see flocks of pidgeons, seagulls and blackbirds.  In Oz, it's cockatoos and budgie birds.  Yup, I definitely paused my run for at least 10 minutes to watch them before they spooked and flew away.  

When we went out for dinner later, we chose the Dragon Palace on Peel St. We both started with a Short soup - commonly referred to as Wonton Soup in North America.  You can also get Long Soup, which contains long noodles as opposed to the pork-filled wontons.  This one was 'Oh so good'.  You'd think that this soup would be pretty generic, but this was definitely one of the better versions that I've had.  

Short Soup ($6)

Among other things; a plate of scallops with vegetables; a beautiful paler of steamed veg w/ broccoli, cauliflower and shitakee mushrooms and an order of  beef in Szechuan sauce, my boss introduced me to the most amazing Chinese dish: San Choy Bow.  This dish is particularly popular in Oz, I'm told, and I was blown away by how fresh and flavourful it was.  The minced beef was flavoured with a slightly sweet sauce, dusted with sesame seeds and wrapped in a shell of crisp iceberg lettuce.  Consider it a...low fat Asian burrito, yeah?  This was also an easy plate to dissect, and I'll be making it at home some day soon.

San Choy Bow ($20ish)

What a meal!  And what a day!  I'll forever remember that trip to Gunnedah, for the beautiful scenery and for the time that I fist tried San Choy Bow, which will now become one of my favourite home-cooked meals.  

Best eggs Benny at Tigerbakers Cafe

Within less than a week of my having arriving in Sydney, my big sister's pals met me in the city for bfast.  I'm super thankful for these friends; he's originally from Melbourne, and she is an New Yorker through and through...and they're both amazing!

I met them in Darlinghurt at Tigerbakers, a cute little cafe with awesome food. They both ended up having the porridge w/ rhubarb compote ($9.90), which looked phenomenal.  Not that I'm a big fan of porridge, but I AM a crazy rhubarb fan.

My eggs Benny was fantastic.  Though I had to wait for another serving of eggs because mine were undercooked, the Hollandaise was the best I've ever tasted; uber lemony, rich and creamy and the ham was the yummy, back-bacony kind.

Eggs Benedict w/ Ham ($13.90)

Since I now work fairly close to Tigerbakers, I'll probably end up here again for dinner sometime soon.  With a good vibe, super friendly staff and really tasty food, I'll call this spot a Darlinghurst/King's Cross staple.

Movie night! And Cabiria :)

When my pal proposed that we have a "girlie night" I didn't know quite what was in store.  Granted, I was super tired - having just come back from an amazing sailing trip around the Whitsundays - so if she was proposing some wine, cheese and doing our nails on this particular evening, I was all for it.  But when she suggested dinner and a movie, I mustered the energy to look presentable and head out for a nice tapas meal and a good chick flick.

We ended up at Cabiria, a lovely little resto at The Barracks in Brisbane.  I think one of the reasons that M and I get along so well is because we have such similar taste in food; a good wine and a few snacks are all we need to have a pleasant evening - plus good company too! We got to Cabiria at about 7ish and set about deciding on our tapas.  Once that priority had been actioned, we decided on some vino; I chose a French Rhone blend while M went for a cool climate Aussie Pinot Noir.  Both wines were nice choices for the array of flavours; rich, salty, meaty and sweet.

When our snacks arrived, we had quite the spread: a lovely meat and vegetable terrine, some 'devils on horseback' and a big chunk of Manchego cheese.

The Country Terrine was fantastic!  Wow.  One meat that I really do enjoy is rabbit, especially when said meat is in the luscious rillette-type consistency.  Merged with earthy, meaty mushrooms, creamy white beans and wrapped in salty bacon, a bite of terrine atop a crunchy toast was divine - especially when said toast was slathered in date puree.

Country Terrine ($16)

Rabbit, Porcinni Mushrooms & White Beans

Wrapped in Bacon w/ Date Puree & Toasts

Devils on Horseback ($5)

Egyptian Dates wrapped in Speck

These 'devils on horseback' were delicious - and a great snack to make at home too.  The sweet, meaty dates were wrapped in paper-thin sheets of salty Speck; a salt-cured, smoked ham originating in Italy.

Manchego cheese

w/ crisps & Quince Paste

How can you go wrong with cheese?  When our original order of Truffled Pecorino from Italy wasn't available, we opted for this hunk of Manchego; a Parmeseanesque sheep's milk cheese from Spain, which share's Parm's nutty, salty bite.  This was served with some quince paste, and crisp pita-type bread. 

And on to the movie theatre, where there is more than just popcorn and M&Ms.  At the theatre in The Barracks, one can order a deluxe cheese plate w/ crisps, bread and jams (bottom) or baguette served with a trio of dips..(Top)

What a treat!  Once in the theatre, we sat back in our seats; cracked open our bottle of shiraz, and relaxed for a couple hours.  Movies and wine? It was almost as though we had stayed in after all.