A carnivore's dream at The Lane

After a very long work week, my housemate and I headed over to Sydney's swanky bar Establishment for some post-work drinks.  This is a beautiful space,  decked out with a creamy marble bar and matching colonial-type columns.   The drink menu is surprisingly affordable - I would even venture to say that I was disappointed by the quality of their wine list.  That being said, I was happy to indulge in a couple glasses of $8 Merivale-branded house bubbly, while my pal had (our) usual; a gin & tonic.  Merivale is the parent company of a slew of bars/restos in Sydney, including Establishment's adjacent fine dining resto; Est.

After a few glasses, my housemate and I headed over to The Lane in the CBD for a quick snack before heading out for...some more drinks.  Since we were both pretty new to the city's dining scene - and ravenous at this point - we ended up just walking around the corner and took a seat at the first spot whose menu was appetizing and still had a bit of life to it. Some spots in the CBD empty out at 7-8ish...

The Lane

Once seated at The Lane, we got a couple glasses of vino and put in an order for some snacks.  I'm not a huge meat eater anymore, tending to usually go for seafood option, but K and I compromised and ordered the Meat Plate - a selection of four cured meats, and the QLD King Prawns.

Meat Plate ($19.50)

The meat plate was pretty self explanatory; a plate of meat.  The selections were tasty though; San Daniele Prosciutto, Sopressata, Capacolla and Genoa Salami.  Don't get me wrong, I love a nice slice of salty, spicy Sopressata, but it was an enormous amount of salt, and I was guzzleling water for days afterward.  Well, to be honest, I guzzled a couple beers immediately afterward to quench my thirst.  The bread was super-nice though; uber soft, with a slight char on the outside.

QLD King Prawns ($16.9)

 BBQ-grilled w/ lemon and garlic butter, served w/ aioli

 

The King Prawns (I've been criticized by Aussies for calling them shrimp) were fantastic; a little messy, but well worth it.  The tender meat paired nicely with the garlicky aioli, and was further enhanced by the spicy dressed rocket garnish.  Also, they grilled their lemon wedge -  I love that.  Brooklyn Warehouse in Halifax does that.

Anywho, filled to the brim, my protein cup overflowed as we left The Lane and headed back down into the CBD towards our hood.  I'm happy that I spied this place, it's a nice spot to go for a pre-drink snack, and was still pretty hoppin' when we left at 10 pm.

Night Noodle Markets - part of Crave Sydney Food Festival!

I was thrilled to be in Sydney for one of it's most anticipated festivals; Crave Sydney food & wine festival.  During the month, there are a plethora of events, raging from cocktail events;  killer meal deals; food-based artwork and more.  I even managed to haul my ass out of bed for 'Breakfast on Bondi', an event that featured an Australian soprano accompanied by an orchestra while the sun rose.  It was pretty incredible.

But one of the main attractions for this event is the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park.  A longstanding tradition, this event runs until about 10 pm for two weeks in October and features noodles, dumplings, desserts and more.  The vibe here is so chill and jovial; it's an awesome spot to catch up with your nearest and dearest.

Crave Sydney Banners at the entrance to Hyde Park

Red Chinese paper lanterns lined the walkways 

and a multitude of coloured lights highlighted the trees

There are so many food options to choose from here.  Being at the 'noodle markets', I had to indulge and chose a vegetarian bowl of greasy chow mein noodles with vegetables ($9) from one of the many stalls.  I have to admit, that the noodles were simply 'ok', but at this event (to me) it's more about the atmosphere than the food.  It's about plonking yourself on a patch of grass and taking in the sights.  If you're lucky enough to score a table - even better.  And better still, the festival is BYO.   Score.

Vegetarian Noodle Bowl

Myself and my pal Christina in front of the tallest 

building in Sydney; the Westfield Tower

A panorama of the festival!

My go-to bakery is La Banette

A couple months ago, I discovered this little gem: La Banette, on Glebe Point Road.  It doesn't have a website, but thankfully, it does have a Yelp! page, where plenty of Yelpers have uploaded their own pics! 

On this particular occasion, I was dying for a nice savoury pastry, and had only a small amount of cash on me.  As I was trotting down GPR looking for that very specific bite, I remembered my friend (who works at the Clipper Cafe) mentioning this amazing French bakery next to her work, so I decided to take a peek.

What an incredible spot.  The bakery is open to the street and emits an intoxicating aroma of yeast, sugar and butter the likes of which I've never experienced.  The bread is stacked on wooden shelves behind the counter, while lovely petit fours, pies, palmiers and mereigues lay on display in their glass casings.  On top, are a variety of baskets holding olive breads, muffins , scrolls, croissants and this; the savoury cheese twist.

I bought my cheese twist (between $3.50-$4) and took a seat overloking the street adorned with this beautiful bundle of lilacs.  Lilacs will always have a special place for me because we have the most magical lilac tree in our backyard in Newfoundland.  The pastry had it all; savoury and sweet; buttery and cheesy; crispy and squidgy.  All good, all dangerous, and all making La Banette the logical choice to shop for baked goods/sweet treats of any kind.