Birthday and dinner at the Himalayan Char Grill

Happy birthday to me and to With Bite!  It's unbelievable to consider that I started With Bite 6 years ago!  What a journey it's been.  Since blogging about my culinary adventures in Halifax, I've had some incredible food - and life - experiences, and I'd like to thank everyone who has followed (and lived)  these adventures with me since then.

This past wknd marked my 30th birthday.  Holy cannoli!  I feel so old, but yet so young at the same time. Thankfully, I have some incredible friends here in Oz and my birthday (week) was so incredible that I'll remember if for years to come.

My best pal Maria - whom I met at Uni in Halifax - lives in Brisbane and made my (life) weekend, by travelling to Sydney to spend my birthday with me.  Maria is one of those friendships that are lifelong - we don't talk all that often, but she's always there when you need her and, no matter how much time has passed, we pick up where we left off.

Anyway, Maria arrived in Sydney on Friday, picked me up from work, and we got to the first night's celebrations in the backyard with a bottle of S. C. Pannell's Pronto; a blend of Sauvingnon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Grigio.  I had ordered a great bunch of wines from work for my bday festivities and this was among the best.  It's funny since M sent me a msg. upon arrival that she was looking forward to a good glass of wine and I had already put 6 btls. of white in the fridge to chill.  Priorities, ppl!

The really amazing part to the wknd though, was that my friend Christine had told me the Wednesday prior that she was throwing a BBQ for me in my own backyard and that I didn't have to do a thing.  I didn't really believe her, but I should have.  At about 7 pm on Friday, she - and my friends - arrived with sausages, pasta salad, baguette and a brownie bday cake for me!  Oh, and sparklers. :)  

Me, blowing out the candles on my
M&M-studded brownie 'cake'

It was an awesome night.  One that ended up in me having a bit too late of a night and I leaving a bit too late to make my much-anticipated birthday hot air balloon ride.  Yup, they left without us.  And so, in an effort to drown my (liver) sorrows at having missed the ride, we got MacDonald's breakfast.  Don't judge. 

But it gets better! Upon leaving Macca's with our bfast, I just so happened to look up at the sky and see... our balloon headed to the heavens. After M snapped this shot, we did erupt into peals of laughter at the irony of it all. We even ended up having our Macca's in a park over-looking the departure site. Sidenote: can I just say that Macca's bfast is delicious?  Seriously - how often do I have fast food?  Never, that's how often.  It's nice to indulge every now and again.

See that speck in the sky?
That's the balloon I shoulda been on had I had my act together!

And so, we drowned our sorrows at Coogie Beach...

Later, we met my pals at the Himalayan Char Grill for dinner.  But, not before some pre-dinner drinks in the backyard - a btl of bubbly as an aperitif. And so, we floated off to the resto on a cloud of bubbles.

When we arrived, I opened up the real treat: a btl of Jacquinot Champagne NV for my bday festivities.  This is an awesome drink - much less commercial than Moet or Veuve and way better on the palate.

I was happy to influence the whole group on their selections. My housemate had ordered takeaway in the past and I raved about the beef cheeks and the scallops which I had tried of theirs.  M and I shared two dishes: the beef cheeks, obviously, and the samosa.  The samosa was incredible; crispy and luscious, served with a tomato salsa and a creamy yogurt-based tamarind sauce that was juuuust sweet enough. I'd go back just for the sauce....

Samosa Chat ($12.90)

Veggie Samosa w/ spiced yogurt, tamarind sauce &
tomato-onion salsa

But seriously, the beef was incredible. So, so, succulent and tender, they were well worth the price and the hype.  The sauce was rich and heartwarming, and served with some roti and raita, this dish would have been an indulgent plate for one.

Masala Beef Cheek ($22.90)

Diced Beef  w/ peppers in Himalayan spices

Once dinner was over, we headed up to The Little Guy on GPR for some cocktails - an awesome spot for wknd drinks, or a Sunday arvo session.  This is M and I with ond of my faves - a good, really good, G&T.

Shellfish at Bar Reggio & I'm Angus Steakhouse

I was pretty excited to see my bestie when she visited me in Sydney last week.  She was in town on a conference, and we ended up having some great meals (and drinks) together.  Once such night was the one we went to Bar Reggio, a little Italian BYO in my work hood.  The boys in the office are quite familiar with the restos in this area, and when I asked if there was a good spot for BYO, they said that this was one of their favourites.   There would be quite the line up on a Friday night however, and they only take resos for large groups, so I headed over right after work to put my name down for a table for two.  The gyuy at the door said it would be 9pm for a table for two...it was 7:15.

Once M joined me, we set off to the bottleshop and picked up a couple bottles of wine. Of course, having already scanned the menu we knew that we would be having mussels and picked up a nice Riesling counteract the chili in the tomato sauce. In the meantime, while we waited for 9pm, we headed over to   Pocket Bar; a super cool little bar in Darlinghurst. PB was a great discovery, and I've been back to it several times since; with a funky interior and some serious cocktails, it's a great spot to catch up with friends.

My tab card...

When we got back to Bar Reggio there was still a serious wait, but it was well worth it.  The aromas wafting from the resto were intoxicating and quintessential for an Italian resto: sweet tomato sauce; yeasty bread dough and greasy cheese.  While we stood in the doorway, we watched one of the kitchen guys top a beautiful flatbread with a vibrant blend of fresh tomato and herbs - the bruschetta - which we ended up ordering as well.  

Mussels w/ chili & Napoli sauce

We were really pleased with the mussels.  Both M and I grew up in the Atlantic provinces in Canada, so seafood is very important to us, and we're pretty particular.  These suckers were fresh, plump and flavourful - and a generous serving too.  The sauce was certainly more-ish.  I found myself enjoying that to the same extent as I did the shellfish.  Unfortunately, by the time we got our bruschetta, the tomato topping wasn't quite as generous, but it was still delicious.  In fact, we ended up saving the broth from our muscles and spooning the bits of red pepper, tomato and onion onto the bruschetta base.  That was my idea.  I'm a genius.

Later in the week, we headed over to Cockle Bay in search of some oysters.  We ended up at I'm Angus Steakhouse at a table overlooking the boardwalk.  In that heat, a refreshing bevy was needed, and what better than a gin and tonic. As a side note - my favourite bevvy to beat the heat at home in Sydney is a tall glass of tonic water with a good squeeze of lemon and a generous handful of mint from the garden.  

Oysters Killpatrick ($20)

We ordered some oysters as a little snack before heading to the grocery store to get some ingredients for dinner.  We got 1/2 a dozen, and after debating over Natural and Killpatrick for a good while, we chose the Killpatrick; a topping of bacon and Worcestershire sauce.  The price wasn't too bad for oysters - especially in such a 'touristy' location.  They were Sydney Rock Oysters and the quality of the shellfish was top notch.  Beautiful oysters topped mysterious Worsh. sauce and salty bacon - we were some pretty happy gals.

The following am, I took a stroll over to the Botanical Gardens as my friend had mentioned that the rose garden was in full bloom.  My iPhone was full of flower shots afterward, but these are some of my faves.

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!