Awesome afternoon at Opera Bar

On the heels of an incredible Bday dinner, M & and I planned to spend the arvo at The Morrison for happy hour wine and oysters.  Being from the east coast of Canada, we both have a weakness for bivalves...We had already purchased our tix to Les Miserables, and were looking for a way to pass the time in advance of the film.  We caught a bus up to Circular Quay with the intention of meandering down to The Morrison.   However, when M suggested that we spend some leisurely time on the waterfront - and have a drink at Opera Bar, I was all too happy to oblige!  I  ended up that we quit trying to "rush a good thing", and so The Morrison was forgotten, and we quickly ordered another tasty bevy and snacks at Opera Bar.

Our drinks were further enhanced by a plate of Yam crisps and prawn popcorn. 

The Yam crisps were OK.  Certainly not life-changing.  They provided a good bit of crunch to go along with our wines, but they were pretty greasy.  I wouldn't likely order them again. 

Yam Crisps ($8)

The prawn popcorn, on the other hand, were delicious - I'm hungry just thinking about them now.   The plum, juicy prawns were coated in a light, crispy batter and served with a luscious, mayo-based spicy jalapeno dipping sauce.  YUM.

Prawn Popcorn ($13)

w/ spicy jalapeño sauce 

Opera Bar, I've determined,  is one of those spots that cater to both tourists and locals alike; tourists because it's the Sydney opera-based bar, but locals, because it's simply a damn-good spot to spend a sunny wknd afternoon.

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.

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. 

Sun & Sangria at The Cove

On the Saturday afternoon following my arrival, Maria and I took a walk down to Queen Street mall to do my 'life admin'; open a bank account, get a new SIM card, etc.  We decided to eat at one of the lovely open-ended restos on the South Bank, so we walked over the bridge and along the riverbank while Maria pointed out the various city attractions/landmarks.  We ended up at Cove Bar + Dining, one of several lovely 3-walled restos whose front side is open to the Brisbane river.  Maria chose this spot as the climatic conditions, i.e: sunny and hot, were perfect for a nice pitcher of refreshing sangria.

The list of Sangria was impressive; there were only 3 selections for both white and red, but the ingredient list alluded to some completely different flavour profiles.  We chose the Latin Kings; a blend of Hennessey V.S, Tuaca (a vanilla-citrus liqueur), lemon juice, cloves, cardamon, cinnamon, star anise, OJ and red wine.   I couldn't help but think of the similarities to mulled wine and how good a glass of that would be on a cold night in Canada!

Latin Kings Sangria ($45/carafe)

Of course, what's a good drink without some bar snacks?  We ordered the classic; fries and aioli.  I LOVE the fries in Oz!  They remind me of the incredible fries at Durty Nelly's! They're beautiful fat chips with a crispy exterior and soft within.  They're the right mix of slightly greasy, deep-fried goodness, but they won't leave those guilt inducing oil blobs on the basket paper.  These ones had the added bonus of truffle salt, and a tangy Parmesan aioli on the side.

 Fries w/ Truffle & Parmesan Aioli ($9)

As the sun set, we had another lovely walk along the riverbank back to New Farm.  In the late-afternoon sun, the water sparkled and I couldn't help but feel perfectly content at the decision that I had made to move to another continent on the opposite side of the planet.  

We had mustered up an appetite on the walk home and as we climed the steps to M&J's apt., I could smell the earthy aroma of Josh's slow cooker lamb curry wafting down the staircase.  He had also made some homemade Naan bread, and when he ladled the curry into bowls, we all sat back for a comfoting home-cooked meal in the place I now call "home".