Jimmy Liks, Potts Point

After having heard people talk about Jimmy Liks in Potts Point, I recently dined there with a 50% off internet deal. Asian shared style eating is always great for group dining so I went with a table of 4 so we could try a lot of dishes.

My first impressions were that I really liked the decor - with its long tables and mood lighting I could see it being an awesome group event place, especially because set menus always work well with asian food. I'm sad to say the positive comments mostly stop there. I certainly didn't hate it, but I didn't think it was great and if it weren't for the 50% off I would probably have felt more negatively towards it.

The cuisine isn't strictly from any particular region, instead the menu reads like a 'Best of' South East Asia and Chinese influenced dishes.

Son-in-law free range duck egg $8.50

I love soft shell crab ($23) so we had to order this - it was crispy and tasty, though every asian restaurant nowadays does a decent rendition so it wasn't ground breaking.

This was my favourite dish of the day - crispy skin salmon with watermelon salad ($28). It was fresh, the salmon perfectly cooked just a bit under, with a nice mix of zesty dressing and watermelon. 

Twice cooked sticky pork hock (large size for $29) - this dish was so rich and hard to eat by the end, and it wasn't because it was bad necessarily, it just felt like every other dish in terms of flavour but with a heavy fatty pork hock. 

The duck was meh. And I love duck! But this was just average. Mainly because the flavour base was a sticky sweet sauce which you can see at the base of the dish. Just not how we expected crispy skin duck to be served!

Crispy skin half duck ($35)

Char grilled roti bread ($5 a piece)

So overall the problem really lies with the fact Jimmy Liks isn't the cheapest, and then everything kind of tasted the same. Every dish seemed to have the same flavour base and while at least everything wasn't overpoweringly spicy (which I hate, because it just kills any sense of taste you might have), all the sauces lacked punch. So then you just added more sauce and got overdosed on sweet MSG. When you can get such amazingly authentic, cheap asian food in Sydney, it's a pity that Jimmy Liks didn't live up to the hype for me. That said, we didn't drink cocktails with our meal but we saw others drinking what looked to be amazing concoctions, so maybe that's the trick, to get happy on alcohol?

Sydney Mapped

I came across this recently and loved it so thought I would share for any of my Sydney readers to laugh at, just like I did.

I can't believe how true it all is!

Easter in Sydney

How was everyone's Easter? I just can't believe this crazy stretch of long weekends in a row is almost already over. No more public holidays until June and then October here in Sydney!

Anyway, Easter last week was beautiful weather and I made the most of it. Started with some lovely Thursday night drinks at Parke Davis which is below the well-known Cuban Place. I always loved hanging out at the Cuban Place because it was easy to get seats but Parke Davis has a cute cocktail menu and the novelty lights at the doorway are just my kind of thing! Please excuse all the terribly shot iphone photos ahead, I've become even lazier with photos lately.

Overall I was impressed - it wasn't overcrowded, the ambience was casual but fun and service snappy considering people were mostly ordering cocktails which are obviously labour intensive.

Over the long weekend I took the chance to go to the Easter Show which as usual was full of visiting cute as can be animals and stopping by the Country Women's Association Tea Room for some scones. Yum yum! Can you tell I love scones?

I always make a habit of seeing the cakes and crafts - some of the creativity is amazing and it's crazy to think how much time goes into all the various creations. 

I took a photo of this ginormous pumpkin because well, it's just massive at (apaprently) 366kg. Plus, the day before my visit the Royals took the time to specifically look at these giant pumpkins when they did their whirlwind 1 hour visit of the Show. How do you even grow something this big?

And my favourite part? I was a total kid and went and visited the 'pat a chick' stand where I got to play with a day old chick. So cute. So fluffy. I wanted to take one home!

I think I'll give the Easter Show a rest for a few years as it starts to get a little repetitive going year after year, but I was glad to enjoy a lovely day out to hold onto the last of the warmer weather!

Life in Photos: March 2014

It's already April with Easter around the corner, and Summer officially over and I'm sitting at home on a dreary Sunday seeing the rain just literally fall all day long. But I love the guilt-free feeling of staying indoors when the weather is crapola and what better time to catch up with some reading and blogging!

So March was actually quiet for me, but I still managed to do some fun things to enjoy the last of the beautiful Sydney Summer.

I had one last beach trip - and the ice cream boat stopped by!

Have any other Sydneysiders noticed the beautiful colurful sunsets we've been getting lately? I took a walk after work a few weeks back and this was my view - I'm sad that daylight savings is over now because the days will start getting shorter and shorter!

Case in point - beautiful colourful sunset! Again, excuse my dodgy iPhone photos. I've been lazy to upload my actual photos recently!

Recently I went to Larder at Woolloomooloo - it's a pop-up as part of Otto restaurant and we got a 50% off deal which was amazing value. Not only that, the prices at Larder are actually really reasonable to begin with, especially given you get an amazing view over the water while you enjoy your meal. This was the prosciutto starter to share and it was fabulous!

Last weekend was beautiful. I went to see Alain de Botton speak at the Opera House which was really entertaining.

Our seats were side view but right by the stage so we were amazingly close, even though we coudln't see Alain front on. He's a really engaging speaker which made the time fly by!

And since the weather was so beautiful I couldn't help but head down to the Rocks to my favourite tea and scones place - The Tea Cosy. I love it there. Their scones are amazingly fluffy and their tea is also fabulous. The only downer was that one of my scones had hair in it - as in it was baked into the scone and I try as I might I just couldn't get the hair out. They apologetically rectified the situation and gave me a replacement plus one extra though others were expecting I should get my money back and a fresh scone. But I still love it there!

And this week I tried out the hard-to-get-a-reservation at Riley St Garage. The food was fab, the decor is amazing, and the menu is just so easy to order from. They have a set menu for $68 which had a huge selection of food and I definitely am keeping that on my agenda for any group/special occasion meals in the future. This is a blurry/badly shot photo of their miso salmon and truffle mash which were both hearty and flavourful.

What should I do now that it is Autumn and the days are getting shorter?

Life in Photos: February 2014

How is it already March? With February being a short month and being hectic (it is my birthday month after all!) I didn't get the chance to get back to blogging. Well here you can see some of what I got up to :)

I got some beautiful long stemmed roses for Valentines Day - but my favourite has to be Morgan the monkey that accompanied the gift.

I went to Canberra for a wedding - I literally ended up going to Canberra twice in the same month after not having visited for literally a decade! Anyway, we decided to visit Old Parliament House which was actually quite cool and interesting. An awesome piece of Australian history.

A straight view into the House of Representatives at Old Parliament House. How beautiful is beautifully aged wood?

On the suggestion of some canberra based friends, we visited Brod Burger, apparently a Canberra institution for amazing burgers. These were seriously huge! Tasty definitely, but the most amazing burger ever? Probably not. But definitely a cute place to check out.

I finally visited Vapiano which opened in Sydney late last year. I'd been in Brisbane a few years back and used to eat there a fair bit when I lived in the US. I'm glad its finally opened in Sydney because we definitely need that kind of eating space - easy for big groups, perfect for fussy eaters who can eat what they want, easy to get a table, and just good tasty pasta. Yum yum!

I never really get presents for my birthday, but this year I was spoilt with a small but decadent gift - amazing Godiva truffles. Some of my favourite! I'm still trying to eat my way through the box, but how beautiful is it just to look at?

I regularly brunch at Bitton cafe in Alexandria as its always easy to get a table and the food is reasonably priced and awesome. This was my omelette the other day - perfect Sunday morning brunch.

This is a terrible photo, but one of my birthday meals was at Waitan a newer Asian restaurant that is well known for its extremely expensive fitout. It is really relaxing dining there and the food is reasonable quality, albeit on the higher end of pricing. That said, the peking duck is actually quite well priced for the two courses, however not really traditional Peking Duck as much as it is roast duck. Still, good, clean tasting food with attentive service and a beautiful decor.

So as usual it turns out most of what I did in February was eat! Hmm...as a result I need to get back onto the treadmill!

The Tea Cosy, Sydney

I love scones and so I had been meaning to go to The Tea Cosy at The Rocks for ages. Late last year I finally made it there and I'm so glad I did. I love the little place and the scones are amazing!

It is often considered the best scones in Sydney (which is of course a big call) and for the price I was definitely not disappointed. From memory it was $12.50 but that bought you two scones and tea (hot or iced) of your choice, and there are hot water urns to top up your teapot.

Excuse the slightly badly composed photos - I was trying out one of my newer Sigma prime lenses so the photos are amazingly sharp but I got a bit caught up in focusing and didn't compose properly.

The scones were fluffy, warm and flavoursome. You could also choose the type of scones you wanted - traditional, sultana and other options - as well as the jams you wanted to accompany your scones - orange, traditional strawberry and raspberry to name just a few.

Oh and did I mention, the teapots come in the cutest little hand knitted tea cosies. How can you not love it?

I'll definitely be back, and if you're from Sydney but haven't been you should definitely stop by!

Hartsyard, Newtown

I've dined at the uber hip and happening Hartsyard twice in the last 3 months or so, which is quite an achievement given it is so popular now it can be ridiculously difficult to get a reservation (even on a weeknight!)

The first time I went was just as a table of 2 which meant I wasn't really able to try a lot of the dishes, which are designed to be shared as a 'seed' and 'feed' approach for dish sizes which roughly line up with an entree and main type size. We ended up overordering and walking out stuffed.

Last week I went again but this time was smarter about it, dining with a group of 4 and trying not to overorder so that I could at least try dessert this time, which is their signature! And who am I kidding, I love me a good dessert. Their smaller 'seed' sized dishes are my favourite, with each and everyone sounding amazing. Here are some iPhone pics (I've been lazy lately haha!)

School prawn popcorn with espelette pepper and sour cream and lemon

These were finger licking good and such a good 'appetizer' type starter - great to start the meal with some light finger food while we chatted away.

Oyster po-boy with englihs muffin and old bay mayo and slaw

Yummy, crispy, perfectly balanced flavours. Need I say more?

Fremantle octopus with potato skins, white corn and piquillo peppers

This was a gutsy dish which I actually really enjoyed, with the octopus perfectly crunchy (not chewy!)

Crispy pig tails butter milk dressing, pickles and hot sauce

So this wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but still tasty. Would I order it again? No, but it was definitely well executed.

Dessert special - lemon meringue pie with popcorn icecream and caramel

This was AMAZING! Perfect mix of soft and crunchy meringue, a zesty lemon curd with the popcorn ice cream absolutely amazing too. Every single item on the plate was well presented, and accompanied every other element on the plate perfectly. 

Soft Serve of the day - red velvet, baked cheesecake and chocolate coating

This was also amazing - I mean these are their signature desserts, just with the soft serve flavour changing regularly. The camera has been put in the photo in the background as reference for just how large this was! It was definitely better to be shared as the red velvet ice cream was a rich dark chocolate that came out looking bloody because of the inky red velvet colouring and slight flavouring.

As you probably already know, desserts are my weakness so any restaurant that can nail a good dessert is a winner for me. I would definitely suggest you try Hartsyard if you get the chance, but make sure you go with a group! Their cocktail menu is also great, and I don't think Hartsyard is uber expensive either so that's definitely a plus :)

Kirribilli Markets Stall this Saturday!

Once again I'll be having a market stall at the uber awesome Kirribilli Markets this Saturday 23 November from 7am to 4pm! If you've ever had a market stall before you'll understand why I've been so busy lately - clearing out stuff to sell is hard work!

Anyway I have a whole range of designer clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, make up and homewares. Denim brands include Tsubi (the original tsubi with a T!), Sass & Bide, Marcs and paperdenim&cloth. designer label threads from Marc Jacobs, BCBG, Wayne Cooper, Sass & Bide, Alice McCall, Akira and a whole host more cheap buys.

It is all stuff I just have never worn or won't wear so I will be clearing them out at cheapo prices so if you're in the area stop by and have a shop :)

Time Out Sydney even lists the Kirribilli Markets as amongst the best in Sydney, so maybe you'll find some other stuff there too!

Bridge Room, Sydney

I'm finally getting round to post about my experience dining at Bridge Room in Sydney. With an ex-Rockpool chef at the helm and two Good Food guide hats, I was definitely expecting a great meal and they didn't disappoint. Not to mention the service was impeccable, but still casual, which is what I loved.

I wish I had better photos, but my dining companion isn't one to appreciate my snap-happy nature!

We shared this entree which was a raw wagyu shoulder, robata smoked enoki mushrooms concoction - and they knew we were sharing so it came out in two half portions so no plate sharing necessary! :)

Ash grilled duck, organic prunes softened in banyuls

Aerated passionfruit, roasted nougatine, passionfruit ice cream

The dessert was a highlight for me because I chose passionfruit - one of my favourites. Light and easy to stomach after a big meal, yet punchy flavours and some meringue for good measure.

Anyway, we each had a main and dessert and shared an entree and a glass of wine, and it only came to $160 which I think was really good value considering the cost of restaurants in Sydney is skyrocketing. I mean, even a casual mexican meal at Mejico can set you back just as much once you add a cocktail each!

Sculptures by the Sea 2013

Last weekend I took the glorious Bondi to Bronte walk to once again enjoy Sculptures by the Sea like the rest of Sydney has been doing over the last week or so! I have to say, I was lucky, as it wasn't as crowded as I had expected but perhaps it was because the weather looked overcast (though it was absolutely crystal clear in the end!) and it was fairly early on a Sunday morning.

Anyway, I used it as a chance to whip out my currently quite neglected NEX for phototaking. These are some of my favourite shots of the day.

Loved this 'bottle caps' carpet - must have taken the artist ages to accumulate!

Along with everyone else, this was my favourite, and you could tell as it certainly was the 'it' sculpture that everyone was flocking around and everyone keeps posting pictures about on facebook!

Does anyone else think Sculptures wasn't as good as last year?

And I couldn't help myself but take obligatory Bondi Beach shots - <3 Sydney!