FoodieChat

Very pleasantly surprised at the Italian offering from the Nick’s group (Nick’s Seafood/Bar and Grill/Bondi Beach/I’m Angus).  I’m a fan of I’m Angus but wondered what steak and italian had in common!  Well I thought I should make my way through the chain… At the quieter end of King Street Wharf, it’s a cosy waterside location, with wooden decor and open kitchen - centered around the wood fired oven.  Out of which come some pretty amazing pizzas – thin and crispy base, with fluffy bubbled crunchy but still with bite crust.  The Capricciosa ($23) would make a nonna proud with not too much topping of smoked ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichokes and scattered with olives 

My sister raves about its version of the vegetarian lasagna ($24). It could fool any carnivore – tuck into it and see if you can finish the rich slab of layered zuchchini, spinach, mushroom, eggplant and cheese, lovingly adorned with shaved parmesan and fresh parsley.  Not over powering, but nevertheless an efforto finish it all due to the sheer size of the thing!  Other pastas include carbonara ($24), ragtoni with salami, capsicum, asparagus, walnuts and gorgonzola ($25), and risottos ($34) of chicken and mushroom (below) or seafood.

We also tried the fettucine ai Gamberi – fresh king prawns, garlic, basil and chilli in tomato sauce ($29.50). The prawns were unreal – plump and fresh, and plenty of them – although personally I prefer thinner fettucine. Again – huge serving and couldn’t finish… the sauce was satisfying and not too brothy but not too thick either.  Strange pricing structure though where seafood pastas cost only little more than non-seafood ones!

The seafood platter for two ($85) wowed everyone – an impressive crustacean tower comprising wood fired scampi, balmain bugs and king prawns, sitting on a bed of tasty marinated octopus, mussels and vongole done in garlic, chilli and olive oil.  We LOVED the variation on bread - crispy garlicky garlic naan to scare the vampires away.  I would have loved some chips with this, but oh well – as if there wasn’t enough carbs in the pasta/pizza!  Dad didn’t find the seafood that fresh though – maybe because we went on a monday night - or was it Friday that you’re not meant to have seafood??  (more…)

I finally got to try this Sydney icon Italian Restaurant idyllically located a stone’s throw from Russell Crowe’s apartment on Cowper Wharf Road (a.k.a. the finger wharf) in Woolloomooloo (bonus points if you can spell it without looking!).  It’s a Sydney institution and a highly sought after booking - evidenced by the hoards of good looking people dining there at the same time as us.   (Former) owner Alan Jones cruised in halfway through our meal somewhat unnoticed – I’m afraid he’s going to take a back seat to the food.  I had the scallops for my entree – four plump scallops, seared and served on a bed of white asparagus puree, with fennel and blood oranges scattered across, drizzled with a Campari and blood orange dressing.  The wagyu carpaccio with truffle dressing, baby capers and rocket looked a work of art too good to eat – wafer thin slicse of tender beef spread over the plate with maximum visual appeal. 

I have learned my lesson not to do entree and main with pasta as my entree, so I had an entree sized pasta as my main in order to fit in dessert. Again my favourite scallops spaghettini, spanner crab meat, lemon in a sauce of shellfish tomato brodo.  Personally I would have preferred a sauce that was either more saucy or more dressing like. This was in between like a broth, which certainly was tasty though!  I didn’t try the duck breast stuffed with apple, walnuts and wrapped in proscuitto came also with the leg – fall off the bone meat, in a rich jus on a bed of sauteed red cabbage.

I can’t decide what was the highlight – my entree or my dessert!  I couldn’t go past the warm Valrohna chocolate pudding with honey comb ice cream – a cakey crust that oozed the liquid gold – into the other gold – the shards of honeycomb and the (slightly melted) scoop of honey comb ice cream – amazing. Not good for the diet, cholesterol, blood sugar or any other health indicator!

The rustic looking rhubarb crumble tart was served on its own with your waiter dramatically drizzling the syrup on top to finish – well neither of us could finish our desserts due to their huge servings, but contentedly sat back to enjoy the people watching which comes for free.

 Otto Ristorante, Area 8, 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo

www.otto.net.au

I love popiah! Ever since Pauline and Eugene invited me over for a casual Saturday lunch of healthy yummy (uncooked) spring rolls Malaysian style. I must admit, I was seriously apprehensive to eat a raw spring roll wrapper. Thousands of rolls later – I am converted, and seeing professional popiah on the menu at the Malaya I was eager to go!  We had the set menu, at $40 head, which included 1 popiah each. Yum – the sauce was smeared on the inside and out, and each roll was tightly wrapped with prawns, vermicelli, chicken, beansprouts and nuts.  One is not enough! Alas no one declined theirs.  Second to come out – the ever popular Salt and Pepper King Prawns – quite good, a tad oily, but the right balance of salt and pepper and with a hint of fresh chilli.  I think they count them out exactly because one plate was smaller than the other due to our odd number. hmm.

I can’t comment on the Satay Lamb Skewers because I don’t eat lamb, but Simon assured me they were delicious and tender, smothered in peanut sauce.  I was indeed a fan of the peppered chicken – deep fried with fresh banana chillis, black beans and cashews.

We swapped the korma lamb with curried beef for me which was served with Roti Canai – flaky (oily) traditional wrappers/dippers for mopping up curry sauce. The beef was very tender and generous in size.  The Kwai Du (flat rice noodles with beansprouts, egg, prawns and chicken) was good.

And the stir fried bean sprouts with snow peas and chinese mushrooms were a refreshing break from all the meat.   More curry – prawns this time. I thought the sauce over powered the delicate meat slightly.. but by this time we were stuffed silly, and thinking about making the trek back to the office by foot to assist in balancing out the calorie intake.

 Its quite an up-market eatery – so it’s Malaysian fine dining , so expect prices to be higher than your local take away, but someone’s got to pay for the amazing views of cockle bay wharf! Good atmosphere too – the place was packed, and attentive staff.  Good for groups.

The Malaya, King Street Wharf. www.themalaya.com.au 

A beautiful day, a beautiful view and beautiful people – Ripples Cafe has undoubtedly one of the best views in the world, nestled beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with unbroken views of the harbour and Sydney Opera House framed beneath the bridge.  A gorgeous day for Sunday brunch,  I was looking forward to kicking back and enjoying watching the ferries and the world go by.  We were slightly puzzled as staff saw us, but didn’t hurry to bring us in.  A smile seemed to help and we were seated and offered drinks.  The meals are priced upwards of $10, but reasonable at below $20.  After a some time deciding, we settled on the corn and zucchini fritters; omelette with chorizo, and apple and rhubarb pancakes.

The fritters weren’t what I expected – not fluffy or thick as Bills’ corn fritters are.  Three per serve came with crispy delicious bacon, and drizzled generously with basil pesto, and topped with zesty dressed rocket leaves, with a dollop of avocado salsa ($14) – quite yummy.  The hash brown ($5.50) on the side (or in this case, on a plate on the food ) was homemade and not as satisfying as the deep fried version – and also comes in a full size at $12.90 with black pudding (yuck).  The open spanish omelette with chorizo, smoked mozarella and pesto (more pesto!) at $14 was generous and chocka block full of yummy chorizo. The cheese was a bit overpowering for me and I couldn’t taste much egg, but otherwise, a very satisfying meal.

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