Mojo Picon Stall @ The Entertainment Quarter Markets

rose apples

Markets lend themselves well to grazing. A proper meal can easily be forgone in favor of sample after sample from each different stall. However, at the Wednesday Entertainment Quarter Village Markets, a heaping plateful from Mojo Picon is an almost inevitable purchase.

Combo tapas with salad + mushrooms, $15.50

There is an eat-me aroma that lingers around the stall, successfully distracting market goers from their pursuit of fresh fruit n veg in favor of a lunch break. Many order a roll stuffed with prawns, chorizo or jamon serrano, but if your not big on bread like me you can choose a bed of salad instead, for an extra $. You definitely won’t miss the carbs, as portions are extremely generous, also justifying the seemingly pricey cost for market food served on a plastic plate. I ordered the Combo Tapas, with the notion of tapas as ‘little tastes of everything’ in mind. Not so – these are big tastes, both quantity and flavor wise. There are about 10 prawns to a serve, perfectly cooked and coated in a highly morish garlicky marinade. Beside these are thick slices of chorizo, not greasy, just meaty, with that mouthwatering, lingering smokyness. There is also alot of it – I took home 2/3 and used it for lunch the next day in a salad with some leftover salmon and veggies, and the day after that in an omelette. Add mushrooms for a nice, bouncy counterpart to the intense flavors of the prawns and chorizo. And very importantly, don’t forget to squeeze some of the Mojo Picon sauces onto your plate to have with your food. Made with all natural ingredients, there is a rich, slightly spicy aioli which I loved paired with the chorizo, a tangy salsa verde that goes well with the prawns, and a sweet barbecue sauce that’s good with everything. In fact they’re all good with everything, and available for purchase at the stall if your in love at first bite.

Oct 26, 2012 By missmars in Eastern Suburbs, Sydney Cafe/ Restaurants No Comments Tags: entertainment quarter, fox studios, markets, mojo picon, tapas

Branching out at Bills

salmon salad with coconut caramel dressing 26.00

I know that it’s hard to go past the scrambled eggs and hotcakes at fave breakfast destination Bills, but there are other menu items that I feel also deserve some lauding. Such as the salmon salad, with three neat hunks of perfectly seared medium-rare salmon, supplied by Mizuna, with raw crunchy cucumber, greens beans and slivers of radish. Herbs like vietnamese mint and coriander are left whole and used like salad leaves, but the dressing is my favorite touch, a drizzle of toasted coconut palm sugar caramel, tempering all that intense freshness. Order with the japanese lime green tea, and you may just have your second favorite Bills meal (but hotcakes and hot chocolate will always be my firm first too .

zuchini fries in Greece

Also recently tried the zuchinni fries (unpictured), a relatively new addition to dinner at the Surry Hills destination. I first tried these in Greece earlier this year and fell in love with the light, tempura like batter and fleshy green innards, more or less soft according to different Tavernas. A squeeze of lemon and a dip of tzatiki, and you’d polish them off poolside in your bikini without a care in the world. They’ve tried hard at Bills, soaking the zuchinni in milk before frying to tenderize, but the batter is too heavy and they’re just a little flavorless. But maybe it’s my romanticized holiday memory talking.

Mm X

Sep 20, 2012 By missmars in Sydney Cafe/ Restaurants No Comments Tags: Bills restaurant, Greece, lunch, surry hills, woollahra, zucchini fries

Johnny Wongs Dumpling Bar, Surry Hills

Recently, my friend Yael celebrated her birthday at LoFi, a little bar on Bourke St. On my way there, her younger brother Jesse sent me these directions - ‘We’re here, upstairs on floor up from the dumpling place as you come up’. This left me confused – looking for a bar, above a dumpling restaurant, above something else?

After getting my odds n even numbers confused and trekking a considerable distance down Bourke St in the wrong direction, I eventually came to what I thought was number 383. Approaching the entrance, I saw that LoFi is written in black tape on a dark glass door - of course, it’s in vogue to be inconspicuous.

Though they read strangely, Jesse’s directions were indeed accurate, as Johnny Wong’s is the first thing you see as you make your way up the stairs to either Lofi on level 2 or The Standard just above. A very convenient location, as about an hour later Jesse was hungry though didn’t even have to leave the building. Since opening officially on August 1st, Johnny Wong’s is the latest restaurant aiming to sate Sydney’s appetite for dumplings. Open till 2am, it may also aid in the prevention of a desperate pre-cab greasy food jaunt, though like a fast-food joint the vibe is super casual.

Pages torn from Japanese newspapers cover the left hand wall, the majority of which appear to be rather risqué advertisements – the maitre’d said that the people who did it were all men, which could explain it. The opposite wall is all pale brick, though there are plans to install a 1.5m x 1.5m neon sign of the round ‘Johnny Wong’ logo, printed on everything from the cocktail cups, the napkins, even the soy sauce bottles. I think these guys have branding down. Speaking of branding, love the name Johnny Wong – such a ring to it. Paper lanterns are also a motif, with one large and oriental patterned hanging in the centre of the space, and a row of smaller red lanterns lining a shelf along the newspaper wall, beside all sizes of paw-dipping Chinese cats (apparently they’re meant to bring prosperity and good luck).

Aug 10, 2012 By missmars in CBD/ Inner City, Sydney Cafe/ Restaurants 4 Comments

Reuben Hills, Surry Hills

With so many twenty-twelve additions to the Surry Hills scene, excitement can easily be turned to skepticism surrounding all the hype. Too much tends to have an ironic buzz kill effect. But curiosity always compels me to visit these places in the end.

Iced Latte

Since opening on New Years Day, Reuben Hills has garnered much attention for their coffee, roasted on site, and Cuban-esque specialties, including empanadas, baleadas and dulce de leche laced desserts. My Dad used to live in Chile, which I know isn’t the same as Cuba but they both do empanadas and they are one of his fav foods, so I brought him along to test.

The space has been given the typical industrial treatment, with sandy brick walls, concrete floors, and perpendicular beams. More unique touches like the odd fluorescent light, dark teal tabletop tiles and tea served in china cups elevate the look. I like the pale wooden floorboards used on the ceiling, their golden color creating warmth amongst the grey.

Jun 16, 2012 By missmars in CBD/ Inner City, Sydney Cafe/ Restaurants No Comments Tags: brunch, CBD/inner city, Reuben Hills, surry hills

Chiswick, Woollahra

Complete with tree-lined path, flowing fountain and a neatly groomed hedge lining the elegant white building, Chiswick is exactly the kind of place I’d picture an English garden party, complete with strawberries, champagne and ladies wearing fancy full brimmed hats. Not that much of a stretch of the imagination, considering that such events wouldn’t be out of place in Woollahra. Indeed, the restaurant has been flocked to by the local Ladies who Lunch, but for now the bustling vibe and helpful service keeps stuffiness at bay. However, Chiswick is undeniably an Eastern Suburbs scene, a hotspot to see and be seen, but this is to be expected when you mesh a celebrity chef, suburbia and all the current ‘casual eating’, ‘kitchen-garden’ buzzwords.

The impressive re-vamp of the former Prunier’s site has also drawn crowds, us included – I came with the fam as my parents were married at Prunier’s and were curious to re-visit. Funnily enough, our table was in the same place as their bridal table was.

The new décor makes you feel like your dining in a very well decorated home, with inviting touches like coat hooks, brightly colored rugs and oversized lamps creating warmth in the open plan dining room, looking out onto the garden through cream framed floor-to-ceiling windows.

The kitchen-garden is also the focus of the food, emphasizing seasonal, sustainable produce. A hybrid of Moran’s famous fine dining style and a ‘local bistro’ ethos, the menu strikes a balance between comfort and un-familiarity, recognizable flavors yet not things that the average person would cook at home. There is an emphasis on share plates, which adds to the dinner party feel.

Pulled veal ravioli, soy beans, cornichons, shiso $20

Jun 13, 2012 By missmars in Eastern Suburbs, Sydney Cafe/ Restaurants 3 Comments