Longrain, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia

April 2015

Longrain is a South East Asia restaurant in Sydney and Melbourne. Out of all the dishes the duck was the most memorable.

Ma Hor -caramelised pork, prawns, peanuts, sour pineapple (6 pieces) $16

Betel leaf, smoked river trout, peanut relish, green mango $6 each

Salt & pepper silken tofu, sweet soy, lime $16

Penang curry duck, peanuts, snake beans and crispy whitebait $38

Green jungle curry, market fish, bamboo shoots, Thai eggplant, holy basil $36

Caramelised pork hock, five spice, chilli vinegar  $33.50

The Duck Master, Wai Tan, Sydney, Australia

May 2015

Wai Tan is a Chinese Restaurant in Sydney's Chinatown known for its peaking duck.

Duck breast, preserved egg terrine

DIY Peaking Duck Pancakes

Duck San Choy Bow

Soup

Street Art, Melbourne CBD, Australia

Melbourne is often referred to as the street art capital of Australia, and the CBD is a perfect example of where you can stumble across lanes and alleys full of recent additions to the city walls.

Sometimes all you need to do is look up

Pablo & Rusty's, Sydney, Australia

April 2015

There is always a good reason for Brunch and this day was a great day to try Pablos & Rusty's in Sydney's CBD.

Tasmanian King Salmon cured in Beetroot with zucchini & dill fritters $24

Seared carpaccio with baby beets $23

The food was good, filling and had a bit of a twist on what you expected.

Mamak, Chatswood, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

Mamak is a Malaysian restaurant in Sydney, known for its Satay and Roti.

Chicken/ beef satay $16 for mixed dozen

Roti bawang With lashings of sweet red onions $6.50

Kari ikan  A tangy fish curry cooked with fresh tomatoes, okra and eggplant $17

4Fourteen, Sydney, Australia

December 2014

This is a very delayed blog post, but I visited 4Fourteen the week before flying out for my Round the World trip, which also happened to be the week before Christmas. Life's gotten in the way, but it was definitely an experience and place I wanted to mention, hence why nearly 5 months later you're hearing about it.

Lychee Mocktail

Kingfish, citrus, cucumber, gin and tonic ice $22

Pork Belly
Pumpkin, Charred Onions, Prosciutto $34 

Chefs Gallery, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

Chef's Gallery is a Chinese restaurant with multiple locations in Sydney, known for its handmade noodles. My favourite however is the Duck Roti.

Duck Roti $16.90

Prawn and Pork Wonton handmade noodles in Shanghai Spicy Sauce $13.90

Wok Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork $16.90

The Gap, Watsons Bay, Sydney, Australia

March 2015

Located East of the Sydney CBD, The Gap is a popular lookout point.

The day I visited was wet and overcast, but there were still views to be had up and down the coast.

If you continue to walk along the coastline from the Gap, you will run into Macquarie Lighthouse.

The Gap and Lighthouse can be accessed from Sydney by bus or ferry.

Butchers Block, Wahroonga, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

The Butcher's Block is located in the Sydney suburb of Wahroonga. The popular cafe often has a wait for Saturday breakfast (its not open on Sunday's) but this morning we were lucky.

pulled pork benedict

smoked paprika hollandaise, poached egg, sourdough, crackling

ricotta hotcakes

caramelized citrus fruits, blueberries, double cream

The food and the coffee were good, but I'm not sure its a place I'd wait an hour for brunch on a Saturday.

Lid & Jar, Chatswood, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

Located in Chatswood, in the Northern suburbs of Sydney, Lid & Jar is cafe with an emphasis on hand brewed coffee and cold press juice.

Tropical Cold Press Juice (Pineapple, passionfruit & coconut water) $9.30

Fresh Corn Fritters with bacon, rocket, cherry tomatoes and avocado salsa $17

Lid & Jar Beef Burger $20

Felix, Sydney, Australia

March 2015

Felix is a French restaurant in Sydney's CBD, that is part of the Merivale Group.

Citrus cured kingfish and watermelon tartare with feta avocado and cucumber $20

I've been to Felix twice now and both times I've ordered the same thing. The Cervice and the Steak Tartare. Maybe next time I'll order something different?

Hand cut steak tartare  $32

The Food Society, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

The Food Society is an Eastern European restaurant in Darlinghurst, a short walk from Hyde Park in Sydney. My particular favourite of the night was the cauliflower, and I definitely preferred the small plates over the large plates.

Watermelon Iced Tea $10

Grilled octopus and prawns marinated in paprika and fresh lemon (gf) $17 

Fried cauliflower with paprika, parsley, watercress and reduced red wine vinegar (v) $15 

Double smoked pork neck with quince gel, baby herbs and creme fraiche (gf) $14 

 Selection of cured meats, pistachio and chilli mortadella, truffle salami and char grilled 'csabai' pork sausage with housemade condiments and pickles $22

Pan seared chicken breast, lightly pickled heriloom carrots, red pepper puree, kale chips and pearl barley (gf) $24 

Rye crumbed veal cutlet, sweet polish red cabbage, horseradish cream and fresh chervil $32

Mr Wongs, Sydney, Australia

February 2015

Mr Wongs is a Chinese restaurant that is part of the Merivale Group in Sydney.

I actually went to Mr Wongs twice in February. Once for Yum Cha and once for dinner

The duck room at Mr Wongs

 Yum Cha

Steamed BBQ pork buns $9.8

Crispy pork and asparagus wonton with Sichuan sauce $15

Aromatic duck spring roll $12

Pork and prawn shumai $12

Prawn rice roll $13

I was disappointed with Yum Cha. There wasn't much variety, Mr Wongs is famous for their duck and the only duck item was the duck spring rolls. There are far better Yum Cha places in Sydney.

Dinner

I was much more impressed with their dinner menu. They are famous for the duck, in particular the duck pancakes and these were fabulous. The two surprises dishes of the night were the Sweet and Sour Crispy Pork Hock and the Deep Fried Ice Cream with Butterscotch Sauce (yes really).
 

Deep-fried dim sum platter (6 pieces) – A selection of today’s specialties $25

Steamed dim sum platter (8 pieces) – A selection of today’s specialties $32

Peking duck pancakes - half (8 pancakes) $45

Twice cooked green beans with pork mince and XO sauce $19

Sweet and sour crispy pork hock $28

Mr. Wong’s deep fried vanilla ice cream served with butter scotch sauce $15