reflections

Our Place on Darling

I will always remember 9 August 2009 as the night I ate spotted dick with lashings of cream. It was delicious.

We went out to dinner at "Our Place on Darling" with the Nguyens and the Farago/Hovorkas. After having confused the Farago/Hovorkas with the name of the restaurant - they thought that the dinner was at our home - we enjoyed a nice meal in good company.

All the dishes were fantastic. I had a crab meat souffle for entree, which was simply divine. Clare had quail egg, which had a myriad of flavours that exploded in the mouth. My main was a tasting plate that included pork belly with a beetroot rosti. I know it is a big call, but it was better than the pork belly at China Doll, which had been my benchmark until now.

The surprise came when the desert menus arrived and one of the options was "spotted dick". Upon enquiring, the embarassed waitress told us that it was a traditional warm english pudding. I had to be brave and try it and was not dissappointed. It was a great finale to the meal.

All in all, I highly recommend "Our Place on Darling". The restaurant has a nice ambiance with very friendly service. However, the highlight - as it always should be when dining at a restaurant - was the food.

Photo originally uploaded by Our Place on Darling.

The Da Vinci Code

My cousin Thanuja and her family were visiting Sydney this weekend. Clare, Josh and I took them and my parents out to dinner in Summer Hill. The restaurant is called "Da Vinci's Italian Restaurant" and before we went I had a look at eatability.com.au to read a few reviews.

The different reviews posted by diners were almost schizophrenic. Half were full of praise for the service and food, others were scathing in their criticism. I was certainly curious to experience it myself.

I came away with mostly positive feelings. The service was excellent, but the quality of the food varied. Some meals like my risotto marinara were delicious. Others were ordinary. On the whole however, it was a nice experience. I specially enjoyed the Affogato with vanilla gelato instead of ice cream. 

It was also nice to spend some time with my cousin and her family because I don't see them very often. In fact it was the first time I met their young daughter. My parents are also thinking of returning to Sri Lanka soon, so I will be trying to see them as often as possible over the next few weeks.

Uyghur Restaurant

A busy weekend of activities was capped off with dinner at Chinatown's Uyghur Restaurant and a delicious homebaked cake at Tung and Sylvia's place. It had been a busy weekend. In addition to the dinner at the African Feeling on Friday night (see previous post), we went to the gym, caught up with some pirates at Cafe Lounge, had a family lunch and went to the motor show.

Having worked up an appetite at the motor show, I suggested that we dine at the Uyghur Restaurant in Little Hay Street. James had introduced me to this place a few weeks ago and I had been dying to try it again. The atmosphere is unique to say the least. The decor is best described as chinese minimalist, but the atmosphere was set by the TV in the corner blaring Uyghur music. Imagine watching a music video of a Bollywood song, sung in Arabic by Chinese singers, and you get the picture.

The food itself is a delicious blend of Chinese and Middle Eastern traditions. All the dishes are Halal and no alcohol can be purchased. We ate lamb skewers, tasty chicken, stir fried beans, dumplings and beef with the obligatory rice. The food was delicious with very unique flavours. The selection of beverages was also unusual. In true Chinese tradition green tea was served upon arrival, but there were limitations to the available juices. They simply did not have apple or orange juice and the only fruit drink available was Uyghur style cherry juice.

According to Wikipedia, the Uyghurs originate from Central Asia and between 745 to 840 their empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to Manchuria. The Middle Eastern influences to their culture come from being conquered and occupied for long stretches of times by the Turks. Today the Uyghurs are part of the vastly diverse Chinese kaleidoscope of ethnic groups and are fighting (mostly peacefully) for independence.

Photos originally uploaded by AugustusGloop.

African Feeling

A weekend of scrumptious food started on Friday night at the African Feeling restaurant in Newtown. The occasion was a UPS alumni reunion organised by Keith. UPS was one of Clare's many previous jobs and I was the tagalong.

African Feeling is located at the southern end of Newtown on King street. Over the last couple of years some excellent restaurants have blossomed in this stretch. African Feeling is one of the few restaurants that serve genuine african food. We had a banquet of delicious food that included dumplings, banana chips, prawns in a succulent tomato sauce and lamb tangine. If you haven't tried African food before, I strongly recommend this restaurant. It is an intimate setting and the decor transports the diners to Africa.

Although I didn't know many of Clare's former colleagues, I did know Keith and his wife Leigh. We haven't seen either of them in quite some time and it was great to catch up with them again and to swap stories.

La Tavola

One of the best memories I have of Italy is eating at the local Trattoria around the corner from our hotel. The atmosphere was casual and informal, the service was warm and personal, and food was simply divine.

Sydney has some fantastic Italian restaurants with some delicious gourmet dishes. However, until recently I hadn't found a Trattoria that provided the real Italian food without the trappings of fine dining. To my joy, two weeks ago I spotted a newly refurbished restaurant near Joshua's soccer training. Even though I couldn't see very much from the outside, my instincts told me that this could be the genuine Trattoria I had been looking for.

I wasn't disappointed. Upon entry we were greeted by a smiling Italian and the welcoming aromas of garlic, olive oil and tomatoes. We ordered a combination of pasta and pizza dishes. Everything was absolutely delicious. The pizzas had the right balance of ingredients and the perfect base that only allowed you to eat your slice folded in half like a sandwich. The pastas were homemade with rich sauces that were simply divine.

If you ever want some genuine Italian food, I highly recommend trying "La Tavola" on Ramsey Street, Haberfield. It has become one of our weekly dining destinations after soccer training.

Photo originally uploaded by Le Haricot.

Soul Food

A few months ago a few of us went to "The Soul Food Kitchen" in Ultimo for some authentic southern american cuisine. The food was fantastic with each bite making us feel like our arteries were getting clogged up just a little bit more, but the food so full of flavour that we could not stop eating more. If you have never tried soul food I highly recommend it.

This time however, there was a twist. There were only five of us going, so I did not make a booking. However when we got to the restaurant, I noticed something amiss. Not only was the place dead empty, but the big black american chef who greeted us last time was nowhere to be seen. Upon closer inspection, we realised that The Soul Food Kitchen had closed down and the Glasgow Arms had simply reverted to pub grub. It was too late to switch venues, so we ate there. It was a nice evening in good company, but the food certainly wan't an experience to be repeated.

The night reminded Clare and I of our first ever date. I wanted to take her to this great Caribbean restaurant that I knew of. I called, made a booking, did all the right things. To my great surprise, and after all that planning, when we got to the place the restaurant was boarded up. When I called the number to find out what had happened, they told me that they had now moved to Parramatta, but had neglected to tell me. Clare was a good sport and simply laughed at my embarrassment. We ended up going to a Thai restaurant nearby and had a nice night, but as you can imagine it didn't do my first date nerves any good.

Photo was originally uploaded by Soul Fusion Kitchen

Dinner at Ginger & Spice

On Friday night Clare, Joshua and I had dinner with Irene in Neutral Bay. At Irene's recommendation we ate at the Ginger & Spice Singapore Restaurant and the food was among the best Singaporean / Malaysian food I have had in the recent past.

When we walked into the restaurant we were immediately drawn further in by the enchanting aromas of spices and condiments. A friendly greeting at the door adds to the warm welcome and signalled a pleasant start to the evening. The menu offered a good selection of dishes that would satisfy most tastes (even Clare's peculiar abhorence of chilli could be easily accomodated), but without presenting an overwhelming number of choices as some restaurants make the mistake of doing.

None of us being overly hungry, we ordered four mains to share with rice. All dishes proved to be delicious and complimented each other very nicely. The curry chicken had the perfect blend of coconut milk and spices to stimulate the palate. The Gado Gado proved to be an excellent side dish with a shrimp sauce that was a perfect complement to the curry. The sweet chilli octupus was the biggest surprise. I have not been able to eat octopus since my last disastrous attempt to cook it a few months ago. However the chef had found a delicious blend of spices to allow me to enjoy it again. Even Clare enjoyed the dish despite sweating profusely during the meal as she coped with the chilli. Joshua struggled bravely with a couple of octupi before giving up and chugging down two glasses of orange juice. However he attacked the sweet and sour prawns with a vengence and didn't leave anything for the kitchenhand to wash on the dish.

The evening was very enjoyable. We haven't seen Irene in quite some time and the conversation, food and the atmosphere proved an excellent chance to wind down from a tough week and to get the weekend off to a flying start. I highly recommend Ginger & Spice Singapore Restaurant to anyone seeking a good dining experience in a relaxed and initimate atmosphere.

Photo originally uploaded by Gettyimages