Al Carbón @ La Lupita Pop-Up Restaurant, Canterbury

In general, I’m not into pop-ups, food trucks and other trendy things. However, I do love good food, and am always willing to try something new. So when I heard that the home of the famed Al Carbón food truck was just up the road from me in Canterbury, and that it was (occasionally) home to a pop-up restaurant called La Lupita, I was intrigued to try it.

Hartsyard, Newtown – revisited

Since our first trip to Hartsyard on their opening night, we’ve been looking forward to going back and trying other dishes… and trying the duck again! This time we brought four others with us so that we could order just about everything on the menu.

Da Vinci’s, Summer Hill

On Thursday nights, my mum and I have dinner together. We try to keep it local and inexpensive – the Entertainment Book vouchers come in handy! We recently realised that despite being so close to Summer Hill, we’d never been there for dinner. So we rocked on over to give Da Vinci’s a try.

Pasta alla boscaiola and an Ischia bianco

As seen on Masterchef Food Hub

Pasta all boscaiola, or ‘woodman’s pasta’, is a classic Italian dish which is in essence a combination of mushrooms, pancetta and cream. Some recipes include tomato, but I prefer mine without – which I assume is the earlier, original version anyway. It can be absolutely heavenly when properly and freshly made and feels oh, so very indulgent!

Mut jup mun gai yik (a.k.a. honey soy chicken wings) and a lovely riesling

These sticky wings are absolutely divine and incredibly popular with young and old alike. According to my parents, this has been my favourite food since before I could talk!

Surjits Indian Restaurant, Annandale

We love Surjit’s! Whether it’s home delivery or eat-in, the service is great and the food, impeccable. We highly recommend the Madrasi Gosht Curry, the Shahi Paneer and the lamb shanks – but generally everything we’ve tried is fantastic. Each curry is unique, none are too sweet or overly-spiced, and I never feel queasy after eating them. The breads are freshly cooked in the tandoor till deliciously flaky and golden.

Zenobia Lebanese Restaurant, Leichhardt

Zenobia is a Lebanese restaurant set in a lovely sandstone house on Norton St. The other night my dad, brother and I popped in on the spur of the moment and happily found a table free for us.

Osvaldo Polletti, Leichhardt

Another weekend, another dinner voucher to use! This time at Osvaldo Polletti, a ‘home-style’ Italian restaurant on Norton Street. My first impressions were good – the decor is beautifully simple and comforting, and the staff are clearly pros. I love their chairs too.

Grasshopper, CBD

Nom Nom Pom had been telling me about Grasshopper for months, and we recently had the opportunity to try it out. It is hidden down a laneway. It is a small bar. It is unusual for Sydney. That’s all I’ll say. (I refuse to use the M- word in this post, so overused!!)

Tetsuya Degustation Dinner

Recently, my good friend Chef Al and I had the opportunity to meet my favourite chef, Tetsuya Wakuda. We were so inspired by the simplicity of his dishes that we decided to hold a degustation dinner of our own for some special lady-friends. Each lady-friend brought along a wine to match one of the courses plus a stinky cheese to help round off the night.