PS Cafe, Dulwich Hill

This cute cafe is a welcome addition to the area, and seems to be doing a roaring trade already. We popped in for Saturday brunch and by the time we left at 11am, the place was packed!

Grub & Tucker, Newtown

Despite being relatively quiet, we waited for 10 minutes then ended up getting our own menus. Not a great start. Then when we were finally acknowledged by someone, the waiter was brusque to the point of rudeness. Could the food make up for the shortcomings of the waitstaff?

I like the Duke. Of all the pubs around I think it has the best value food, and the courtyard is cute and cosy. It never gets too packed for comfort and has a relaxed atmosphere, reflected in the staff’s friendly and laidback manner. They also serve up until 10pm on the weekend which is great for a late night out – plus, as we discovered on this occasion, the menu is 25% off from 12-5pm weekends!

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.

Plunge Cafe, Summer Hill

This was a random find on a Saturday lunchtime and we were really happy with our discovery. To begin with, the coffee was good and beautifully presented.

La Kazbah, Balmain

I came here for the first time last year for a birthday breakfast with my ladies. I have been back several times and chose it for my birthday breakfast again this year.

On this occasion, “Mr Black” tried the breakfast tagine (non-vegetarian of course) and was blown away. I adore it as well; perfectly spiced lamb mince with feta, eggs, spinach, roast capsicum and tomato, served with two kinds of bread. Arghlghlghlghl. He even said it’s one of his top five meals ever!