Archive for the ‘VVV’ Category
V Rating: VVV I have a theory that there are some restaurants the universe prevents me from reviewing. I’ll visit them time after time, but scandal, bacchanalian excess, or forgetfulness always conspire to stop me from getting my thoughts in to a post. The problem is most acute for two of my mainstay restaurants in Bondi, Thai Terrific and Bondi Social. Determined not to fall victim to this curse again, I made a concerted effort to bring my camera and notebook last time we visited Bondi Social. Bondi Social is a stylish first floor restaurant and bar in the heritage listed (and oddly named) Cairo Mansions complex on Campbell Parade. It’s one of my favourite spots in Sydney to while away time. I liked it so much that Andy and I had our engagement party here in 2005. The interior designer of Bondi Social got that the restaurant’s biggest asset is its best on the beach-front view of Bondi Beach, and kept the stylings welcoming but minimalist. There are polished wooden floors, benches and tables that seem to flow into each other, and white walls. The room, which was formerly an apartment, is small but cleverly one side wall is lined with mirrors so that it reflects the view and create the illusion that you’re looking out of windows. About a year ago Bondi Social moved to a Modern Australian tasting menu concept. The dinner dishes are stil loosely themed as starters, entrees and mains, but you receive the dishes in smaller portions at the same time and are intended to share them with everyone at the table. There were three of us for dinner, and we ended up ordering five dishes. All the dishes are about the size of a tapas plate, so you’re better to err towards ordering more rather than fewer.
We started with the marinated olives (cutely served in a glass) and the beetroot, honey and lemon thyme dip with Turkish bread.
We shared sauteed green beans with macadamia nuts and spanish onion.
I liked the baked artichoke hearts with aged parmesan and sage. The artichoke flesh was soft and favourful, with each layer holding its shape.
The asparagus, haloumi, goats cheese, and fresh fig was also a hit. The fresh figs were the star of this dish, adding a lovely, soft pink colour, and a cool, sweet taste. It’s a pleasure to find a Modern Australian restaurant that provides a selection of vegetarian dishes. With such great, fresh produce in Australia, it’s a real bugbear of mine that Modern Australian chefs treat vegetables as no more than a garnish or an accompaniment to meat, poultry or seafood.
V Rating: VVV On a recent Friday night, Andy, our visiting friend, Adam, and I were driving aimlessly between my work and the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney as I tried to think of a new Italian restaurant to try. Sensing that we were literally on the road to nowhere, Andy announced that he was taking us to one of his old haunts: Isabella’s in Randwick.
Isabella’s is a friendly, warm, characterful restaurant. It has the offbeat charm of a local, student-friendly restaurant (if not the prices). The walls are brightly painted, with large mirrors and low-hanging lights. Although the restaurant is in a single room, the area is broken up by sidings and high arrangements of flowers, so you feel like you’re eating in more intimate surrounds. There are even a few tables on the sidewalk outside, overlooking Alison Road and a park. Isabella’s offers six vegetarian starters and six vegetarian pasta dishes. I was impressed that the vegetarian dishes weren’t the standard ‘napolitana’ and ‘mushroom risotto’ options, and looked like some thought had gone into making them. Adam tried the verdura, a vegetable pasta with feta served in either a creamy tomato or basil sauce.
I had the creamy sundried tomato pesto sauce.
Andy tried the arrabiata, a tomato sauce with roasted eggplant and capsicum, chili and garlic. Unlike most of the Isabella dishes, this came without cheese or cream, so seemed suitable for vegans.
Our dishes were large and filling, if not exciting. I love broccoli so was very happy to find a pasta where it was the feature ingredient. I’m not a fan of cream sauces, but mine was light and moderated by the tomato base. I can’t review the seafood side of Isabella’s as none of our party eat creatures of the deep. However, it did occur to me that Isabella’s might be a good choice of venue for seafood-loving families stuck with a rogue vegetarian, given the menu caters well for both. Another bonus feature is that Isabella’s is BYO, and is right next door to a bottle shop with a great range of wines from Australia and overseas. I was really taken with Isabella’s friendly ambiance and left of centre charm. It felt like the kind of place you turn gratefully to on a weeknight or lazy Sunday evening, when you want a pleasant, homely, no strings attached experience.
V Rating: VVV Nothing is more synonymous with Bondi Beach than a sprawling blue sky, breaking surf, and a long stretch of white sand curving from cliff to cliff. But every time I walk by Le Paris-Go Cafe on Hall Street, it’s like a snapshot of a certain idly beautiful lifestyle that’s also contributed to Bondi’s fame. Perhaps that’s why Le-Paris Go has become something of a Bondi institution. On Saturday morning I wandered down for an early morning breakfast. It was already busy, but I spied a stool at bench at an open window and bumped my way through the throngs.
There were people squeezing onto couches, striped banquettes, outside benches and small wooden tables. Adding an appropriately Parisian touch were wall murals of the Palais Versailles and a cheeky looking gargoyle. Dogs waited outside, keeping an eye on their owners sitting barely a metre away. Best of all, two walls of the cafe had long windows that opened completely, filling the cafe with fresh air and letting the outside life in.
Despite the crowds, my coffee came quickly. There was a choice of ten vegetarian options, and plenty of ’sides’ if you preferred to make up your own meal. But I couldn’t go past the breakfast burrito with refried beans, guacamole, scrambled eggs and sour cream. It wasn’t the best breakfast burrito I’d had in my life. I liked the fact it came with a salad but the tortilla was a little greasy, and there was a slight vinegary taste to the refried bean and guacamole filling. But you know what? I didn’t care. With the wind quietly blowing in through the open window, a great soy cappucino under my belt, and soft guitar music playing over the sound system, I was happy. V Rating: VVV This restaurant has a fabulous view over the Labrang Monastery and is right in the Tibetan part of Xiahe town. The food is predominantly Tibetan, but there are also Chinese dishes and western breakfast foods on offer. In terms of Tibetan foods, the options for mains are fairly limited. (However, there is a good range of vegetarian dishes in the chinese section of the menu) I had been hoping for some vegetarian momos (Tibetan dumplings) but they only had the yak variety.
The only vegetarian Tibetan main dish is thukpa, which is a soup with a slightly spicy broth, flat and long noodles, spring onions, green pepper and coriander. The soup was delicious and had a great flavour, although was pretty heavy on the noodles. There was also a range of traditional Tibetan foods made out of yaks cheese/butter, sugar, flour and spices. We tried two types: choozin and tsampa. I found the mix of sweet and salty to be initially a little off-putting. The choozin was served in thin slices and had a taste best described as a mix of milo and salty cheese. The tsampa had a more moderate flavour and was served as soft balls.
Tibetan breakfast foods are also on offer. The following morning I tried a mix of yaks butter, sugar and hot water to make a dipping sauce for thick white Tibetan bread. The bread was nice, but once again the contrast of sweet and salty and the overpowering taste of yak makes this perhaps an acquired taste. The best thing about the Nomad restaurant is really the experience, the ability to sit back whilst surrounded by colourfully attired locals, take in the view, and sip on bottomless cups of chinese or muslim tea (tea leaves with sugar and fruit).Tibetan breakfast foods are also on offer. - Anth from Temporary Dwellings
V Rating: VVV I didn’t have to be asked twice when some friends asked if we’d be interested in an Indian meal on Saturday night at Darbar on Glebe Point Road. However, I kept my excitement in check because Indian restaurants in Sydney have been one of the great disappointments of living here. I’m sure great places exist, but to date I’ve largely encountered places that have great food and no atmosphere, or lovely decor and unispiring food. That doesn’t stop me hoping to find Indian nirvana but after 3 plus years in sin city I prepare myself for disappointment before trying somewhere new. Despite my pessisism, my first impression of Darbar was positive. The restaurant has exposed sandstone walls and glass partitions, which evokes a sense of history without the dark, squashed interiors of many older buildings. At the sight of the menu, my lips began to smack. There are 13 vegetarian entrees (and the rest of the entree section which follows is just called ‘non-veg’), and nine vegetarian mains. Our friends were seasoned Indian travellers and so we took their advice when ordering. We ended up with a family-sized masala dosa for entree.
For mains, we had the Aloo Ghobi Methi Ka Tuk, Palak Paneer, Darbar Tadhka Daal, and the Gutti Vankai. We also ordered the Darbar Chaat, which is an entree, to accompany the mains. I judge all Indian restaurants by their palak paneer, and on this count Darbar stacked up. The spinach sauce was quite light, and the chunks of paneer were large and tasted fresh. The slices of fresh ginger as a garnish was a nice touch.
What made Darbar stand out from other Indian restuarants I’ve been to in Sydney is that they offer more than the standard Indian fare. I loved being able to have the masala dosa for entree, and the chaat, in addition the standard Indian curries.
Darbar isn’t quite Indian nirvana, but the food and atmosphere are a cut above the average Indian restaurant in Sydney.
V Rating: VVV My friend, J, the, and I went to see the beautiful, moving and original Pan’s Labyrinth on Thursday night at the Palace Academy cinema on Oxford Street. The movie started at 7pm, and I was determined to squeeze in dinner beforehand. However, I often find myself at a loss for a good restaurant at the top end of Oxford Street. We wandered past the small cluster of restaurants between the cinema and Taylor Square, ruling out food we’d eaten the previous night (Thai, Japanese) and somehow ended up in front of Cantina. As I’ve written about before, for many years I avoided tapas bars because I assumed that they wouldn’t be vegetarian friendly. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by both Kika and Mojos, but after Cantina I’m a convert. Their delicious food proved to me beyond a doubt that tapas is a vegetarian friendly affair.
Cantina offers some classic Spanish tapas dishes, but the menu also draws on Spain’s Mediterranean neighbours, Portugal, Greece and Morocco. We ordered the patas bravas, sauteed baby spinach with toasted slivered almonds and raisins, sauteed field mushrooms with garlic and parsley, and roasted beet salad with goats cheese dressing and walnuts.
Cantina’s food was simple, but beautifully prepared. The roast beet salad was a highlight. Using the goats cheese as a dressing and drizzling it over the beets was a great improvement on crumbling it into the salad, which is the way I’ve eaten this salad before.
The spinach sauteed in a slightly creamy broth was just beautiful with the sweet raisins and almonds, and had both of us reaching for more. I am a sucker for a potato dish, and judge tapas bars on the quality of their patas bravas (cubed, fried potatoes in a chili, onion and tomato sauce). Cantina gets full marks. The perfectly cubed, bite-sized potato was golden and crispy on the outside, and the tomato sauce was spicy without being too hot. In fact, these were so good I found myself (accidentally) eating straight from the tapas dish. Ahh, the social challenges of eating food off small plates. Fortunately J, the was too polite to comment.
We didn’t have time to try Cantina’s desserts, but with classic choices like creme catalana, churros and saffron poached pears it’s on my to do list for next time. I’ve wavered before Cantina on other occasions when I’ve been to the Verona or Academy, but always averred in favour of one of its neighbours. Perhaps it is the beautiful, but slightly sombre decor, quite different from the exuberance of some of Sydney’s other tapas bars. What a fool! The food is a cut above, and the service is friendly, professional and fast. It’s the perfect place for dinner before or after a movie at the Palace, but would also make a lovely choice for a lingering night with friends. Definitely a new favourite.
V Rating: VVV Swell restaurant is one of a handful of cafes on a short strip of road overlooking Bronte Beach. Like the local residents, each cafe is immaculately presented, with an easy charm and an appreciation for the finer things in life.
Arriving slightly sweaty and red-faced from the coastal walk, I was almost intimated by its breezy, beautiful look. Like a little piece of California in Bronte, Swell has an open, clean design, and friendly waiting staff with perfect tans set off by crisp white shirts. However, we soon settled into our outdoor table and scanned the breakfast menu. The Swell menu reminded me a little of bills: simple food built around fresh ingredients and presented with flair.
There were plenty of options for vegetarians, including banana bread with berries and ricotta, an egg white omelette with mushrooms, roasted tomato and spinach, fresh fruit with vanilla yoghurt and muesli or granola. As with most breakfast menus, vegans had fewer choices, although the fresh fruit and muesli options seemed adaptable and you could make up your own meal from the extensive range of sides. The menu was reasonably expensive, even by Eastern Suburbs standards, but it was clear from the food that you were paying for quality produce, not simply a view of the Bronte breaks. My friend and Canberra reviewer, AC, chose the roasted pumpkin, spinach and feta on Turkish toast. It came with poached eggs, which he substituted for hash browns. He seemed very content with this choice.
Two other friends tried the swell granola with fresh banana and vanilla yoghurt, and the bircher muesli with a fresh fruit compote.
Andy had his typically spartan poached eggs on toast. He ordered a side of mushrooms, but received roasted tomatoes instead. Fortunately, I had ordered (and received) mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and avocado on toast, so could confirm that the tomatoes were the better option.
My dish was not off the menu - I put together three sides on toast. I debated this because the Swell dishes seemed carefully composed, but when a produce supplier walked through carrying a box of taut, plump avocados I couldn’t resist. Lovers of soy milk will be pleased to know that Swell is a strictly Bonsoy establishment. They also offer a number of freshly squeezed juices, and smoothies.
By 9.30am on a Saturday morning, Swell was frantic. Their website warns that on weekends they only take bookings for groups of 4 or more, and this is advice well-heeded. It’s a lovely spot for a quality breakfast overlooking the beach. |
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