Sydney Food Diary

Kampung Daun

It would be very easy to miss Kampung Daun. It's quiet clean and white interior lit with soft small lights hardly cuts through the dark of Glebe Point Road. But this place is a real find, and once inside, you'll be rewarded for stopping with excellent, aromatic, authentic Indonesian food.

This trip brings, succulent signature beef rendang a la Kamung Daun(above), sambal prawns and snake beans and chicken in a unique and spicy coconut curry. Otak Otak was only somewhat disappointing (when compared to the spicy, lively version found at the Malaya) but we have sampled a good portion of the menu here on various trips and it seems hard to go too wrong.

Rating: 13/20

Kampung Daun 123-125 Glebe Point Rd Glebe NSW 2037

*BYO-ers note. Directly across the road is Broadway Cellars, with one of the most interesting selections of aged Spanish wine in Sydney including many reservas and grand reservas scattered in boxes on the floor (by the door).

Yum cha(s)

Sydney loves yum cha, and now that we have re-programmed ourselves not to call it dim sum, so do we.

Due to visiting family(Michelle's), we had a double dip of yum cha this past weekend. Exceptional, elegant and light treats at Yings, and fairly standard fare punctuated by some particularly tasty steamed pork buns at Marigold Citymark.

In our time here, we've been around a bit: Sea Treasure, Green Gourmet, Kam Fook, Silver Spring, Sky Phoenix but we'd love to know, what's your favorite yum cha spot? Hidden gems, anyone?

Oh! Calcutta!

What a nice "little curry shop" Basil Daniell runs. Oh! Calcutta's got charm to spare (mostly courtesy of the host himself) and treats Indian food with a care for detail in flavour and presentation that is normally reserved for French or Japanese.

On our first trip here, shortly after arriving in Sydney we quite literally floored. We were already lovers of Indian flavours and passionate fans of traditional Indian - but never had we seen it treated the way it is here.

Fast forward to 2 years on - after more than a few stops (I'm affraid to count how many) we have never had a dish that we didn't enjoy. There are highlights: the always great lamb cutlets and Dhai Wada (lentil dumplings in yoghurt and tamarind sauce), the tangy duck curry with just a bit of fire and specials which truly add something extra to an already well balanced menu.

And then there is the mixed desert plate, on which I still know nothing by name, but is the perfect way to end a unique and exceptional meal.

Rating: 15/20

Oh! Calcutta! 251 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 Tel: (02) 9360-3650

Mondo Sushi

We've been moving house over the last few days so my dining, as my posting, has been decidedly low-key.
(sadly had to cancel dinner at Rise last night, ouch)

In the mean time, here is a great little audio primer from yesterday's New York Times linked to an article about sushi.

Just thinking about restaurants like NYC's Megu and Masa (and our own Rise and Yoshii) gets my tastebuds tingling, which unfortunately, will have to tide me over for another night or so.

Wildfire X2

Home of the Brazilian inspired festival of meat (churrasco banquet), Wildfire is celebrating it's "second successful year of "fire and ice"...by creating an exclusive "times two" birthday menu created by Head Chef Philippe Leban."

The celebration takes place from the 19 April (that's today don't ya know) to 2 May, and sounds like a fairly interesting remix of a tasting menu "that features two dishes paired on every plate served with two different glasses of wine."

The sneak preview of "Tuna foie gras red wine reduction, pinot noir sauce and grilled swordfish sweet onion confit, thai pesto sauce" certainly caught our attention.

Dosai

One highlight of a recent dinner with friends at Balmain's Indian Palace were the outstanding dosais.

A South Indian specialty, a dosai is a sort of thin, crispy, golden brown rice and lentil pancake served with fresh coconut chutney and thick lentil broth, and stuffed with masala goodness.

We sampled all three of Indian Palace's available varieties (chicken, potato and veg, spicy minted lamb) and all were excellent. I noticed that Niligiri's (which we love and hey they link to us) also has dosais on the menu and are keen to sample how they measure up.

Mere steps behind us

Once again SMH seems to be following us just a little too closely for comfort and this time they are packing Tetsuya Wakuda.

Oyster nerd alert

We really love oysters and have always considered ourselves a bit nerdy in how much attention we pay to eating them. Even the fact that we have favorite varieties is something that we generally try to hide from day-to-day conversation.

But thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald we now know that we aren't oyster nerds, these are oyster nerds.

"Swine and Wine"

If your dance card is open for next Tuesday (April 20th) you may want to check out the Swine and Wine degustation at Annandale's quiet stunner Three Clicks West.

The menu looks exciting yet uncomplicated with straighforward wine pairings - which should make for a culinary adventure. We were literally drooling upon reading "Braised pork belly and shitake mushrooms with
parmesan emulsion"

Vive la Tokyo Libre

Sometimes a little taste of home is impossible to resist (no matter how much fat and cholesterol it contains). So when we saw poutine, that most french Canadian of indelicate delicacies on the menu of a cafe in Tokyo, nostalgia coupled with novelty commanded that we dive right in.

It wasn't exactly Chez Ashton or even "la vrai poutine" and the irony was more delicious than the food itself but we enjoyed it all the same.

Anyone know where we might procure some in Sydney?