Sydney Trotting - Fishmarkets

A gastronomical icon of Sydney,The Fishmarkets is the place where people flock in for the best seafood in town (even the birds flock in).

This is the place that I crave for when in Sydney, since the first time I came here 5years ago; I have not found any other place like this in Australia. The variety of fresh and cooked seafood is in abundance tagged with a price tag which is quite reasonable for that quality.

The seafood can be found in a raw, boiled ,steam, grilled or deep fried form. Most of which is are cooked with minimal seasoning as to enjoy the freshness.

So even if you are allergic to seafood, there are still other bits that one can enjoy.

Taste : Fresh and Juicy

Location: Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009

So how do you like your seafood cooked?

State of Origin - QLD Pies vs NSW Pies

My apologies for the lack in posts; I've been a little tied up with a whole load of stuff, from boring courses/exams to me and Yoshi's "Save the Date" project and also the new acquisition of my canon Kiss X3.

Our "Save the Date" poster


I've always wanted the 50d but due to the GFC I've made do with one more "0" which is the 500d. But I have no regrets; it is still one piece of awesome technology; can't complaint(because I Love It) ; back to the Pies...


Anyways, I've been longing to try Harry's Cafe' de Wheels for ages; famous for their pies and hot dogs. In my first trip to Sydney a few years ago, we didn't have much time so I had to give the pies a miss. However this time around I had to try it. Many famous celebrities has popped by this Iconic stall for a bite, people from the Colonel of Chicken Sanders to my hero Anthony Bourdain.

Both me and Yoshi ordered the signature dish which was "Harry's Tiger"; the mash potato and peas was just delightful and wonderfully creamy. The pie was alright and was everything a pie should be; however the NSW iconic pie tasted rather commercial, like it came out from a factory.In my view, I think the QLD crew at "Yatala Pies " would give Mr Harry a good fight with their melt in your mouth cheesy pie that leaves you with a chronic sense of wanting more. Being State of Origin Season , ie Rugby League; Its NSW vs QLD.

In my books; Harry's Cafe's Mash potatoes & peas & gravy is unbeatable but the pies at Yatala Pies is at a different level . Being a pie fight, I declare Yatala the winner; thats QLD 1 , NSW Nil.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Location : Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo NSW

Yatala Pie

Location: 48 Old Pacific Hwy, Yatala QLD

Which one do you think looks better?

Sydney Trotting - Where East Meets West

On the second night in Sydney , me and Yoshi decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Blancharu a French Japanese restaurant. We both have not had much French food ,the most we had was probably a couple of croissants for breakfast. Blancharu had a reasonably priced menu and also being located in Elizabeth Bay, it was right next to the infamous Kings Cross and pretty close to where we were staying at Potts Point.



Al Alamein Fountain - The famous meeting point in Kings Cross






Only 6621Km from Kuala LUMPUR! not Lumpar!

Due to my prior greediness or having a large pie at Harry's Pie only a couple of hours before dinner; we decided to share between the two of us a 4 course degustation and an extra entree. Instead of a 7 course degustation each we had initially wanted. We were first greeted by a nice warm freshly baked bun each.

We decided to go for Foie gras ‘Chawanmushi’ with Dashi Broth for our entree'. Honestly it was a little too French for my Asian tongue, but it wasn't too bad ... and we did finished everything on the plate.

Next we had the Sushi platter; with cucumber and umeboshi( plum) ,salmon, unagi(eel) and scallop sushis. The winner on the plate was the scallops... which exploded and released a nice charred flavour .

The next dish that came was the black ink squid pasta, which was also another first for us. A dish which I had always wanted to try but never had the chance.For some reason I always had the impression it would be bitter or sour; maybe because it is black and it comes out from a squid, but it was actually tasty and flavourful and was probably my favorite dish of the night.

The twice cooked duck breast came next, which was nicely cooked... tender on the inside with a lightly crisp skin .


Desserts came next, and the kind people at Blancharu gave us one for free as we were celebrating a special occasion. A beautifully fluffy almost sponge like Soufflé, served with lime sorbet was a match made in heaven.

Traditional Crème Brûlée and coffee ice cream was the other dessert we ordered and it was delightful. Great blend of textures and taste, with the crisp of the burned cream and the soft sweat custard inside mixed gracefully with the coffee ice cream.

Location : Shop 1, 21 Elizabeth Bay Road,Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011

Taste: Great blend of flavours and taste from the east and west.

Sydney Trotting - Pastries & Cakes

One thing that i found really awesome about Sydney is the wide variety of Pastries and Cakes shops. From the famous Lindt chocolate makers to the french cafes they all look irresistible. Just passing by their shops, it made me feel like I was 5 years old again; which made me want to grab everything on display...

On the first day we had a chance to try the Lindt Cafe at Darling Habour, the place was packed so it had to be pretty good.The first thing i saw when i came in here was the Macaroons, the nicely arranged and colourful arrangements caught my eyes, and I couldn't resist .I just had to try the macaroons there and... it was superb, the crisp of the macaroon cracks in your mouth and the cold sweet filling was just a Killer!

Location: 104-105 Cockle Bay Wharf Darling Harbour, Sydney

La Renaissance's Courtyard

Goya

We also tried this small french cafe at the Rocks which YM introduced, called La Renaissance Café Patisserie. Slightly hidden from the main area, with its cosy Parisian style courtyart, I felt like I was in Europe. I paid $9 for a small cake, that one could possibly gobble in one bite, but I couldn't resist; just look at it; Yes I'm a sucker for colourful things. Once we cut into this tiny work of art, we discovered the many layers and taste to this one cake, which blended really well. As they say good things comes in small packages.

Location: 47 Argyle Street The Rocks Sydney NSW

Sydney Trotting - A Taste of Malaysia

After that intense ramen, we headed to check in to our hotel. As mentioned before we got a pretty good deal; $99 per night at the Holiday Inn thanks to Lastminute.com . Above is the view that we got, not too shabby for that price eh?

Huge Door at Martin Place

We Heart U Boom

Fire Station


We soon freshen up, and set off and headed do the Harbour Bridge and also the Opera House. To be even more adventurous, we walked from our hotel in Potts Point around Kings Cross and headed upwards to the Circular Quay.



For dinner,we met up with some friends who took us to Mamak, an up and coming Malaysian restaurant. For your information,Mamak is refereed to Tamil Muslims who generally runs stalls/shops which sells local road side Indian/Malaysian food;most famous the Roti Canai or Pratha and teh tarik or Pull tea. This kinda stalls has a become very much a part of our Malaysian culture. However one thing is for sure, you'll never find a Chinese man in a mamak flipping a roti in Malaysia.

Having a shop that sells mamak food here in Sydney is great as it allows Australian to have a taste of our culture and also good for Malaysians who just misses home. Price wise, it is very pricey if you compare it to Malaysia; plain roti in Malaysia - RM 0.70 ie Aud 0.25 ; plain roti here is about AUD 5, however for Australian standard its quite reasonable. Although you can't compare the food here to what you can get back in Malaysia, it does ease the cravings.



Location: 15 Goulburn St Haymarket NSW 2000



Taste : Not too bad, our local mamaks would be proud of this chinaman.

So what food do you crave when you are away from home?

Sydney Trotting - Gumshara Ramen

We had a great trip to Sydney over the Easter break. Me and Yoshi trotted around this town like a couple of mad horses wanting to see, do and eat everything. Sydney is undoubtedly a beautiful city, playing host to iconic old buildings and structures; most famous the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The madness and chaos of this big city is neutralised by the great scenic views and excellent food.


The first thing we did here was to head down town to China Town, mind you we haven't even checked into our hotel room. Dragging our bags, we headed to a ramen shop called "GUMSHARA". I was told prior to coming here that there he only makes a limit 10 bowls of pork spare rib ramen and I want to be one of that 10 !


The Master Mind behind Gumshara -Chef Mori

This bowl of noodles is Mad! I ordered the Pork Spare Rib Ramen; being the greedy person that I am, I added extra Char Siu, extra eggs and a side of pickled chili cabbage. The soup here is cooked for 7 days, made out of 120kgs of pork bones and soy. It is so thick you could almost chew it!

The first slurp was just magic, you can taste the hard work put into this bowl of ramen. The char siu was soft, full of flavours and just melted like butter. The spare rib was a really juicy, the noodles were nice and firm, and the boiled eggs was marinated and boiled to perfection. My greediness did get the better of me, thanks to all those extra toppings I was struggling to finish this bowl. One other great thing about this bowl of ramen is that after the meal, it leaves you with a free lip gloss made out of collagen

Location: Shop 209, Eating World Food Court25 - 29 Dixon Street, Haymarket

Taste: Intense