BOMBAY STREET KITCHEN - GLEBE, SYDNEY

Bombay Street Kitchen
University Hall Building
Cnr Glebe Point Rd and Parramatta Rd
Glebe, Sydney

Bombay Street Kitchen is street food of India and they are licensed and BYO (wine only). They have been open for only a few months and have both inside and outside seating for 60. Mlady started her lovely meal with an Oyster Bay 2013 Merlot and Sir chose an Indian beer - Kingfisher Lager.





















We started with the Pav Bhaji which originated in the 1850's as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Bombay. It is now a Mambaian institution and eaten all over India. It's lightly spiced mashed veggies served with a warm buttered bun. We both thoroughly enjoyed this very tasty dish and used the soft bun as a scoop to get to the very yummy veggies. We spread the veggies on the bun and garnished it with the side of onion and chives. A flavoursome dish with bite.

Pani Poori - what a novel and fun dish! This is crispy lentil pockets stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, spices, tamarind chutney and serving of mint chutney and tamarind water. What you do is - fill the bun with the juice and "down the hatch". We both loved this. It had a good crunch, was so fresh and it also had a good bite to it.

The Marsala fish fry is tender pieces of mackerel marinated in lime juice, coriander and fresh coconut, fried and served with a wedge of lemon. OMG this dish was amazing. So, there were a few bones - what good fish does not have a few bones. The fish was crispy and so fresh and Mlady even sucked the crispy bits off the bones - that's how much she enjoyed it.

We had a serving of Naan which was freshly cooked and buttered and this was presented in a silver bucket. The tasty Naan was used to soak up the various sauces with the dishes that we had.

Instead of having Basmati rice that we usually have  we opted for the Lemon Rice This was such a tasty change. it was made up with lentils, lemon and spices. It was presented in a black bowl emphasising it's vibrant colour. The rice was so good you could eat it by itself!

Next we had the Chicken Chennai which is also known as Madras Chicken. The chicken is simmered in a coconut based sauce and garnished with curry leaves. Oh WOW! Great flavours! What a great kick to this dish! It went so very well with the great lemon rice.





Then we had the Lasni Kalambi which is prawns sizzled in garlic, coriander and tomato sauce. Again another great tasting dish with wonderful flavours. The prawns were large, plump and very juicy. we used the tasty Naan to soak up the delicious sauce.

For dessert Mlady did not choose her usual "anything that's chocolate" but decided to go with the Mango Kulfi. The homemade mango ice cream, almond and cardamon crumble was so fresh. OMG this was an amazing dessert - which you really must try!

Sir chose the Lapshee which is cracked wheat caramelised with jaggery and fennel served with smoked yogurt and almond. When we saw the "smoked yogurt" in it's description this aroused our curiosity. This dessert was different and very tasty and another "must try".

Bombay Street Kitchen is a real gem. The food is authentic, fresh, fun and very tasty. Eat here - you'll love it!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Bombay Street Kitchen and would like to say a big Thank you to Chef Rajoo for taking time out and chatting with us about his impressive background and philosophy on food. Also a big thank you to Manasi for taking care of us on the night.

 

CUSTOMS HOUSE BAR - SYDNEY CBD

Customs House Bar
(part of Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel)
17 Macquarie Pl
Sydney CBD

Customs House Bar is transforming into one of the city's newest dining destinations, both inside and outside what is one of Sydney's oldest pubs. The outside seating, their main area, has rustic furniture, pretty hanging gardens, hedges, white picket fences and communal tables. This is absolutely ideal for people to enjoy a drink and a quick bite or a full meal. Customs House Bar is a casual fun place. They have nice quick meals - to cater for the lunch-time crowds and the food is kept at affordable prices. It's a beer pub and they have 20 "on tap" beers - that cater for every possible taste! When we arrived we could feel the "buzz" and the place was full with people eating, drinking and generally relaxing. There was a mixture of people including groups and couples that were settling in for a good night of food and drinks.

Hemant Dadlani - Executive Chef has put together an innovative, seasonal and very tasty menu. His inspiration has come from tropical places which are versatile - and it is evident in the menu.

Mlady started with a lovely Coldstream Hills Merlot from the Yarra Valley. This was a very nice drop as Mlady prefers the lighter tasting wines. Sir who has a preference for the medium to full bodied wines had the Saltram 1859 Shiraz from the Barossa Valley of which he enjoyed.

Mlady ordered the Cajun chicken breast burger, smashed avocado, perri mayonnaise on a Brioche bun. Chicken breast at times can be a bit dry - but this was certainly not the case here! It really was a very tasty burger with crisp lettuce and tomato. It arrived with oh so good chips in a cute bucket with the chips wrapped in "newspaper". It also included was a little bucket of tomato sauce. Dipping the yummy chips in the tomato sauce - nice! Mlady enjoyed this dish immensely.

We then had the oh so tender and very tasty Southern Highlands young chicken, asparagus, citrus salsa and watercress.

The asparagus was served as a side in a cute retro white enamel bowl. It was pretty enough to eat on its own!

The chicken was tender and juicy and the crispy skin made this a very enjoyable meal. It was a decent sized serving too - plenty there for a sharing plate or a big meal for one.

This was a colourful dish with the citrus salsa adding splashes of pastel on top of the chicken and even more colour coming from the floral adorned asparagus, all the flavours and textures - these all complemented one another.

Next was the Braised Galangal Beef short ribs - slow cooked for 18 hours, seasonal market vegetables with pine nut salt. This generous dish was incredibly tender and the meat was immersed in flavour. The basting had impregnated the meat and made for a wonderfully flavoured dish. The  market vegetables went so well with this great meal.

We ordered a salad and chose the Grilled Corella pear and witlof salad, spiced pecans, south cape blue cheese and burnt fig vinaigrette. This was an interesting mix of flavours and truly a mix of contrasts! Even Sir who is not a mad fan of salads as Mlady is - enjoyed this. Sir actually said "this is good".  Mlady literally fell in love with this salad and she is not a big fan of blue cheese. 

The pecans (from Mexico) certainly lived up to their description on the menu - spicy - lovely. This would have to be one of the "prettiest" salad dishes and the taste - well - AMAZING! Simply one of the best salads ever!

We had a few samples of the beers that Customs House Bar has on tap. Our first sample consisted of lighter coloured beers. These were Resche's draught - an Australian classic, Bees Knee's which is based on German wheat and an Alpha Pale ale. It was a nice selection of the pale beers. They were well paired with the dishes that we had.

The next selection was a sample of darker beers. These were Millers, Ruby Tuesday and White rabbit and again these were well paired with our meals. Mlady favours the darker beers whilst Sir drinks the lot!

We were also fortunate to try a couple of cocktails. Mlady had the Irish maid which is based on the Jamison Whisky St.Germain with fresh lime juice and mint. This was so refreshing - and oh so yummy. Great flavours and ideal for summer. Sir had - in an elegant champagne glass - Cafe Sombre - expresso martini with a tequila base with Mr. Black coffee liqueur. It was topped with a coffee bean. Mlady sneakily had a taste - and thought - oh this is good! Sir enjoyed the nice coffee flavour with an alcohol kick. It also had a nice froth on top and Sir ate the coffee bean - as you do.

We would like to give a huge thank you to Kelsie who looked after us on the night. Kelsie was energetic, passionate and educational in explaining everything to us that was on the menu. Her knowledge was commendable and her teaming of the wines, beers and cocktails was exemplary.

Special thanks to Hemant Dadlani - Executive chef for taking the time out of his busy schedule to sit and chat with us and share his wonderfully flavoured and innovative menu.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Customs House Bar. Big thanks to Gabriella Lizzo for this invitation.

 

BLOODY MARY'S - DARLINGHURST, SYDNEY

Bloody Mary's
332 Victoria St
Darlinghurst, Sydney

If you’ve been to Los Angeles, then hopefully you’ve experienced an LA style brunch. A decadent experience of food and drinks that starts in the morning and flows well into the afternoon.

The good news is you don’t have to travel 14 hours on a plane to experience it. A funky place called Bloody Mary’s has opened right in the heart of Darlinghurst and its been mastering that LA style experience, right here in our backyard.

As the name suggests, Bloody Mary’s is the place to go if you’re in the mood for a Bloody Mary but that isn’t all they offer.

In fact, Bloody Mary’s has such a diverse menu of food and drinks, it’s got you covered for breakfast lunch and dinner, whether you are in the mood to drink alcohol or not.


Bloody Mary’s is situated in Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, an area that has changed so much in the past few years, its gone from nightclub hotspot to cool and trendy in a matter of months. Its boasts a stylish interior with a courtyard out the back making it a perfect choice for a function or event.

We arrived around midday on a Sunday and we can tell you this place was going off. We walked in and clearly everyone was having a great time, trays of cocktails were being delivered across the room and the smell of some very nice food was coming out of the kitchen.

We quickly found a table and ordered, yep you guessed it, a couple of Bloody Marys and by looking at their menu, this place has quite a few of them on offer.

Count J ordered a classic Bloody Mary and Count N, feeling quite adventurous, ordered a Bloody Hell (normally it's the other way around). The classic bloody Mary was fresh and full of flavour. They make their own tomato juice here which really makes a difference to the taste of the cocktail.


The bloody Hell was nothing like we had ever seen before. This drink is not for the faint hearted. It has chilli infused vodka and comes with a slider, buffalo wing and a shrimp. Literally, a three course meal on a drink. The fish sauce, coriander and palm sugar give this cocktail a real Asian Fusion. Its most definitely unique and most definitely worth trying.





















After those two cocktails our appetites (and mouths) were on fire, so we were ready for some food. Blood Mary’s diverse menu has quite a few American inspired dishes so we went with that and ordered two American favourites. The Reuben Sandwich was generously filled with meat, cheese and mustard. Its been years since we’ve had pastrami and this sandwich had loads of it. The bread was fresh and tasted great too.

The salmon bagel was great. Packed with Fresh salmon and homemade salsa wedged in a freshly baked bagel, it was delicious and had us scraping up every last crumb. It was a decent size serving too.

So an hour in and Count N was still going with his bloody hell (this drink is massive) .Count J was up for another drink though, so before you could say tomato juice, a bloody Pirate arrived our table. This version of Bloody Mary is made with pampero dark rum and a lovely spice mix giving it a real Caribbean flavour. Count J who's opinion of dark rum generally isn't very favourable, gave this drink a thumbs up.

After this, It was time for some more food though and this time we ordered a couple of items from the lunch menu. The Yankee Doodle resembled something you would expect to see in a trendy Manhattan venue. A mouthwatering hot dog in a fresh bun with a chipotle truffle mayonnaise that was just sensational. We don't know where they get this mayonnaise from, or if they make it themselves, but we'd sure love to get our hands on some.

The chilli crab linguine was just as impressive.

The chilli was present but not overpowering so you didn't miss the taste of the crab, which was quite generous by the way.

The linguine was cooked al dente and with just the right amount of seasoning, the dish was just perfect.

By this time, a DJ has started and the vibe n the place was getting cooler and cooler by the minute so The counts decided to fit in one more drink and some truffle fries.Our drink, "There's something about Mary", was a refreshing gin cocktail with strawberries, mint, cucumber and lime. Like the movie, you can go a little crazy over this Mary as well. It's a smooth drink and very easy to drink.

Our truffle fries were quite crispy and not too oily which can happen sometimes with truffle oil. Luckily, these were perfect and Count N went a bit crazy over them so we decided at that point it was probably time to go. There was no way we could fit in dessert despite wanting to, very much.

We enjoyed our afternoon at Bloody Mary's so much. With cool atmosphere, trendy decor, an impressive drinks and food menu along with a  DJ on the weekends, it's the the perfect choice whether you're looking for a nice place to have a drink, meet some friends for lunch or need to fix a hangover.

They say hair of the dog is the best hangover  cure and you can order a drink here from about 8am on weekends.

See you next Sunday at 8am!

The Counts, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of the Bloody Mary's. Big thanks to Kimberley Stewart of Agency G for the invitation.

 

DANIEL SAN - MANLY, SYDNEY

Daniel San
55 North Steyne,
Manly, Sydney

Daniel San serves great Japanese street food with a fun, playful side. This quirkiness flows through the entire place. Clearly named after the Karate Kid term used by Mr Miyagi to describe the main character, it has a retro 1980's Japanese rock and roll diner feel to it. It's different and it works!

Executive Chef Benjamin Orpwood has a strong history of good food, having previously been sous chef at Toko. He's certainly let his creative juices flow here and developed a fun-filled menu.

Sitting right across from the beach at Manly means Daniel San also has amazing views.

They've used their location very well too, with plenty of outside seating to grab views and raised inside seating to share them too.

Aren't edamame beans a great nibble to start a meal?

At Daniel San there are two versions - steamed, or for just a little more cost, the spicy ones (which we had).

If you're more observant than us - which probably isn't hard - then you may also notice that there are two bowls - one has the beans and the other is for the husks after you eat them!

Sausages at a Japanese place? Well if it's Daniel San then expect the unexpected. Listed as Osawa San's Japanese snags they arrived in a serving of three, skewered and with a decent sized dollop of kewpie mayonnaise. These snags were so juicy and dipping them in the mayo was even better!

If you haven't had chicken karrage then you're missing out on one of the tastiest treats going around.

Here, it's basically marinated chicken that is lightly coated in buttermilk and bonito flakes and then rapidly deep fried to create a crispy crunchy coating.

Here the outer crunch revealed tender juicy chicken inside that we then eagerly devoured.

The steamed buns are very popular here - and for good reason. There are several interesting varieties including honey glazed Berkshire pork belly with spicy cashew sauce and snow crab with avocado, but we decided on vegetarian.

The spicy tofu with grilled avocado guacamole was fantastic. The whole combination worked so well and the different textures gave it plenty of variation. In servings of three it's well worth trying a few different ones.

Japanese for many of us conjures up fresh sashimi - and you won't be disappointed here. They have some impressive choices in both quality and presentation.

The Deluxe Sashimi Boat includes the Chef’s selection of five different types of fish, freshly sliced and served on a "boat" with various traditional garnishes. Heads turn when this arrives at your table, and the standard is just as good.

Dessert at Daniel San is again just as varied and playful. The strawberries and cream cheesecake is served deconstructed.

You get the base crumbled on top of a delicious mound of cheesecake with a strawberry topping.

It's a huge serving too - with lots of tables sharing dessert as each bowl could satisfy two people.

In keeping with the quirky style here, the other dessert we had was just as "different".

Ever had tofu for dessert?

Sounds a bit odd doesn't it - but this is nothing like you may be imagining.

The milk and white chocolate tofu with coco nibs is a killer finish to a meal and we'd highly recommend it.

Daniel San is lively, fresh, fun and tasty - all in one.

You can just drop in for a drink and a nibble, or you can stay for an entire meal from the fun and funky restaurant menu they have. Your call!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Daniel San. Special thanks to their floor manager Sukh and Andy for looking after us so very well. Big thanks also to Alex Cohen for arranging our visit.