THE ITALIAN - WILLOUGHBY, SYDNEY

The Italian
191 High St
Willoughby, Sydney

You walk in the door here at The Italian and it instantly smells so good - exactly like an authentic Italian restaurant should!

Your senses tell you loud and clear that you're in the right place!

The whole place has a comfortable and cosy feel to it as well so you relax and feel at home straight away.

They have a good range of pizza's here but it's not just a pizza place.

They do the lot in terms of Italian food choices. They even have a kids menu too.

It's not a big place, but it does seat around 80 people so it's certainly big enough.

We already knew that The Italian had a reputation for great food.

The thought of it also being combined with a half kilo fresh truffle was even more exciting!

Chef Richard Bonetti had created a range of extra truffle teased dishes to their usual menu. Hello - we're already in the car and on our way! 

Olives are the perfect start to an Italian meal and so it wasn't a problem at all for us to start there! We had a delicious bowl of mixed house marinated olives that teased our appetite as we tried to decide what else to order for the night. 

Arancini on a menu means we have to order it! This was mozzarella and mushroom arancini and it was as good as we had hoped - delicious.

We followed this starter up with some great meatballs. They were made from a mix of finely minced veal and pork that held together nicely. They arrived swimming in a lovely thick and rich tomato sauce.

The chestnut pappardelle with fresh truffle was one of the "truffle specials" on the menu.Chestnuts and truffle go so well together.

This dish had plenty of crunch and an earthiness that created lovely taste and texture. It was a combination that was simply delicious and the "show" of the truffle being freshly shaved onto the dish was great too. 

Another great dish from the "truffle specials" was the delicious mushroom, fontina and fresh truffle pizza.

Again it was an earthy combination that worked very well. 

It had a great crust which Mlady adored. She's a crust connoisseur and this passed with flying colours. 

We also chose an extremely unique and tasty salad to have as a side dish with our main courses. 

This was a great combination of cavalo nero, Tuscan cabbage, beans pine nuts and pecorino.

Mlady loved it's vibrant colours and freshness while Sir loved the mixed textures. 

We'd been discussing in the car on the way there that we both felt like some good pasta that night - among the other dishes of course.

We decided to have two and added a beautiful veal and pork ragu served with tagliatelle.

It was rich, meaty and packed with flavour - and it was a huge serving too.

Dessert saw us struggling with which delicious option to order. Our dilemma was solved when were were given a plate with three to share. The tiramisu was light and creamy and the panna cotta was silky smooth. The cheesecake was a slight winner with it's peanut butter flavour and a good drizzle of salted caramel sauce on top!

The Italian is a taste of Italy nestled in a quiet part of Sydney's North Shore. The food is great and they're not afraid to push the boundaries either creating innovative dishes and old favourites too. It's well worth visiting.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of The Italian and its owner Daniel Sofo. Thanks to Noemi for looking after us so well. Big thanks to Chef Richard Bonetti too.

 

NISSOS BEER LAUNCH AT CYREN - DARLING HARBOUR, SYDNEY

Nissos Beer Launch
Cyren Restaurant
Darling Harbour, Sydney

Nissos beer has officially launched in style in Sydney at the picturesque Cyren Restaurant which gazes out over the water of Darling Harbour.

Co-owner and Master Brewer Alexandros Kouris was in Sydney for the launch and spoke passionately about their tasty, citrusy drop. The audience lapped it up - both the speech and the plentiful and free-flowing beer.

Nissos means "island" in its native Greek and the "true to its heritage" flavour even flows through to the label being written in Greek. This beer is clearly proud of its origins.

Like any launch, food was in abundant supply. Cyren knows how to do this well and the Greek theme was again prominent. There was feta, seafood and other goodies on offer - including piles of oysters.

An extra special treat was the Nissos sorbet. We'd never tried anything like this before. It was totally refreshing and oh so moreish. It was a great sorbet and we had several servings.






















Nissos is a boutique beer made on the island of Tinos in the Aegean Sea. It's only been in production for a short while and has already won awards - including a prestigious silver medal at the 2014 European Beer Competition in the Bohemian-style pilsener section.

The traditional plate smashing that followed Alexandros speech was another highlight. Bits of plate were scattered everywhere , but it great fun! We had a ball.

Sir and Mlady were there as guests for the media launch. Special thanks to Nissos Beer for a great night and Cyren for some really tasty food. Thanks also to Annalise and Sophia from Cavcon for arranging everything so professionally.

 

PEI MODERN - SYDNEY CBD

Pei Modern
(Inside the Four Seasons Hotel)
199 George St,
Sydney CBD

Pei Modern has been in Melbourne for a while. It sits up in the Paris end of Collins street inside the Sofitel Hotel and has developed a strong reputation and local following. Well late last year its sister restaurant, also called Pei Modern, opened its doors in Sydney. Again, it's inside a hotel, this time the iconic Four Seasons Hotel Sydney on George Street at the start of The Rocks area. Pei Modern is an elegant space, expansive but not overbearing, nicely decorated but not over done.

It has an upmarket feel to it yet still manages to be relaxed and comfortable at the same time.



Mark Best was again behind opening Pei Modern in Sydney, as he did in Melbourne. Also from Pei Modern in Melbourne is the new chef for Sydney - Matt Germanchis. They have put together a diverse and diversified menu with plenty for every taste. Pei Modern is open lunch Monday to Friday and Dinner Monday to Saturday and a "Quick Lunch" menu of 2 courses plus coffee for only $35 is a bargain.

We started with some lovely house made sourdough snuggled inside a small hessian bag and served with freshly churned butter. We then moved on to sample some Clyde River rock oysters from Ewan McAsh South Coast NSW that were served with a tangy Cabernet vinaigrette sauce. We only had one each and wished we'd had more.  

Prosciutto is something that some people adore - and we're those people. The Culatello "King of Prosciutto" was a must do dish - especially as we are due to travel through Italy again in a few months. It came with some fresh slivers of nashi pears which combined nicely. Sir sipped a full bodied 2013 Paringa Estate Shiraz from Mornington Peninsular Victoria and Mlady had a half bottle of the lighter tasty 2010 Fontodi "Chianti" Classica.






















If you've read our write ups before you'd know about our lust for croquettes. It's one of the reasons Spain and Portugal are also on our Europe itinerary in a few months. The salt cod croquettes here were a little different to what we expected - a bit less traditional in shape - more like fritters in some way. Fortunately they were also tasty - cod and croquettes - delicioso. A fruity and tangy salad of beetroots, fig and braised mustard seeds was a nice side to this.

The menu is very diverse here at Pei Modern - very. It has a bit of everything - it's like a world culinary tour in one room. As if to showcase this, our next dish was the ricotta dumplings - a bit like gnocchi - with zucchini flowers and a great lazy mans pesto (made with chunky pine nut pieces).

A very simple butter lettuce salad with chardonnay vinegar and new seasons olive oil was a nice offset.

While Mlady isn't much for pork, Sir loves it - a lot - but he loves food - a lot!

The Kurobuta pork cutlet came served with some interesting accompaniments - fermented blueberries, spinach and lemon puree. The sweetness of the berries and the tartness of the lemon puree combined so well with the nicely cooked pork.

It was a great combination.

Mlady the chocoholic was in chocolate heaven when her chocolate tart arrived at the table.

It wasn't like any other chocolate tart she had eaten before. It was a stretch even calling it a tart. There were layers of thin chocolate piled high on top of a rich gooey filling all resting on a pastry base. She absolutely loved it - all of it - and every mouthful of it. Even the eucalyptus cream was raved about with frequent outbursts of OMG!

Sir chose the intriguing sorrel sorbet and honeycomb. What arrived was as pretty as a picture but more importantly very tasty. The flavoursome bright green sorrel sorbet looked good nestled among big chunks of honeycomb. 

To match, Sir had a 2009 Ridgeside Winery Vidal Icewine , Niagara Peninsular from Canada and Mlady had a NV Romate "Cardinal Cisneros" Pedro Ximenez from Jerez, Spain. Both were great with dessert.

Pei Modern offers a huge range of great food with variety that caters to every taste. Save room for dessert too - it's a great end to a great meal!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Pei Modern and the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. Special thanks to Ozgur, Emelda, William, Fabian and Caitlin as well as their highly capable sommelier Mikey and restaurant manager Tara. A big thanks to Hansni Bhagani, Director of Public Relations at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney for inviting us.

RISTORANTE DA ANGELO - HOBART, TASMANIA

Ristorante Da Angelo
47 Hampden Rd
Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania

Ristorante Da Angelo is a family owned and operated business that has been around for many years. This result doesn't just happen either - they must be doing a lot of things right! The use of tried and proven family recipes passed down from other generations is a nice touch as well.

Passing through Hobart on a brief trip created the opportunity to finally get here and see what the fuss was all about and why Restaurante Da Angelo was so popular. It was a week night so I guessed it was going to be a bit quiet anyway - and I was so wrong. The place was packed but I was almost apologetically given what was in fact a lovely spot looking out the front window.

I quickly ordered a glass of red - an essential when perusing an Italian menu - and a serving of garlic bread. The bread arrived quickly in smallish pieces in a bowl - not how I expected but very tasty and plenty of it.

My main course was a pasta dish - although the reputation of their pizza's nearly swayed me. I had fettuccine incazzata - a lovely pasta served with a creamy tomato sauce with onion in it, plenty of slices of hot salami and of course some garlic. This was a seriously good dish and again a substantial serving! Another glass of red and I was done.

After trying the pasta at Ristorante Da Angelo I'm now keen to sample their famous pizza's when Mlady and I are in Hobart next. Service was also fast and friendly. We love visiting Hobart so hopefully it won't be long!

BACAR/PULLMAN AT SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK - SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK

Bacar Restaurant
Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park
Olympic Boulevard,
Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney

Bacar is the sophisticated and stylish restaurant in the equally elegant Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park.

This 5 star hotel is located in the heart of the Sydney Olympic precinct and therefore so close to so many venues - there's so much to do around here!

The rooms here are simply magnificent - think quality furnishings, lovely decor and warm earthy tones, brilliant views out over the area, huge pillows, your own Nespresso in your room - the list goes on.

The comfort is evident straight away - the challenge is whether to actually leave your room to explore the many activities, venues and spaces that are right on your doorstep!

There are so many things to do here. Many stay here for shows and functions but it's rapidly becoming a holiday and mini-break destination too.

The Aquatic Centre gives you this massive pool complex next door. Then there's ANZ Staduim, the Heritage Precint, the Tennis Centre, The Sports Centre and of course a short stroll to the picturesque Bicentennial Park. You won't struggle for choices here!

Bacar Restaurant is their premier dining facility. There are plenty of options on their diverse menu so settle in and be prepared for a lovely food journey here.

Despite it's sophisticated bearings and Five Star hotel location, Bacar is not pretentious. You do know you're in a good restaurant and the staff make you feel comfortable and welcome.

Our first nibble for dinner was the arrival of a serving of nicely prepared house marinated olives.

This was paired with a choice of house baked rolls - olive or sweet onion. Both of these arrived warm and smelled and tasted great.

Throw in a serving of delicious Pepe Saya Cultured Butter and you're off to a great start to your evening!

We are finding it harder and harder to resist having a few oysters at the start of our meals lately - especially when they are presented in interesting and different ways.

Bacar serves their oysters two ways. Mlady wanted her oysters natural with lemon and I was very keen to try them served with wakame, soy pearls and trout roe.

Both were delicious!

My entree was quite understated with its description of octopus, chorizo, green olive and squid ink.

This simple description ended up revealing a beautiful dish with a series of contrasts that combined so well to create an entree that you just wanted to continue to enjoy even after you finished it.

I really enjoyed this!

Mlady was in the mood for seafood this evening so she chose the scallops, guava, Serrano, pomegranate and goats curd.

Again it was a combination that contrasted so well and yet combined to create a really lovely dish.

The scallops were perfectly cooked and plump and juicy and the sauce went so well with them.

My main course was the 350gm dry aged rib eye that was served with fondant potato, ale braised ox tail, mushroom, candied onions and jus.

This was a hefty piece of meat that was cooked perfectly to order - medium rare. The meat was very tender and full of flavour. The added surprise were the sides - they were great.

I'm a meat eater and would gladly have this dish over and over!

Mlady had the poached trout, finger fennel, yoghurt and pea. Again the simple descriptions lead to dishes that go well beyond what you may expect.

This was a work of art. The presentation was wonderfully appetising with vibrant colours.

It also had one of the most impressive pieces of crispy skin she had ever seen - which she loved! It had been separated from the fish and served at the side - and it was soooo crisp!

We had chosen two sides. The first was duck fat roasted kipfler potatoes with pancetta and manuka honey. Wow. These were crisp, sweet, savoury - it all went so well together and tasted so good. Our other side was mesclun salad with alto olives, heirloom tomatoes and a Merlot dressing. It was a sweet and tangy salad that tasted great. 

Dessert - the final frontier! What to choose - the dilemma I was facing!

Eventually I came to rest on the brownie deconstructed with sorbet, aero, peanut butter and sesame.

Oh yum - this was simply heaven! So sweet yet so good. The nob of banana with a toffee lid on it was another nice touch!

Mlady had the trio of sorbets. They arrived on a bed of popping chocolate.

The flavours were mango, raspberry and apple, elegantly presented on a glass plate.

She found all three extremely refreshing and full of flavour.

The views here are spectacular.

After our dinner were adjourned to our room and sat looking out over Sydney.

Nighttime views are always so romantic with the colours of the sky changing and the lights of the city and suburbs sparkling away.

ANZ Stadium was also lit up creating a lovely foreground - as was the Aquatic Centre.










The next day we were still a bit full from dinner but that wasn't going to stop us having breakfast - especially once we saw what was there! The chef cooks your eggs to order - you name it he'll cook it. You can also watch this happening if you like to supervise!

There's a rustic country feel to the breakfast buffet - and the food options are impressive. It has all the main choices you would expect and more!

We were both trying to decide whether to stick to sweet or savoury for breakfast - well at least I was.

Mlady was far more controlled whereas I decided to have it all - and thoroughly enjoyed it all as well.

My hot food was delish with a bit of everything on the plate and the sweet treats I had afterwards were just as good.

The Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park lives up to its five star rating. It's in the heart of so many great sporting attractions and venues.

It's a great weekend away without having to leave Sydney!

The lovely Bacar Restaurant is an added bonus with generous servings of very tasty food and excellent service. 

Sir and Mlady were guests of Pullman Sydney Olympic Park. Thanks to Nan and Michaela in Bacar in the evening, Matt who mixed us some very tasty concoctions to drink, Tuhin and Ashley in Bacar at breakfast and to Sylvia. Special thanks to David Lowe for inviting us to experience The Pullman and Bacar.

EMPIRE RESTAURANT - CARNIVAL SPIRIT CRUISE SHIP - OUT OF SYDNEY

Empire Restaurant
Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship
Out Of Sydney

If you like your food then don't rule out a cruise - especially if it's on the Carnival Spirit.

While the rumours of wall to wall food aren't completely wrong (there's food everywhere), it's the quality that is surprising - in a good way.

There are lots of people on board but the meals are actually personalised despite the numbers. There are so many options available at Empire Restaurant each night it's hard to know where to start. They have a menu that lasts the duration of the cruise with about half a dozen entrees and another half a dozen mains - but wait, there's more.

They also have another six choices each day as well for both entrees and mains. With a dozen of each every day it's food bliss!

Our starters very tasty. We had a prawn cocktail served with cocktail sauce. Surprisingly they also had escargots - burgundy snails in garlic butter with Chablis and Pernod and a toasted baguette - tres bien.

They also had panko crusted jumbo prawns served with zesty tomato sauce and homemade spicy chips. But you can get anything on the menu as an entree or a main course - just ask, they are so flexible here.

Main courses are just as varied. We had grilled salmon fillet served with steamed vegetables of the day - cooked as much or as little as you request; a delicious Guinness mince, mushroom and cheese pie made from minced chuck steak and white mushrooms braised in dark ale baked in a fluffy pie crust with aged cheddar cheese; pan-seared chicken schnitzel served with chips and tomato sauce and finally a lovely spice wrapped, grilled 220 grams rump steak from grain fed beef, three peppercorn sauce, sauteed green beans and potato mash.

And lets not forget desserts, where there are just as many options to salivate over.

One of our favourites, in fact one of the most popular among everyone on the ship, was the warm chocolate melting cake. This chocolate fondant was amazing with its soft crust hiding a pool of molten chocolate inside - and you can even ask for the level of cooking you prefer! It was so hard not to simply order this dessert each and every night.

The mango, raspberry and pineapple sorbets were colourful and a good dessert if you wanted to freshen your palate.

We all loved the vanilla creme brulee - a traditional brulee with a lovely toffee crust on top and a smooth custard underneath.

Empire Restaurant is the main restaurant of the many places to eat on Carnival Spirit. You can pretty much get any variation on the menu and often things not on the menu, just by asking.

The quality of the food and service is impressive - especially when you realise that they are feeding a few thousand people every night and are prepared to personalise each and every meal if needed.


We'll be posting a series of write-ups from our recent cruise on Carnival Spirit showing you what you can expect if you travel with them. It's not all food as well, even though there's plenty of it and it is impressive!

PIZZA OLLA - CAMMERAY, SYDNEY

Pizza Olla Pizza and Pasta Bar
Stockland Cammeray
450 Miller St
Cammeray, Sydney

Nestled in Cammeray is one of their local hidden treasures - Pizza Olla.

It's part of a growing restaurant district that is attracting more than just the locals.

With ample parking underneath in Stocklands it eliminates one challenge.

Your next challenge is whether to sit inside or outside (depending on the weather of course) and what to order from the extensive menu.

Pizza Olla pride themselves on the freshness and the range of their pizzas - but they also have great pasta, salads and desserts as well.

One of the big things about the pizza here at Pizza Olla is that you can have half and half pizzas. Our first pizza was half ras el hanout - chicken breast fillet marinated in Moroccan spice, grilled eggplant and Roma tomato topped with sesame seeds and wild rocket. The other half was peri peri prawn - tiger prawns marinated in Portuguese peri peri sauce with Spanish onion, chilli's, jalapenos served with mint yoghurt sauce on the side. Wow - both were amazing on a lovely thin base but the prawn was my favourite!

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Our next pizza was again a half/half with one part margherita - made from imported buffalina mozzarella cheese and herbs - which was delicious. We choose margherita at most pizza places - it's a great test and Pizza Olla passed well! The other half was bologna - lean home made beef bolognaise with Roma tomato, jalapenos and olives topped with sliced avocado. This was Mlady's favourite of the night because of the sauce which she raved about.

You can mix and match pasta's as well. Choose your pasta, your sauce and any extra's. We tried owner Georges favourite of spinach and ricotta ravioli with pesto sauce (made from fresh basil, roasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and garlic) and then tossed with matadore (thinly sliced tenderloin lamb fillets sauteed in pesto sauce). This was amazing. The whole combination was great and the lamb was extremely tender.

At Pizza Olla the gelato is very popular - we noticed this on our visit. However the Malibu mango dessert pizza caught our eye. It was mango slices - infused with Malibu rum, passionfruit and then topped with slivered almonds and lemon gelato.

Yum - this was lovely. The Malibu was distinct and went so well with the mango. The base was thin and not overpowering and the lemon gelato contrasted nicely with the sweet toppings. So good!

Pizza Olla serves really good food with great flavours. Sauces are made in house and you can mix and match pizza bases, toppings and sauces. They have great pasta options as well - again with the mix and match opportunity. Service is friendly and efficient and the whole place has a very comfortable homey feel to it. Pizza Olla is all about food, friends and family! 

Sir and Mlady dined as guest of Pizza Olla. Special thanks to owners George and Charmaine. Thanks also to Restaurant Marketing Services for arranging our visit and to Jordan for looking after us so well on the night.