As Sydney edges its way into winter, we look back at April – the country’s shoulder month. It’s kinda cold, kinda sunny and generally unpredictable. It’s also home to more than its fair share of public holidays. But all this hasn’t slowed us down much!
While we flutter between jumpers and jackets, and shorts and T-shirts, Christina and I have been checking out a couple of Sydney’s top restaurants, a staycation hotel and its excellent executive lounge, we’ve had an interstate family visit and we’ve been on set for a TV show.
Plus there’s been the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends to fit in! I don’t know how we do it.
Hope you enjoy this Flavour Of The Month.
Cheers
Jim & Christina xx
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We kick off the month with a stay in the excellently located Sofitel Darling Harbour right in the middle of Sydney’s bustling entertainment district (and an easy ferry ride from our place).
We’ve wanted to give this hotel a go for a while, so we’re excited to have a couple of nights here to put it through its paces.
Our room on the 29th floor gives us access to the hotel’s executive level on the very top floor: Sofitel’s slick Club Millesime, which has breakfast, afternoon tea and supper included – not to mention killer water views out over Darling Harbour and the city.
You can read our full review of Sofitel Darling Harbour here.
We’ve also published a video review:
Also in Sofitel Darling Harbour is the two-Hatted French fine-dining restaurant Atelier. It’s our last night at the hotel and we celebrate with a meal that we won’t forget in a hurry.
The food is absolutely superb with entrees of easily one of the best steak tartares we’ve had and chargrilled octopus in a delicate saffron sabayon, mains of house-aged duck and thick-cut angus sirloin, and a rich, dark chocolate delice…
But I shouldn’t spoil too many surprises – you can find our full review of Atelier by Sofitel here!
Tonight, for a whole host of reasons (including the anniversary of not one but two of of our dear friends’ dads passing today) we thought we’d open a pretty special bottle of wine in recognition.
We’ve had this bottle of Peterson’s sparkling Semillon from the Hunter Valley for ages. I mean, it’s a 2007 vintage, but we’ve only had it for about six years. Thankfully the winery has done most of the ageing for us.
Semillon is a funny grape. It’s obviously a white wine, but the longer you leave it, it changes from being a zippy, high-acid youthful drop to a grumpy, textured old wine. A strange oakiness develops even though it’s never seen the inside of a barrel.
We looked at whether you can age white wine here, but this bottle confirms 1000% that you definitely can! What an extraordinary drink this is. And a great way to celebrate Jerry and Kumar’s life. Cheers lads.
The first long weekend of April is upon us – Easter in fact – and we’ve decided to go out for brunch with Christina’s fam.
For one reason or another, we’ve come out to Wahroonga to the Butcher’s Block (I approve of the name) for a bite to eat. Christina’s sister picked it – I wonder if she knows there’s another Butcher’s Block at Barangaroo – much closer to us. Just sayin’.
Anyway, the food here is great. Christina orders the Butcher’s Breakfast – a veritable platter of chorizo, bacon, hash brown, eggs, mushrooms, tomato and even a wagyu flank steak!
Her mum goes for the gnocchi and I have the burger. Oddly, I ask for the cheeseburger, which somehow baffles our young server taking my order. I mean, it’s a burger and it comes with – among other things – cheese, but there you go. Whatever you want to call it, I enjoy the food either way.
My brother-in-law and nephew, however, order the chicken burger, but aren’t impressed at all, so a bit of a mixed bag.
It’s lovely to catch up with everyone and have a meal together though.
Today, we’re at one of our locals the Royal Oak Hotel in Balmain, but not for what you might think.
We’re here as rent-a-crowd for a filming session with Channel 7’s Sydney Weekender. They’re here filming for a segment on the lauded Balmain Rozelle Heritage Pub Trail, which we’ve been working on (professionally and socially) for some time now.
In fact, check out our viral IG Reel here!
We’ve been in the background before with these guys when they were filming for the Inner West Distillery Trail – you can see that Sydney Weekender episode (and glimpses of us) here.
It’s good to be back in front of the camera – especially when all you have to do is look like you’re enjoying yourself, and eat and drink what’s put in front of you! The anchovy bruschetta, and figs and ricotta are sensational by the way.
So keep your eye out for us on your TV soon.
TL-BR: cocktails first – the Izy-groni and the Nip on Molasses; kingfish sashimi, chawanmushi savoury custard; and chargrilled lobster tail and mushrooms
This evening, we’re in Paddington for a very special (and substantial) dinner at the ridiculously good Izy.Aki.
This is an omakase restaurant – a Japanese style of dining where the kitchen brings what it wants to you rather than you ordering. It’s growing in popularity in Australia and I can see why.
But this is omakase with a difference.
Owner Darren Templeman and his amazing head chef Bonnie Yu create an ever-changing menu of delicacies that they bring to your seat at the bar, but where this restaurant differs from most omakase is that the majority of the dishes – they do either a 6-course or 10-course sitting – are not sushi or sashimi based.
Rather, they utilise the the charcoal-fired yakiniku grill to create more protein-focused dishes and delicate, international masterpieces.
Darren [right] comes from a history of outstanding Sydney kitchens including O Dining and his own restaurant Atelier (different to the one in Sofitel that we mentioned earlier). From Atelier, Darren has brought is signature dish The Egg.
This sensation created quite the stir in the foodie world.
Within the perfectly scalped hen’s egg, as well as the yolk itself, is a wonderfully light yet rich combination of foie gras, smoked eel and golden salmon roe. It’s do tasty.
TL-BR: beautiful table setting; slow-cooked beef brisket and mushroom miso butter; wagyu sirloin and an array of condiments; and Hokkaido raspberry cheesecake soufflé
The food keeps coming as we try not to detonate under the artillery of umami. Every single dish seems to be determined to out-do its predecessor. Thankfully, the service is not only incredibly friendly and fun, but also considerate of our struggle.
Timed perfectly to our digestion, we leave feeling sated, happy and with a new-found respect for the art of omakase.
Check out our full review of Izy-Aki here – you can also find our video short on the experience here on YouTube (like and subscribe!).
It’s always fun to go inside places that are usually closed, but every time the Rozelle Power Station, which has been locked and derelict until recently, opens up, it feels like Wonka himself has come out of hiding.
Thankfully, this being the Sydney Biennale, you don’t need a golden ticket to go in. In fact, it’s all free.
There are some brilliant pieces of art installed in the Power Station this year, so make sure you get down to check it out. There’s a free bus – one of the old heritage ones – that goes from the QVB every weekend, but otherwise the 441 and 442 takes you almost to the door.
And while you’re at the Biennale, why not pop round the corner for a quick shandy at Sydney Brewery’s Rozelle venue.
Not only are their beers all solid, they’re really coming along with changing things for the better in this enormous space.
Latest addition is the massive screen they’ve just installed. This could be (we haven’t had this confirmed yet) the biggest indoor pub or brewery screen in the country.
Sydney Brewery will be showing the big sports games here, but also they’re looking at movie nights and things like that, so keep your eye out for that.
Also, how about this brilliant offer that’s going under the radar a bit:
Sydney Brewery has a special takeaway deal where, for $50, you get two pizzas, a box of the most delicious chips and a four-pack of beer!
As we head into the Anzac Day weekend, Christina and I are excited to have some special visitors coming to town.
My two gorgeous nieces, who live up in Brisbane, are down for a holiday. They were supposed to be bringing my brother with them, but he didn’t want to because he hates me. I hope he reads this!
Although it would’ve been lovely to see my brother, it’s great to hang out with the girls for some of the weekend. We head to Ester Spirits, one of our favourite distilleries, for their jazz night.
The music is as amazing as the drinks are, and the happy hour adds an even brighter spark to the evening: for $25 you get a choice of drinks (martinis, gimlets and the like) and a burger from the van outside.
What could be better. Well, probably sitting a bit further from the band to be honest. The boyfriend of one of the girls, who’s down for the weekend too, is sitting a bit too close to the saxophonist!
Today is Anzac Day proper, and Christina and I are up for the Dawn Service in Balmain. It’s an impressively well-attended service and beautifully executed.
Since our Dawn Service experience at Thailand’s Hellfire Pass last year, we’ve decided to make a concerted effort to play a more active role in this important remembrance day.
The day is finally here! Our lovely friend Jane Lawson’s book Secret Japan is out and alive!
She kindly sent us a digital preview last month, but having the real thing in our hands is quite something. Beautifully written, exceptionally illustrated with full-colour photos and structured in a way that’s not only informative and helpful, but entertaining and enthralling as well, this is a must-read for anyone interested, passionate and curious about Japan’s lesser-known features.
Each prefecture is dealt with by Jane, who has lived, visited, worked and played in Japan for most of her life. Her knowledge of this often arcane and esoteric nation is both profound and profoundly useful to anyone wanting to exist within its culture. The way that she has dealt with potential friction points is deft and delicate, while not pulling any punches at the same time.
Congratulations, Jane. This is a great book.
It also gives me an excuse to break out a drop of awamori, a rice spirit (like sake but distilled rather than brewed) that I brought back from Okinawa. You can read about this mysterious, delectable drink here.
This morning, Christina is speaking at a small-business workshop as a new member of the Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce.
They’re meeting at the Teras Cafe on Darling Street, where she’s telling them all about the virtues of EDM funnels and social media – and how she’s a gun for hire to help set up systems that make what is often an unsurmountable marketing mountain more than do-able.
The rest of the morning is a networking session, getting to know other local businesses and chatting with everyone. The Chamber an excellent resource that more small companies in the Balmain, Rozelle, Birchgrove and Lilyfield area should sign up for.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the wrap up of this month’s goings on. It’s been a fun 30 days for us, that’s for sure!
Christina & Jim xx
