the new kid on the block - momofuku seiōbo

Momofuku Seiōbo
The Star
80 Pyrmont Street, Level G
Entrance at Edward and Union Street
Pyrmont, NSW 2009

It's hard to even describe the kind of excitement that was building up since last year when it was announced that New York famed chef, David Chang of Momofuku was going to be part of Star City's (now known as The Star) multi-million dollar redevelopment. A buzz was quickly created. The food scene is strong in Sydney and for years we've been seeing exports like Tetsuya Wakuda and Luke Mangan setting up Waku Ghin and Salt respectively in Singapore. However, to have one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2010, a James Beard award winning chef who has Michelin Stars on his back set up shop here, it's no wonder people have been looking forward to what David Chang was going to bring to Australia.

One of those people was R. I've heard him rave about Momofuku's signature pork buns umpteen times before and he could hardly contain his excitement when he knew that Seiōbo's opening date was drawing near. Needless to say, when we knew that reservations were open, he got in there quick and scored us a table for opening night!

crave sydney 2011 - just desserts at tomislav.

Tomislav
2/13 Kirketon Road
Darlinghurst, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9356 4535
Website: http://www.tomislav.com.au/

October is usually an exciting time for food lovers in Sydney. With so many overseas renowned chefs flying into Sydney to participate in the Crave Sydney International Food Festival, so many events going on in different parts of the city for the whole month, it's hard to stay away from all the action.

One of the special dinners which I attended was the Just Desserts event hosted by Tomislav. The meal had 6 courses - 4 sweet, 2 savoury. It was an interesting dinner and I could tell that a lot of thought must have gone into creating the dishes. It's always refreshing to taste new combinations and see all of the ideas transcend well onto the plate. For $130 however, I wished there were more courses or slightly more substantial servings of each dish.

Pineapple Consomme, Sour Cream, Caramel Jelly,

Pineapple, Coconut & Date Ice Cream, Foie Gras Crumbs

breakfast at cafe xxii, pyrmont.

Cafe XXII
22 Union Street
Pyrmont, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9552 3093
Website: http://www.cafexxii.com.au/

I'm always on the look out for a good, hearty breakfast and R gets his craving for a big eggy breakfast once so very often. In Sydney, there's an abundant number of breakfast places but I have to be honest, sometimes the choices can be a little boring. Not that boring isn't good if it's done well.

Florentine

Poached Eggs, Toasted Muffin, Smoked Salmon, Spinach, Hollandaise

Truffled Scrambled Eggs on Brioche

with Sides of Hashbrown & Sausage

Cafe XXII's breakfast menu serves up the classic favourites like Eggs Benedict and Big Breakfast but they also have interesting items or two such as a Brioche Crunch French Toast and a Breakfast Bruschetta. I love the casual vibe of the cafe but the food is honestly 'hit and miss'. R's Truffled Scrambled Eggs turned out pretty tasty and cooked really well but I didn't fancy it paired with the crumbly Brioche. Sticking to a simple slice of sourdough or even better, white would have been much better. The additional sides as you can see from the picture, are not there to impress. The Florentine fared better but the eggs were probably 30 to 40 seconds overcooked and I would have loved for the hollandaise to have a tad less acidity. Having said that, I did like it enough to want to order it again if and when I return.

So far, I think I've had better luck finding brekkies places that hit the spot better at Surry Hills. Maybe I should just stick to exploring that area more for a while.

the pie tin, newtown

The Pie Tin
1A Brown Street
Newtown, NSW 2042
Tel: +61 (02) 9519 7880
Website: http://www.thepietin.com.au/

I think I might need to move soon.... to Newtown (or somewhere close by).

Newtown seems like the place to be with a couple of good restaurants like Bloodwood and Oscillate Wildly, popular patisseries and cafes like Black Star Pastry (which makes my favourite cake in town), Luxe and Campos, multiple burger outlets and one delicious Roti Bom. The Pie Tin is one of the newer kids on the block which has recently added to Newtown's "hip" quotient.

Pies are a popular thing in Australia and I love my pies. Savoury ones to be specific. The best part of a pie is always the pastry and this always riles up a discussion but I'm a flaky pastry kinda girl. R on the other hand, is all for shortcrust pastry and the sweet pies. So this is where we get the best of both worlds. The Pie Tin sells a wide array of sweet and savoury pies; the classic apple pie, apple & boysenberry, chocolate & gooey caramel, a classic mince pie, chicken & leek, butter chicken and the list goes on.

Southern Style Shredded Pork & Apples with Sides of Baked Beans with Speck

& Sweet Potato Mash with Gravy

 Lemon Meringue Pie

The pies were rather delicious. The filling in the Southern Style Pork pie was generous and the pastry was flaky but given another trip, I will probably choose a more classic pie because I wasn't so crazy about the apples in there. What I remember clearly though were the sides because they were delicious. The sweet potato mash was the better among the 2; smooth, sweet and so tasty with the gravy drizzled all over. The Lemon Meringue pie did pretty well too. I'm not always a lover of meringues but this one I liked cos it was soft, fluffy and not overly sweet. The lemon filling was not too tart as well. I did try the Chocolate & Gooey Caramel Pie on another occasion and loved that better because of the caramel and chocolate base.

Besides pies, they also make a few different types of sweet pastries, sausage rolls etc. so whether you're a fan of pies or not, there will most likely be something for you. So if you're in the neighbourhood, that little detour off King St. might be worth it.

to the life that made a difference

Over the last 2 days, my FB and Twitter account has been flooded with tributes and expressions of sadness at the news of Steve Jobs' death. Did his death come as a surprise? I guess not because the signs were all there. He was frail, lost an extreme amount of weight and most importantly, stepped down from his position with Apple as he knew he could no longer fulfil his duties.

Just as I was watching a mini tribute to him on the television, it struck me hard. Apple will still continue and I believe, will continue strong without Jobs. However, the impact that he's made to this generation is something that only few can match up to. He had changed the way that people communicate today; from making a phonecall to conducting a business presentation. He had changed the way we watch animation today. He has changed the way the entertainment industry works today and even revived the music industry with the invention of iTunes. Long story short, you cannot go anywhere without coming into contact with something related to Steve Jobs or the Apple brand. (Just so you know, this entry that you're reading now was typed from a MacBook as well).

It is surely not only Jobs' work that deserves the credit. The brains and hard work of many others are responsible for the brand's success today but you always need a visionary behind the success. Steve Jobs was that visionary. So RIP Steve Jobs. The world will miss you and your great mind but your legacy lives on.